Winckley Square is situated near the centre of Preston,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') 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 ...

, England, at the west end of

Avenham Avenham and Frenchwood are the central communities which make up the Town Centre ward of Preston City Council, in Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria ...

. The history of Winckley Square has been documented by Marian Roberts. The square was first established in 1801, around Town End Field owned by Thomas Winckley, as an exclusive residential area for the town's gentry. It is now occupied mostly by insurance, legal and other business offices, although some residential developments have recently been made. The square's gardens, now an open public park, originally consisted of private plots, each owned by a resident. A statue of Sir

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

stands on one side of the central gardens opposite Cross Street, erected by public subscription in 1852. An Italian-style villa was built in 1850 on the south corner of Cross Street (number 11), which was later used as a County Court office from the 1940s. It was demolished in 1969. On the opposite corner (number 10) was the ''Winckley Club'', a gentlemen's club, and next to it, in Cross Street, the ''Literary and Philosophical Institution'' (later called ''Dr Shepherd's Library and Museum''), both built in 1846 and both now demolished. The suffragette

Edith Rigby Edith Rigby ( Rayner) (18 October 1872 – 23 July 1950) was an English suffragette who used arson as a way to further the cause of women’s suffrage. She founded a night school in Preston called St Peter's School, aimed at educating women and ...

lived at number 28. Winckley Street lies between Winckley Square and Preston's main street of Fishergate. Today it is home to mainly professional and religious service providers, including solicitors practices, a translation company, a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

presbytery (taking up the majority of the northern buildings adjacent to St Wilfrids Church) as well as restaurants.

Schools

Winckley Square has been the home of several schools.

Preston Grammar School

Preston Grammar School dated back to the 15th century. In 1841 it moved to new premises in Cross Street next to the Philosophical Institution. In 1913 it relocated to Moor Park, and closed in 1967. It is not to be confused with the former Preston Manor County Grammar School in London.

Notable alumni

Mahdi Al Tajir Mohammed Mahdi Al Tajir () (born 26 December 1931) is a Bahrana- Emirati businessman based in the United Kingdom. He was the first United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United Kingdom. Al Tajir spends much of his time at his London home or at K ...

(born 1931), billionaire, Scotland's richest man *

Frederick Banister Frederick Dale Banister MICE (15 March 1823 – 22 December 1897), was an English civil engineer, best known for his 35 years as the Chief Engineer of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). Early life Born in London on 15 Marc ...

(1823–1897), civil engineer, Chief Engineer of the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR (known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton)) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at ...

1860–96 * Lawrence "Lawrie" Bond (1907–1974), designer of the

Bond Minicar Bond Minicar is a series of economical three-wheeled microcars which were manufactured by the British car manufacturer Sharp's Commercials Ltd (the company was renamed Bond Cars Limited in 1964), in Preston, Lancashire, between 1949 and 1966. ...

James Edgar Dandy James Edgar Dandy (24 September 1903, in Preston, Lancashire – 10 November 1976, in Tring) was a British botanist, Keeper of Botany at the British Museum (Natural History) between 1956 and 1966. He was a world specialist on the plant genus ''Pot ...

, Keeper of Botany at

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...

* Sir

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, Conservative MP for Chatham from 1875 to 1892 and

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from 1892 to 1906 * Sir John Holmes GCVO CMG, Ambassador to France from 2001 to 2007 and to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

from 1999 to 2001 * Sir John Lockwood, Master of

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

, 1951–65;

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, 1955–58 *

Herbert Ponting Herbert George Ponting, FRGS (21 March 1870 – 7 February 1935) was an English professional photographer. He is best known as the expedition photographer and cinematographer for Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to the Ross Sea and S ...

, photographer, best known for his photographs of Captain Robert Scott's Terra Nova expedition and of Japan. * John Preston, Chaplain-in-Ordinary and Master of

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* Sir George Toulmin, Liberal MP for Bury from 1902 to 1918 *

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, Professor of Education at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

from 1919 to 1946 and President of the

British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the org ...

from 1947 to 1949

Preston High School and Park School

Preston High School for Girls once occupied 5 Winckley Square. It was superseded in 1907 by the Park School for Girls, which educated younger girls in Winckley Square and older girls in Moor Park Avenue. It closed in 1967.

Preston Catholic College

Preston Catholic College was a

school for boys, which opened in 1865 and closed in 1978, when its sixth form merged with Winckley Square Convent School and Larkhill Convent Grammar School to form

Cardinal Newman College Cardinal Newman College is a Roman Catholic Church, Catholic sixth form college close to the centre of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, England. The college was graded ''"outstanding"'' by Ofsted in February 2023. The college has und ...

. At its peak in 1970, it occupied most of the west side of Winckley Square. Alumni include television football pundit

Mark Lawrenson Mark Thomas Lawrenson (born 2 June 1957) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender for Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, among others, during the 1970s and 1980s. After ...

and head of the

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Gregory Doran Sir Gregory Doran (born 24 November 1958) is an English director known for his Shakespearean work. ''The Sunday Times'' called him 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'. Doran was artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...

Winckley Square Convent School

In 1875, the

Society of the Holy Child Jesus The Society of the Holy Child Jesus is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic sisters founded in England in 1846 by Philadelphia-born Cornelia Connelly. History Born Cornelia Peacock in Philadelphia, she was raised a Presbyter ...

formed a girls' convent school from the merger of its three convent schools, St. Walburge's of 1853, St Mary's of 1871 and English Martyr's of 1871. The new school was at 23 Winckley Square, the former home of Thomas Batty Addison, once the Recorder of Preston. As the school grew, it came to fill the whole block between the streets of East Cliff and Garden Street, reaching a peak of 850 pupils in 1962. In 1978 it suffered the same fate as the neighbouring Catholic College, the site closing in 1981. The buildings are now used as offices and a

Paul Heathcote Paul Heathcote MBE (born 3 October 1960) is a chef, restaurateur and food consultant who spent two years under the guidance of Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. He has appeared on many UK food television shows. Heathcote is one of ...

restaurant.Garlington, pp.80–84

Notes

References

* Garlington, J. (1995, new edition 2006), ''Images of England: Preston''
Nonsuch Publishing
Stroud, * Hunt, D. (2003), ''The Wharncliffe Companion to Preston — An A to Z of Local History''
Wharncliffe Books, Barnsley
. * Sartin, S. (2002), ''Preston in Focus'', Landy Publishing, Blackpool,

External links

Winckley Square
{{Authority control Parks and commons in Preston Geography of Preston