Preston Guild Hall is an entertainment venue in 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, which opened in 1973.

History

The Guild Hall was commissioned to replace the town's Public Hall. The new building, which was designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson Marshall, was due to be ready for the

Preston Guild 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 ...

of 1972, but after construction was delayed, it only officially opened in 1973. The complex has two performance venues, the Grand Hall which holds 2,034 people and the Charter Theatre which holds 780 people. There is direct pedestrian access, via footbridge, from the adjacent Preston bus station and car park. Artists that have performed at the venue include

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmo ...

, Libor Pešek and

Vasily Petrenko Vasily Eduardovich Petrenko (; born 7 July 1976) is a Russian-British conductor. He is currently music director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Biography Of Russian and Ukrainian ancestry, Petrenko was born in Leningrad, USSR. He attend ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

both performed at the venue in 1973 and

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

in 1986 among others.

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

gave one of his last concerts at the Guild Hall in September 1977, less than a month before his death. It also hosted the UK Snooker Championship for the years 1978 to 1997. In 2013, Preston City Council considered demolishing the venue due to high running costs, but instead sold it in 2014 to local businessman Simon Rigby for an undisclosed sum, later revealed to be £1. In return Rigby promised to spend £1m in renovations. Ongoing financial problems saw Rigby close the venue in May 2019 and he was forced to place the business into administration. Preston City Council, one of the company's creditors, 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. 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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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 Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) also referred to as autoclaved cellular concrete (ACC) or simply autoclaved concrete is a lightweight, Prefabrication, prefabricated concrete building material. Developed in the mid-1920s, it is an alternat ...

on the site.

References

{{Authority control Music venues in Lancashire Snooker venues Buildings and structures in Preston Theatres in Lancashire Wrestling venues in the United Kingdom Badminton venues