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St Paul's Church, Preston, Lancashire

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Coordinates: 53°45′45″N 2°41′39″W / 53.7624°N 2.6941°W / 53.7624; -2.6941
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St Paul's Church, Preston
St Paul's Church, Preston is located in Preston city centre
St Paul's Church, Preston
St Paul's Church, Preston
Location in Preston
53°45′45″N 2°41′39″W / 53.7624°N 2.6941°W / 53.7624; -2.6941
OS grid referenceSD 543,298
LocationSt Paul's Square,
Preston, Lancashire
CountryEngland
DenominationAnglican
History
StatusFormer parish church
Architecture
Functional statusRedundant
Heritage designationGrade II
Designated28 March 1977
Architect(s)Thomas Rickman and
Henry Hutchinson
Architectural typeChurch
StyleGothic Revival
Groundbreaking1823
Completed1882
Construction cost£6,221
Closed1 January 1979
Specifications
MaterialsSandstone, tiled roofs

St Paul's Church is a redundant Anglican parish church in St Paul's Square, Preston, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[1] It was a Commissioners' church, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission.[2]

The building was home to radio stations Rock FM and Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire (originally Red Rose Radio) from 1981 to 2020.[3]

History

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St Paul's was built between 1823 and 1825, and was designed by Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson.[1] A grant of £6,221 (equivalent to £640,000 in 2023)[4] was given towards its construction by the Church Building Commission.[2] In 1882 a chancel was added to the church, and a baptistery was created within the church, by T. H. Myers.[5] The church was declared redundant on 1 January 1979.[6] In 1981 it was bought for £35,000 by Red Rose Radio who spent £780,000 to convert it into a radio station.[7] The conversion was carried out by Sandy Brown Associates.[5]

Later use

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From 1981, the building was used as the studios for Red Rose Radio, which later split into two stations that changed their names several times, eventually becoming Rock FM and Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire.[citation needed]. The radio studios were located on the ground floor, with the offices on the first floor. Bauer Media announced in January 2020 that Rock FM would be relocating to its network centre in Castlefield, Manchester from March 2020.[8]

The building is now used as office space.[9]

Architecture

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The former church is constructed in sandstone with a tiled roof. Its architectural style is Early English. The plan consists of a seven-bay nave with full-height aisles, a two-bay chancel and offices. It has a three-span roof. The west end is in three sections; the central section is gabled, and the side sections are smaller with angle buttresses. Octagonal turrets rise at the junctions of the sections. In the lower part of the central section is a three-bay arcade, each arch containing a window. Above the arcade are three stepped lancet windows, over which is a small circular window. The turrets are slim and contain open arcading, and an embattled cap over which is a tall pinnacle with a quatrefoil finial. Each side section contains a tall lancet window. Along the side of the church, the bays are divided by buttresses. The first bays contain a doorway with a window above it, and all the other bays have pairs of lancet windows. At the east end of the church are three stepped lancet windows and pinnacles similar to those at the west end.[1]

War memorial

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The parish war memorial stands in the northern corner of the former church's grounds, having been relocated there from its original location nearby due to vandalism. It takes the form of a slim hexagonal column of sandstone, similar to the church, on a small stepped base surmounted by six grouped columns with a Celtic-style cross on the top. Originally it bore metal plates commemorating the men of the parish who lost their lives in World War One (and World War Two?), but these have been removed at some point and their location is unknown.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Historic England, "Former Church of St Paul (now Red Rose Radio) (1207331)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 December 2011
  2. ^ a b Port, M. H. (2006), 600 New Churches: The Church Building Commission 1818–1856 (2nd ed.), Reading: Spire Books, p. 327, ISBN 978-1-904965-08-4
  3. ^ "End of an era as Rock FM presenters to leave Preston - for good". 27 January 2020.
  4. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)", MeasuringWorth, retrieved 7 May 2024
  5. ^ a b Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 537, ISBN 978-0-300-12667-9
  6. ^ Diocese of Blackburn: All Schemes (PDF), Church Commissioners/Statistics, Church of England, 2010, p. 5, retrieved 13 December 2011
  7. ^ Red Rose Radio, Preston, Domesday Reloaded, BBC, retrieved 13 December 2011
  8. ^ Adam, Nicola (6 March 2020). "Rock FM leaves Preston 'Rockin Church': Past and present stars and staff talk of their memories including Radio 1's Jordan North and BBC Lancashire's John' Gilly' Gilmore". Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  9. ^ Moffitt, Dominic (5 February 2021). "Rock FM church sold off with plans to turn building into offices". Lancs Live. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
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