Around Preston

This follows on from my last post, which went up Moor Lane, and then back south down Lancaster Road South. This is what lies to the north and east of there, so we start by heading up the Garstang Road. Garstang Road At one time this was called Gallows Hill, as several men were hung here after the Battle of Preston. Immediately on the left in the Moor Park pub, on the corner with Aqueduct Street. Obviously named after Moor Park, which was originally much larger - and came closer to the pub. Apparently it was the last pub in Preston to brew its own beer - though with microbreweries, I suspect that is no longer true. There is a video of it from 1945 on YouTube here . On the other side of the road is The Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs, or just English Martyrs. An impressive building, this Roman Catholic church opened in 1867; old maps indicate there was previously a cattle market here! This building at the back of it was a school for the church. The school is...

Moor Lane is a fairly short road that runs from the university at the north end of Friargate to the A6, where North Road becomes Garstang Road. It takes its name from Preston Moor, of which Moor Park is the last remnant. We start with the Adelphi, a pub I have probably mentioned before, which is next door to the new University building. It shares its name with a side street, and seems to date from 1838. Across Adelphi Street, this building was clearly a bank at one time! While this was clearly a church, more specifically a United Methodist Church. I found a couple of images of it on Flickr ( this from 1900), both claiming it as destroyed by fire in 2012. Moor Lane passes over the old railway to Longridge, but there is not much to see as it is in a tunnel. Then, set back a bit on the east side is Preston's last remaining windmill . Built in 1760, it was used as a windmill until 1880, but had other uses since then. It is now Grade II listed. This is the Queen Vic fish and chip shop,...

Freckleton is a village on the north side of the Ribble Estuary, between Preston and Lytham. The A584 now passes by the north of the village. The centre of the village is marked by a fenced off garden with the war memorial; previously this was the village green.  The village green is formed from three roads that make up a triangle. From here roads lead in various directions. To the south-southeast the road goes to Lytham, via Warton. To the north-northwest, there is a road to Kirkham. To the southeast in Preston Old Road, which then heads east, then northeast, at which point is crossed Freckleton Pool, and headed east-northeast to a tollhouse, and then due each towards Preston, across Freckleton Marsh. The tollhouse is still there are visible from the A584; it is now a farmhouse. In 1920, a new road was built, now called Preston New Road, coming in to the village green from the northeast. A roundabout less than 100 m up the road makes the start of the bypass, built in 1992. This vi...

Ormskirk is a sizeable town about half way between Preston a Liverpool that I had not even been though until today.  Ormskirk is Norse for dragon church, though the dragon part was probably the name of the guy who founded a church here. that said, there are no records or archaeology to support the claim. The south end of Burscough Street is the most attractive part; it is narrow and pedestrianised. This is looking south from where it is crossed by Derby Street - north of here is not so attractive. You can just see the Buck i' th' Vine pub; here it is in all its glory. This grade II listed building was built in the seventeenth century as a coaching inn for the road from Liverpool to Preston. Originally the Roebuck , I understand it is generally just called the Buck . Ormskirk has its own arcade... Blink and you miss it. At the bottom of the street in the clock tower which, I guess, marks the centre of the town. I was there on market day! South from the clocktower is Aughton Str...