Sensitive plans urgently needed for Preston’s former orphanage for destitute girls and later convalescent home
Grade II-listed, 1872, R.W. Hughes
St. Joseph’s Orphange was commissioned in 1872, by order of its patron, Maria Holland, to provide a home and a place of learning for Preston’s destitute girls. An elaborate example of High Victorian Gothic architecture, the building is arranged across an L-shape plan, with a tower marking out the principal entrance, a chapel projecting from its west side, and gabled centres projecting forward from the main range. The orphanage closed in 1954 and later became a convalescent home, with hospital wings added to either end of the building, but has now been empty for over a decade, and whilst we called for an urgent works notice in 2009 to keep this important building weather tight and secured against vandalism or arson, the building continues to be a favourite of ‘urban explorers’, with young people frequently seen sitting in the top floor windows. The local council is said to be drawing up residential conversion proposals for the site with the owner, but the buildings cannot afford further delay and sensitive plans are urgently need to be put into action before the building is lost.
The Victorian Society Director, Christopher Costelloe, said: ‘Lancashire and the north west has more buildings on our Top Ten than anywhere else in the country. But for the first time we have no entries for London or the South East. We simply got far more nominations from areas like Lancashire. This perhaps reflects the vastly different financial climate for development. But whatever the reason, I hope inclusion in the Top Ten will spur local authorities and owners to urgently find a way to bring these buildings back into use. At a time when there has been much discussion of creating a northern power house this is more important than ever. Retaining historic buildings like those in the Top Ten is vital to maintaining local identity and creating places in which people want to invest, live and work.’
Status Update / March 2026
Since 2016, the building has continued to deteriorate, becoming a frequent target for vandals and thieves. An arson attack in 2022 pushed the building to the point of collapse and the proprietor committed to a phased demolition. There are plans to retain specific architectural elements, including the chapel and tower, and these are incorporated into the current proposals for townhouses and apartments on the site. It is unclear whether this will happen, however, as any such development would be inherently complex.