Summary
An early example of a charitable orphanage landscape laid out between 1884 and 1888 by Preston's Parks Superintendent, George Rowbotham, with a group of 'village homes' around a 'village green'.
Reasons for Designation
The former Harris Orphanage landscape is registered at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Design interest:
* the site is an important early example of the ‘village homes’ orphanage pioneered by Dr Thomas Barnardo using individual domestic-scale homes set within enclosed, informal landscaped grounds;
* designed and laid out by the Superintendent of Preston’s Parks, George Rowbotham, who was influenced by the design principals of the eminent landscape designers Edward Milner and Joseph Paxton;
* it comprises a range of different character areas providing a range of functions, which are historically, aesthetically and functionally intertwined.
Historic interest:
* it illustrates a shift in attitudes to the welfare of children from the provision of shelter at the workhouse to social care;
* the development of the site is an example of Victorian philanthropy by national figure Edmund Robert Harris who bequeathed money for philanthropic purposes in memory of the Harris Family.
Survival:
* it is a remarkably intact purpose-designed orphanage of the period with a complex of buildings and landscape serving a fully functioning community;
* its layout, historic character and principal features survive virtually intact allowing a coherent and legible understanding of a late-C19 orphanage.
Group value:
* it benefits from a strong group value with the Grade II-listed orphanage buildings, including the principal building, designed by Benjamin Sykes.
History
Edmund Robert Harris was a wealthy lawyer who acquired a fortune through investment in the railways in the mid-C19. At his death in 1877 he bequeathed £300,000 for philanthropic purposes in memory of the Harris family, including the formation of what became known as the Harris Museum in Preston and the Harris Orphanage. In 1881 a plot of ground in open agricultural land to the north of Preston, about 5.5 hectares in area, was acquired by the Harris Trustees as the site for the orphanage. In 1884 a Building Committee was formed, and it was decided to build a village homes-type orphanage for 120 children in the domestic style pioneered by Dr Barnardo at Barkingside, north-east London, in 1876. Benjamin Sykes was selected to be the architect.
The landscape was designed by George Rowbotham (1833-1898), Preston Park’s Superintendent, who was influenced by the fashionable designers of the day; Edward Milner (whom he had helped with the laying out of Avenham, Miller and Moor Parks), Edward Kemp, John Claudius Loudon and Joseph Paxton. The designers considered landscape composure as an art form, relying on form, shade and colour. In October 1884 the Building Committee sought and gained permission from the Preston Corporation Parks Committee for George Rowbotham to provide 'advice and assistance ... for the laying out of the roads and grounds' (Minute Book, 1884-1891). Early in 1885 Rowbotham is reported in the Minutes as having provided a report and sketch plan indicating the best mode of laying out the orphanage grounds, but it was not until early in 1888, with the buildings nearing completion, that this work began in earnest (the sketch plan does not appear to survive, 2021). Rowbotham employed and supervised the men working on the project, and in September 1888 advertised for tenders for the supply of 6,000 trees and shrubs, for which a copy of the list of sixty-three species and varieties survives (Harris Museum). Woody material was also supplied from surplus at the nearby Whittingham Lunatic Asylum (letter, October 1888, Harris Museum). At least £660 was paid in men's wages for the manual work that year, with an additional £80 for trees and shrubs, and Rowbotham himself was paid £75 in February 1889 for 'his services and trouble in connection with laying out and superintending the formation of the grounds and selecting the trees and shrubs for planting the same' (Minute Book, 1884-1891). The first child was admitted in November 1888.
The original site layout is depicted on the 1:10,560 Ordnance Survey (OS) map surveyed 1891-1892 (Published 1895) and in greater topographical detail on the 1:2,500 OS map published in 1893. The site is annotated ‘Harris Orphanage' and is fully enclosed in order to create a secure environment for its orphanage purpose; this was smaller than today, with its western boundary situated about 65m east of its present location. There is tree planting along the north boundary with a wider strip of woodland derived from a former orchard to the north-west corner, and informal tree planting to the south boundary as far as the infirmary building. The eastern two thirds of the site contained the orphanage buildings and their associated landscaping, and the western third comprised a large area of ground with scattered trees, possibly derived from former field boundaries, to the interior, and a small rectangular feature annotated ‘tank’. Tree and shrub planting provide the transition between the orphanage buildings and their landscaped environs, and the open space to the west; there is clear access between the two areas, especially at the north end of the site between the stable and laundry, where tracks or footpaths are depicted; one of these was a pre-existing feature, that been retained as part of the orphanage layout. This open space was clearly an intrinsic part of the orphanage site, and although historic maps and documents do not indicate its function, it is considered to be a recreation ground for additional exercise and other uses. In the early-C20 a pond and associated planting was added adjacent to the infirmary (now Pond House), and an orchard was planted in the south-west corner between 1893 and 1910. A sub-divided parcel of land formerly associated with Windsor House to the west, about 1 hectare in area, was acquired during the early C20 and was gradually incorporated into the orphanage site, and existing planting to the north and south boundaries was subsequently extended westwards. The 1958 1:1,250 OS map annotates the original open space as ‘Playing Fields’, which is repeated on the 1968 revision. An aerial photograph dated to the 1960s shows that part of the subdivided additional parcel to the west of the playing fields was subject to grass cutting, which could be agricultural and related to haymaking, or have a more recreational use. This area is connected to the main orphanage site by a track. In the early C21 the playing fields were used as a cricket pitch.
In 1940 the orphanage school was leased by Lancashire County Council and after the Second World War the orphanage was renamed the Fulwood and Cadley County School (Harris Orphanage Department). It closed in 1982 and was leased to Preston Polytechnic, in 1985 being bought outright for student accommodation for the Polytechnic. In 2000 the Polytechnic became the University of Central Lancashire: the site was developed as the Harris Knowledge Park and the buildings were converted to office use, with additional areas of hardstanding/vehicular parking. Today (2021) the site is in private ownership and is occupied by two domestic dwellings (Ashleigh House and Beech House), otherwise the buildings stand empty.
Details
LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING
The roughly 6.5 hectare site lies three km north of the centre of Preston adjacent to the west side of the main northern approach to Preston, Garstang Road, in the suburb of Fulwood. It occupies largely level ground, with a slight fall from east to west. The north side is bounded by a school and Regent Park Road. To the west it is bounded by the gardens of houses in Black Bull Lane, and to the south by the gardens of houses in King's Drive. The east side of the site is bounded by Garstang Road, the boundary now marked by a privet hedge and formerly by iron railings. The other boundaries are largely marked by C20 fences with mature trees/areas of woodland along their insides. The setting is suburban, with the late-C19 former Little Sisters of the Poor Convent standing in its own grounds on the east side of Garstang Road. The eastern edge of the site overlooks the Residence and its grounds.
ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES
The site is approached from the east off Garstang Road via a gateway (listed Grade II) set back off the road at the south-east corner of the site. The carriage entrance is flanked by banded stone piers about 3m high supporting iron railings. These piers are in turn flanked by further piers in similar style marking two pedestrian entrances, these in their turn flanked by low, convex stone walls leading back out to the pavement and terminated by further piers in similar style. The walls support late-C20 replacement iron railings, the originals removed when the entrance was widened, and the structures moved and rebuilt slightly to the west. On the west side, immediately inside the gates stands a single-storey lodge (listed Grade II), dated 1887 on the gable, with a weighbridge outside in the drive. The lodge is built in Vernacular Revival style, of red brick with stone dressings. Immediately west of the lodge the drive divides to north-west and south-west, forming a circuit around the buildings.
To the north-west the drive leads to a turning circle outside the former schoolmaster's house occupying the south end of the principal building which also contains the former schoolrooms and chapel. From the turning circle the drive continues north, along the east side of the principal building, with spurs leading west to the entrances to the girls' and boys' entrances respectively. The drive curves west around the north side of the chapel, continuing west in serpentine fashion, overlooked by the entrance fronts of a row of four villas to the north and overlooking the green to the south. Some 100m west of the chapel the drive curves south between the east side of the single-storey former laundry block and the west side of the green. The drive turns east 130m south-west of the chapel, to continue along the south side of the estate, overlooked by the entrance fronts of a second row of four villas. From here it returns north-east to complete the circuit north-west of the lodge.
Spurs off the main circuit drive give access to the northern, service sides of both rows of villas, as well as the rear, west side of the principal building. These spurs link together to form a further circuit for service purposes which intersects with the main drive west of the green, with short drives leading off to give individual access to the north, rear side of each villa and the west side of the principal building. A further spur leads west off the south-west corner of the main circuit drive, giving access to Pond House, the former orphanage infirmary, standing isolated 180m south-west of the chapel.
The drive system was laid out by Rowbotham in 1888 and survives as depicted on the OS 2,500 map of 1893.
PRINCIPAL BUILDINGS
The former orphanage buildings form a group around the central green. The largest, principal building forms the easternmost of this group and contains, from south to north, the schoolmaster's house, school, and chapel (listed Grade II). It is built of red brick with stone dressings in Gothic style. The entrance to the schoolmaster's house lies at the south-east corner, sheltered by a stained-glass porch. The linked schoolroom extends north from this, entered externally from the east via separate entrances for girls, at the south end, and boys, at the north end. Set in the lawn between these two entrances is the War Memorial of about 1924 (listed Grade II), with a 2m high granite pedestal supporting a white stone statue of a very youthful soldier, to commemorate the 'old boys' of the Orphanage who died in the First World War. At the north-east corner of the school a tall bell tower with a spire stands over the boys' entrance, this tower and spire being visible from much of the site and its surroundings. To the north of this is the chapel, aligned west to east and entered from the boys' entrance in the tower, and from the north end of the schoolroom.
To the north of the green stands a row of four detached, two-storey, brick-built villa residences (listed Grade II), Glen Rosa, Oak House, Ashleigh, and Beech House, built for the male orphans. The villas are to several different patterns, of red brick with stone dressings, in Vernacular Revival style. They overlook and are entered from the circuit drive to the south running along the north edge of the green, with service entrances on the north sides. Glen Rosa, the westernmost of these villas, retains a stone-flagged path leading up to the front door, and is also considered to have served as a schoolteacher’s residence rather than housing orphans. To the south of the green stands a further row of four villas (listed Grade II), Chestnuts, Poplar, Holly House, and Laurels. These were built for the female orphans, in similar style to those for the males, but with the service fronts overlooking the green to the north. One of these, probably the westernmost example is said to have housed several infants. Some 20m south-west of the principal building stands the brick-built Clayton Hall, the former gymnasium, built about 1914 and converted to offices in the early C21. To the west of the green stand two original single-storey buildings flanking the main drive, that to the west being the former laundry. The former stable block stands 120m north-west of the chapel at the north-east edge of the playing fields.
GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS
The gardens and pleasure grounds are laid out informally and comprise several discrete areas which merge into each other: the eastern lawns overlooked by the front of the principal building and dividing it from Garstang Road; the individual garden areas around the villas; the green; and the western part of the site, interpreted as a recreation area, and mostly used as playing fields since the mid-C20. A feature of the site is the ground modelling with raised beds planted with mature trees and shrubs; together these provide relief in an otherwise largely level site, both masking and directing views across the site.
The eastern lawns are bounded to the south and west by the drive, and beyond this are overlooked by the lodge and the principal building respectively. The eastern boundary of the lawns, fronting Garstang Road, is marked by a privet hedge and a line of mature trees. The southern section of the lawns, lying opposite the school entrances, occupies a dip which is bounded to the north and east by irregularly shaped raised beds containing mature trees and shrubs. The northern section of the lawns extends to the north-east corner as an open lawn surrounded by mature trees, entered via a grass path off the circuit drive at the north-east corner of the chapel. The level nature of this area suggests it was possibly the former site of a tennis court; today a children’s playpark has been inserted. To the west of the principal building its serpentine service drive sinks slightly in the middle, overlooking the green to the west, and is flanked by informal plantings of mature trees and shrubs.
Each detached villa has its own area of garden lawn on the south, entrance side, through which runs a path to the front door. The approach paths were originally flanked by raised shrub beds. To the south of the female villas there is an access drive, and beyond this the southern boundary is set at the top of a gentle grassed slope with tree planting. The north sides of the female villas are also ornamented with soft landscaping, between which run the service drives and paths to the villas. North of the male villas there is a large area of hard surfacing parking.
The central green occupies the heart of the site, and forms a central space around which the villas are all framed. It provides an attractive focal point to the site, and embodies the 'village' feel which was central to the philosophy behind this style of orphanage. It also provided a play space for children and may have been the location for more formal sports with spectators. It is reached directly from the villas to north and south and is overlooked by the chapel spire. The former gymnasium, Clayton Hall, stands at the south-east corner, and to its north there is a second inserted children’s play park, and to the west stands a small, decorative wooden seating shelter. At the west end of the green stands a single-storey cottage, converted to an office.
The western part of the orphanage site comprises a large, rectangular, grassed area about 180m by 180m, considered primarily to be a recreation ground. The transition between this and the orphanage buildings is marked by the groundworks associated with the site's landscaping, which are planted with mature trees and shrubs (many of which appear to be self-seeded descendants of the original planting). The northern end is more open and there is clear access between the orphanage buildings and the western part of the site. The open, grassed area is bounded on the north and south sides by mature trees and strips of woodland, sinuous to the south boundary where there are the remains of a former orchard, and the west boundary is marked by intermittent tree planting. At the south-east corner lies an irregularly shaped pond, and at the north-east corner is an area of hardstanding formerly associated with a late-C20 cricket pavilion.
