Listing
Search the List

What is Listing?

Listing Guidance

Apply for Listing

Missing Pieces Project

Blue Plaque Scheme
Listing

Find out about listed buildings and other protected sites, and search the National Heritage List for England (NHLE).

Find out about listing

Terracotta tiles on the roof of Saintoft Lodge, Newton-on-Rawcliffe, Ryedale, North Yorkshire. Grade II listed © Historic England Archive DP371715
Advice
Climate Change

Heritage at Risk

Your Home

Technical Guidance

Planning

Caring for Heritage

Constructive Conservation
Advice

See our extensive range of expert advice to help you care for and protect historic places.

Get our advice

A contractor cutting bricks for the wall of the partially-restored wild and natural walled garden at Warley Place, Brentwood. Explore our technical advice section © Historic England Archive DP313199
Research
Our Research Strategy and Agenda

Research Governance

Latest Research

Research Methods

Current Research

Research Results

Support & Collaboration

Inclusive Heritage

Heritage Counts
Research

Discover and use our high-quality applied research to support the protection and management of the historic environment.

Discover our research

Archaeologist Dr David Neal discussing his illustration of the mosaic being excavated at Rutland Roman Villa with members of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services team View image DP264265 © Historic England
Images & Books
Find Photos

Search All Publications

Buy Books

The Historic England Archive
Images & Books

Historic England holds an extensive range of publications and historic collections in its public archive covering the historic environment.

Browse our collections

Children play with a doll and a pram on the cobbled Church Path in Queen Camel, Somerset, in April 1953. At the far end of the path is the tower of the Church of St Barnabas, which dates to the 14th century. Photographer: John Gay Image reference: AA091596 © Historic England Archive
Services & Skills
Education

Grants

Our Planning Services

Training & Skills

Archive Services

Heritage Action Zones

Levelling Up Places Service
Services & Skills

Find out about services offered by Historic England for funding, planning, education and research, as well as training and skill development.

Learn about our services

Heritage Apprentices in a training session on the Researching The Historic Environment module and training in Architectural Photography. Find out more about Heritage Apprenticeships © Historic England Archive DP347660
What's New
News

In Your Area

Historic England Blog

Latest Research

Heritage Online Debate

Statements

Stay up to Date
What's New

Read about our current news, projects and campaigns nationally and in your area.

Catch up with what's new

Two horsemen reading The Sportsman, 30 Oct 1902, Farnborough, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire. Part of the Alfred Newton and Sons collection. Source Historic England Archive. BB98/02592
About Us
What We Do

Who We Are

How We Are Funded

Contact Us

Careers

Volunteer with Historic England
About Us

Historic England is the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate England's spectacular historic environment.

Find out more

Mountbatten House (formerly Gateway House), Basing View, Basingstoke, the former headquarters for the paper merchants Wiggins Teape by Arup Associates. Listed at Grade II. © Historic England
Sign in
Manage my account

Sign out

Sessions House

Sessions House, Lancaster Road, Preston, PR1 2PD

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II*
List Entry Number:: 1279796
Date first listed:: 26-Sep-1979
List Entry Name:: Sessions House
Statutory Address:: Sessions House, Lancaster Road, Preston, PR1 2PD

User submitted image — Uploaded by Phil Platt This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Images of England Project

To view this image please use Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Edge.

Archive image, may not represent current condition of site.

Date:: 2007-11-06
Reference:: IOE01/16961/04
Rights:: © Lorna Freeman. Source: Historic England Archive

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II*
List Entry Number:: 1279796
Date first listed:: 26-Sep-1979
Date of most recent amendment:: 20-Dec-1991
List Entry Name:: Sessions House
Statutory Address 1:: Sessions House, Lancaster Road, Preston, PR1 2PD

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: Sessions House, Lancaster Road, Preston, PR1 2PD

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Lancashire
District:: Preston (District Authority)
Parish:: Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:: SD 54045 29476

Details

SD5429SW 941-1/12/176

PRESTON LANCASTER ROAD (West side) Sessions House (Formerly Listed as: LANCASTER ROAD (West side) Crown Court and Sessions House)

27/09/79

GV II* Court house. 1900-3, by Henry Littler. Large rectangular block on site bounded by Harris Street to the south and Lancaster Road and Birley Street to east and west respectively. Sandstone ashlar (roof concealed). Edwardian Baroque style.

Three high storeys over basement, symmetrical on all three sides, the principal facade to Harris Street 1:5:1:5:1 windows, the centre and end bays breaking forwards, with a plinth, the ground floor treated as a rustic, coupled giant Ionic columns to the centre and the outer bays, moulded frieze, modillioned cornice, pediments to the outer bays and an open-segmental pediment to the centre, a balustraded parapet as high as the pediments, and a tower over the centre.

The centre has a porch with blocked columns, a round-headed concave doorway with convex balcony over; above this a round-headed window with elaborate including figures on the pediment, then an oculus framed by swags; an embellished shield in the pediment; and a tall Baroque tower of four diminishing and successively set back stages, the three upper stages with free-standing Ionic columns and much enrichment. The rustic ground floor has wide semi-circular headed tripartite sashes, with blocked surrounds and voussoirs; the first floor and second floors have 24- and 12-pane sashes respectively, all with moulded architraves and those at first floor with cornices; and the outer bays have convex balconies to tall round-headed windows with enriched open pediments, and segmental-headed windows above. Hipped roof with enriched chimney stacks. The east and west facades, 1:3:1 windows, have centres recessed above the rustic, with four Ionic semi-columns and windows like those at the front, and outer bays with pedimented architraves to the windows; the east side has two round-headed doorways in the rustic, and the west side has a segmental-headed archway to the left. INTERIOR: rich decoration including two principal courtrooms with pilastered panelling, panelled library with swags etc., panelled former dining room with fine architraves to doors, and magistrates' cloakroom furnished in Purbeck marble.

Listing NGR: SD5404529476

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: 392061
Legacy System:: LBS

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.