Princes Buildings

Princes Buildings is a terrace of five shops with dwellings above, built around 1860 and subsequently altered. It is located on the east side of Lancaster Road in Preston.

The building is constructed of brown brick laid in stretcher bond, mostly rendered with stucco, with sandstone dressings and a slate roof. It follows a shallow double-depth plan with rear extensions and is composed in the Classical style across three storeys with cellars and attics. The facade comprises a composition of 1+3+1+3+3 bays, an arrangement which suggests an originally symmetrical design centred on No. 56 that was not fully executed. The three-bay units feature giant pilastrading to the upper floors, a deep frieze and a prominent dentilled cornice with blocking course, which break back slightly over the one-bay units.

At ground floor level, Nos. 50 to 56 contain double-fronted shops with recessed doorways flanked by large plate-glass windows with shafts capped by stiff-leaf capitals, and segmental overlights (those at Nos. 50 to 54 are now concealed externally by modern fascia boarding; the shop front of No. 58 has been remodelled). The first and second floors of the six bays comprising Nos. 50 and 52, and the three bays of No. 56, break forward slightly and are stuccoed, with giant pilasters, interrupted string courses, and four-pane sashed windows (these features continue around the right-hand return of No. 50). Nos. 54 and 58, each occupying one wide bay, have tripartite sashed windows on both floors; those at first-floor level are furnished with pedimented tetrastyle architraves having large foliated consoles, while those above have shouldered stucco surrounds. Nos. 50 and 58 have small gableted dormers; Nos. 52 to 56 have low flat-roofed dormers with 12 lights. All dormers are accompanied by large chimney stacks with multiple flues and moulded stone cornices.

The right-hand return wall of No. 50 extends for five bays, with upper floors matching the front elevation. At ground-floor level, a doorway with banded surround and a panelled door sits centrally, with a small dentilled upstand on the lintel and a square overlight with diagonal glazing bars. To the right of this, a cornice with consoles is positioned beneath the pilasters of the upper floors, suggesting that the front elevation formerly featured a similar feature.

The rear of the building comprises two-storey extensions, mostly of shallow lean-to form with apparently unaltered windows, predominantly 12-pane sashes with crown glass panes.

Interior: No. 56 retains a dog-legged staircase extending from ground floor to attic, with stick balusters and wreathed handrail. The upper floors preserve almost intact domestic accommodation, including a first-floor drawing room (now used as a showroom) with pilasters and entablature, a deep moulded plaster ceiling cornice, and an elliptical-arched alcove with moulded surround. The room above contains a similar alcove incorporating a built-in cupboard and a fireplace with panelled surround. Various other original fireplaces survive. The upper floors of the other shops retain similar features in whole or in part.

The building forms a group with the adjoining No. 60 (the Golden Cross Hotel) at its north end, creating a substantial block that has considerable group value with the Town Hall and Amounderness House opposite, and shows visual similarity to Nos. 12 to 24 further to the south.