Summary
Former offices of the Preston and Wyre Railway and attached hotel range to the left, 1836-41, to designs by Decimus Burton for Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood. The C20 rear range to No. 124 is not of special interest and is not included in the listing.
Reasons for Designation
The former offices of the Preston and Wyre Railway and attached hotel range, of mid-C19 date, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
History
In the early C19 Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood (1801-1866) planned a new town on his estate at Rossall on the Wyre Estuary. The new town was envisaged as a flourishing holiday resort and seaport and was to be one of the first towns to be planned around a new railway. Decimus Burton (1800-1881), one of the most eminent architects of the C19, was commissioned to design and supervise the construction of the town, plans for which were completed by 1835, and the construction of the first buildings and a railway line began the following year. Burton advocated Greek Revival architecture and his design for Fleetwood embraced its principles. He produced a geometric plan featuring formal squares and crescents and radial roads to ensure symmetry of design. Although the use of brick was widespread in the area, Burton’s preference for the appearance of stone led him to insist that the brickwork was covered with stucco and painted to imitate Bath Stone. By 1841 less than a third of the planned town had been constructed and the costly project as originally conceived was never completed. As a C19 purpose-built, architect-designed, new town, Fleetwood is unusual amongst other post-medieval towns in England. Nos 124 and 126 Dock Street are included on Decimus Burton's design plan for Fleetwood of 1841 and are therefore considered to have been built under his supervision and probably to his design. No. 124 was the first to be constructed as offices for the Preston and Wyre Railway followed by No. 126, which is annotated 'Hotel' on the first edition Ordnance Survey map published in 1848.
Details
Former offices of the Preston and Wyre Railway and attached hotel range to the left, 1836-41, to designs by Decimus Burton for Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
184743
Legacy System:
LBS
Sources
Websites http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/4125?docPos=1 http://www.wyre.gov.uk/downloads/file/826/fleetwood_conservation_area_appraisal_and_management_plan http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/9688
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
The listed buildings are shown coloured blue on the attached map. Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), structures attached to or within the curtilage of the listed buildings (save those coloured blue on the map) are not to be treated as part of the listed buildings for the purposes of the Act.
End of official list entry
