Town Hall

The Town Hall in Preston is a municipal office building, now serving as the town hall, constructed between 1933 and 1934 by Sir Arnold Thornely. It is built of sandstone ashlar, with a roof that is concealed but likely slate. The building has a long irregular plan on a rectangular site situated between Lancaster Road to the east and Birley Street to the west, featuring identical facades on both streets. The design reflects a restrained neo-classical style and consists of four storeys over a basement, with a window arrangement of 3:5:3.

The ground floor is rusticated with a plinth and features a band above, along with a central doorway that has a pedimented architrave decorated with acroteria. The five-bay central section rises above the ends and includes a pierced parapet over the ground floor, low-relief statues between the top-floor windows, a frieze adorned with swags and urns, and a cornice and parapet also featuring acroteria. The three-bay outer sections project slightly forward up to the third-floor level and have banded obelisk fillets at the angles, topped with urn finials. The windows are fitted with small-paned metal cross-window glazing, with those on the first floor in the centre of each section having pierced balconies, enriched architraves, and crested cornices.

Inside, there is an open-well stone staircase at the east end and a panelled council chamber. The Town Hall forms the centre of a group that includes the Sessions House to the south and Amounderness House to the north, with Princes Buildings located opposite.