History of the Guild Hall Preston
The Guild Hall is an iconic landmark in the centre of Preston and many Prestonians will have fond memories across the years of events such as concerts, plays, graduations, balls, exhibitions and the many popular shops within its 1970s styled walls.
But do you know the history of how the Guild Hall came to be built?
The Guild Hall was commissioned to replace Preston's Public Hall on Lune Street.
Originally the corn exchange the building was commissioned by the mayor, Nicholas Grimshaw, for the town in 1822.
The building as a corn exchange fell out of use during the Great Depression of British Agriculture from 1873. Preston's then mayor, Edmund Birley, commissioned the building to become a public hall.
The building was repurposed as the Public Hall in 1881-82. A hall and galleries were created and could hold 3,300 visitors. At the time, the Public Hall was Preston's premier entertainment venue and hosted performances by the biggest music artists of the day such as The Beatles (1962, 1963) Led Zeppelin (1971), Genesis (1971) and David Bowie and the Spiders From Mars (1972).
The Public Hall closed in March 1973 and lay unused and empty. Twenty years later, the building was remodelled behind the original facade and re-opened as the Corn Exchange pub in 1993. Since then, it has been known as The Flax and Firkin, The Assembly and currently, as 1842.
The new "Guild Hall"
Construction on the new Guild Hall, on Lancaster Road, began in 1969. Not only was it to house two theatres, the ground floor level was to contain the Guild Hall Arcade shopping complex. This was linked to the Bus Station by a subway which has since been blocked off. There is also a footbridge from the Bus Station car park that leads directly into the venue's foyer.
Through the underground subway from the Bus Station, visitors would find themselves walking through a shop to get to the Guild Hall Arcade. Morrison's was one of the businesses to trade here and the premises also had a basement selling homewares and records. Access to Tithebarn Street, towards Church Street, existed through a tunnel walkway.
The Guild Hall Arcade has housed many retail businesses over the years. These included a chicken shop, a central kiosk tobacconist, an ironmonger, toy shop, cafes, shoe shop, tourist information centre, travel agent and a beauty and toiletries retailer.
To make space for the Guild Hall and adjacent new Bus Station, old mills, the old Ribble Bus Station and housing, were demolished. The original bus station was behind the Stanley Arms on Lords Walk/Tithebarn Street. Tithebarn Street would be cut in two following the construction of the Guild Hall.
The new Preston Bus Station opened in 1969. The new Guild Hall, designed by Robert Matthew and Johnson Marshall, was due to be ready for the Preston Guild celebrations of 1972. However, because of various delays, it officially opened in 1973. The complex was created with two venues -The Grand Hall which holds 2,034 people and the Charter Theatre which holds 780 people.
The first music concert was held on 9 January 1973. The band Fumble were support to the one and only David Bowie. This was followed on 30 January by a performance by Led Zeppelin.
Other notable music artists to perform here include Elton John (1973, 1976, 1979), Queen (1974, 1975), Bing Crosby (1977), The Jacksons (1979), Meatloaf (1986), The Stone Roses (1989), Van Morrison (1990, 1992), Blondie (2003).
The Guild Hall also hosted various snooker championships between 1978 and 2019 and the University of Central Lancashire also held graduation ceremonies here for many years.
Preston City Council owned the Guild Hall until July 2014. It was then sold to local businessman Simon Rigby, who promised to spend £1m to renovate the venue. Rigby closed the venue in May 2019 and in June 2019, he placed the business into administration.
The Guild Hall was then closed and, following a legal case, came back under council ownership in 2023.
Get Involved
Do you have photographs of any concerts you saw at the Guild Hall through the years?
Do you have any memories or photographs of the shops that traded from the Guild Hall Arcade? If you are happy for them to be published on this website, please attach the image/s to an email with a description to guildhallenquires@preston.gov.uk.