County Hall is a municipal building in Fishergate, Preston,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. It is the headquarters of

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...

History

County Hall, Preston 07 - war memorial (cropped)

In July 1877, county leaders identified the need for enlarged accommodation for the county court, which had been based in the

Sessions House A sessions house in the United Kingdom was historically a courthouse that served as a dedicated court of quarter sessions, where criminal trials were held four times a year on quarter days. Sessions houses were also used for other purposes to do wi ...

in Stanley Street, as well as the need for additional offices. They decided to procure a new building and selected a site at Fishergate which had previously been occupied by a row of residential properties. The new building, which was designed by the Manchester architect, Henry Littler, in the Queen Anne revival style, opened on 14 September 1882. The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing Fishergate; the right hand section, which slightly projected forwards, featured a doorway with a rectangular

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

and shield above: the principal room was the council chamber. The new building incorporated a new headquarters for the

Lancashire Constabulary Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, near the city of Preston. , the force has 3,088 police officer ...

as well as a county records office, formed to preserve important documents. Following the implementation of the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

, which established county councils in every county, the building also became the offices and meeting place for

. An extension to the west along Fishergate was completed in 1903: this involved the demolition of a street known as Jordan Street whose residents had included the astronomer

Moses Holden Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

. A further extension to the north along Pitt Street, with a substantial new structure and entrance, was completed in 1934. As part of a two-day visit to Lancashire,

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

and Queen Elizabeth attended a lunch hosted by the

Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire. The Lord Lieutenant is the King's personal representative in each county of the United Kingdom. Historically the Lord Lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's ...

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

, at County Hall before departing for

Preston Town Hall Preston Town Hall is a municipal building in Lancaster Road in Preston, Lancashire, England. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Preston City Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first town hall was a medieval structure ...

in March 1945 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 2011, as part of a cost-cutting initiative, several hundred staff were relocated to the County Hall from other locations.

War memorial

Inside the building is a memorial, unveiled in 1921, to eighteen "members of the county offices staff who gave their lives for King and Country in the Great War", including one woman,

Isobel Addey Tate Isobel Addey Tate (1 May 1875 – 28 January 1917) was an Irish medical doctor who served overseas and was the only woman to be included in the Queen's University Belfast Roll of Honour and War memorial for her services in World War I. Early ...

References

{{City of Preston buildings Buildings and structures in Preston P Government buildings completed in 1882