Full name | Preston Guild Hall and Charter Theatre |
---|---|
Location | Preston, Lancashire |
Coordinates | 53°45′35″N2°41′51″W / 53.75972°N 2.69750°W |
Public transit | Preston bus station |
Owner | Preston City Council |
Operator | Preston Guild Hall Ltd |
Type | Concert venue (Grand Hall) Theatre (Charter Theatre) |
Capacity | 2,034 (Grand Hall) 780 (Charter Theatre) 350 (Foyer) |
Acreage | 1,087 m2 (Grand Hall) 336 m2 (Charter Theatre) 529 m2 (Foyer) |
Opened | 1973 |
Preston Guild Hall is an entertainment venue in Preston, Lancashire, England, which opened in 1973.
The Guild Hall was commissioned to replace the town's Public Hall. [1] The new building, which was designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson Marshall, was due to be ready for the Preston Guild of 1972, but after construction was delayed, it only officially opened in 1973. [2]
The complex has two performance venues, the Grand Hall which holds 2,034 people and the Charter Theatre which holds 780 people. [3] There is direct pedestrian access, via footbridge, from the adjacent Preston bus station and car park. [4]
Artists that have performed at the venue include Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, [5] Libor Pešek [6] and Vasily Petrenko. [7] Led Zeppelin and David Bowie both performed at the venue in 1973 and The Smiths in 1986 among others. [8] Bing Crosby gave one of his last concerts at the Guild Hall in September 1977, less than a month before his death. [9] It also hosted the UK Snooker Championship for the years 1978 to 1997. [10]
In 2013, Preston City Council considered demolishing the venue due to high running costs, [11] but instead sold it in 2014 to local businessman Simon Rigby for an undisclosed sum, [12] later revealed to be £1. [13] In return Rigby promised to spend £1m in renovations. [14] [15] Ongoing financial problems saw Rigby close the venue in May 2019 and he was forced to place the business into administration. [13] [16] Preston City Council, one of the company's creditors, [17] subsequently reclaimed possession of the building, citing "significant breaches" in the lease agreement and the "unacceptable behaviour" of Rigby's attempt to transfer ownership to a charity of which he was a trustee. [18] [19]
The building was due to host the Business Expo in April 2020 but this event had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [20] The Guild Hall was set to reopen in November 2023 but this was delayed until March 2024 due to concerns over the use of aerated concrete on the site. [21] [22]
Lancashire is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is Preston, and the county town is the city of Lancaster.
Preston is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding district obtained city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Preston had a population of 147,800 at the 2021 census the City of Preston district 156,411 in 2023 and the Preston Built-up Area 313,322. The Preston Travel To Work Area, in 2011, had a population of 420,661, compared with 354,000 in the previous census. The south bank of the Ribble is part of the Preston urban area, although it forms the South Ribble borough that is administratively separate.
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. It is named after the River Ribble. Much of the district lies within the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The University of Central Lancashire is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge, founded in 1828. Previously known as Harris Art College, Preston Polytechnic and Lancashire Polytechnic, in 1992 it was granted university status by the Privy Council. The university is the 19th largest in the UK in terms of student numbers.
The Windsor Guildhall is the town hall of Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is situated in the High Street, about 100 meters (330 ft) from Castle Hill, which leads to the main public entrance to Windsor Castle. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Guildhall in Leicester, England, is a timber framed building, with the earliest part dating from c. 1390. The Guildhall once acted as the town hall for the city until the current one was commissioned in 1876. It is located in the old walled city, on a street now known as Guildhall Lane. It was used first as the meeting place for the Guild of Corpus Christi and then later for the more formal Corporation of Leicester. The hall was used for many purposes, including council meetings, feasts, as a courtroom, and for theatrical performances; the ultimatum given to the city during English Civil War was discussed here. It is a Grade I listed building, and the surrounding area, also including the Cathedral of St Martin's, is a conservation area, one of three in Leicester.
Penwortham is a town and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, on the south bank of the River Ribble facing the city of Preston. The town is at the most westerly crossing point of the river, with major road and rail links crossing it here. The population of the town at the 2011 census was 23,047.
Todmorden railway station serves the town of Todmorden in West Yorkshire, England, originally on the Yorkshire and Lancashire border. It was built by the Manchester and Leeds Railway and is on the Calder Valley line 23 miles (37 km) west of Leeds and 17 miles (27 km) north-east of Manchester Victoria.
Preston bus station is the central bus station in the city of Preston in Lancashire, England. It was built by Ove Arup and Partners in the Brutalist architectural style between 1968 and 1969, to a design by Keith Ingham and Charles Wilson of Building Design Partnership with E. H. Stazicker.
The Guildhall is one of the main office buildings of the City and County of Swansea Council. The Guildhall complex, which includes the City Hall, Brangwyn Hall and the County Law Courts for Swansea, is a Grade I listed building.
Preston Bus is a bus operator running services in the city of Preston and surrounding areas of Lancashire. It is a subsidiary of Rotala, who purchased Preston Bus from the Stagecoach Group on the orders of the Competition Commission in 2011.
Portsmouth Guildhall is a multi-use building in the centre of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. It is located in a pedestrian square close to Portsmouth and Southsea railway station. Constructed in 1890, the building was known as Portsmouth Town Hall until 1926. It was heavily damaged by bombing during the Second World War and largely rebuilt during the 1950s by the English architect Ernest Berry Webber. It now operates as a concert, wedding and conference venue. It is a Grade II listed building.
Preston Catholic College was a Jesuit grammar school for boys in Winckley Square, Preston, Lancashire, England. It opened in 1865 and closed in 1978, when its sixth form merged with two other schools to form Cardinal Newman College.
Daniel John Mayor is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL League Two club Fleetwood Town.
Guildhall is an 18th-century municipal building in central Bath, Somerset, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
Southampton Guildhall (branded the O2 Guildhall Southampton) is a multipurpose venue which forms the East Wing of the Civic Centre in Southampton, England. There are three venues in the Guildhall catering for various event formats: the Guildhall itself, the Solent Suite and a lecture theatre.
The City of Preston, or simply Preston, is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Ribble and has a population of 151,582 (2022). The neighbouring districts are Ribble Valley, South Ribble, Fylde and Wyre.
Preston Crown Court, or more properly the Crown Court at Preston, is a criminal court on the Ring Way in Preston, Lancashire, England. The court is based on two sites in the city; Preston Combined Court Centre on Ringway and Sessions House on Lancaster Road. As a first tier court centre, the court deals with all types of cases that are heard in the Crown Court as well as being a trial centre for civil High Court cases; it is also a venue for the County Court where smaller civil cases and family cases are dealt with.
Cottam Parkway is a proposed railway station to the west of Preston, England. The proposed station would serve existing and new developments in the Lea civil parish.
Scott William Fitzgerald is an English professional boxer who is a former British super-welterweight champion. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the welterweight division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.