Former Preston Bank is a Grade II* listed building in the Sefton local planning authority area, England. First listed on 15 November 1972. Bank. 15 related planning applications.
Former Preston Bank
- WRENN ID
- leaning-steeple-hawthorn
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Sefton
- Constituency
- Southport MP: Patrick Hurley (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 15 November 1972
- Type
- Bank
- Address
- Former Preston Bank, 331, Lord Street, PR8 1NJ
- OS grid reference
- SD 336 173
- Coordinates
- 53.64852, -3.00569
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Former Preston Bank, built between 1888 and 1889 by E.W. Johnson for the Preston Banking Company, is a bank located on Lord Street in Southport. It is constructed of sandstone ashlar, with some grey granite and polished pink granite, and features a concealed roof that is likely slate. The building is designed in the Roman Corinthian style and has a basilican form.
The exterior consists of one tall architectural storey divided into three bays, designed symmetrically without windows. It has a shallow pedimented portico at the center, a low base made of punch-dressed grey granite, and a high panelled plinth, some panels of which now contain metal safes. The giant terminal pilasters and the coupled free-standing columns of the portico are made of polished pink granite, topped with sandstone capitals. The entablature features a dentilled frieze and a modillioned cornice, while the pediment displays a crest of arms surrounded by heavy foliage and topped with a figure of Britannia. The outer bays have balustraded parapets adorned with gadrooned urns.
The portico includes a tall round-headed doorway framed by a pedimented architrave with stepped jambs of grey granite, a moulded head with a cartouche keyblock, and carved spandrels. The frieze above the doorway is inscribed with "PRESTON BANK," and the pediment is decorated with dentils and a swag. Above the doorway is a three-light blind window with a carved sill and mullions.
Each of the narrow flanking bays features a tall, richly-carved panel depicting branches entwining a cartouche with shields of arms, with Southport on the left and Preston on the right.
Inside, there is a large rectangular hall surrounded by Corinthian columns and pilasters made of polished granite on panelled pedestals. The hall has a prominent dentilled and modillioned cornice, a coved ceiling, and very large concave brackets with moulded plaster enrichment that support a large domed rectangular skylight.
The building forms a group with Nos 315-325 to the left and Nos 335 & 337 adjoining to the right.
Local climate
Former Preston Bank sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,240 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 92% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 94% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 14 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 86% of listed buildings. Of these, 6 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 15 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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- The Old Bank
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- Head Post Office