Nostalgic 1980’s Preston revealed in pictures (part 4)

EMI, Scamps and shops Church Street, Preston (south side) 1985: How many of you spent weekend nights in Scamps? I’ll bet there’s not many that don’t remember that place.

Yes it’s Saturday again and that means yet more of those wonderful 80’s scenes of Preston Town.
New Order sang of Blue Monday, which to you meant back to work after your hectic and wild weekend. Belinda Carlisle was drawing Circles in the Sand whilst you were running circles around the town. Human League were Working as a Waitress in a Cocktail Bar, is that what you were doing or just enjoying the cocktails. The 80’s was a decade of bad hair, dodgy clothes and neon. It was all Floppy shirts, Backcombed hair, Padded shoulders, big hairdoes and white stilettoes – and Girls, did you shop at Bobby’s Boutique, Clockhouse, Tammy Girl or DB1? Whatever it was that you were into, it certainly was a memorable time, even if it was for all the wrong reasons!

Fox and Grapes and Exchange Hotel, Fox Street 1989: The favourite watering holes for many revellers.

St Josephs Orphanage, Theater Street 1989: Still just about hanging in today but nowhere near as neat as in this picture. I wonder what will happen to this fabulous looking place.

Lancastria House, Lancaster Road, Preston 1988: This building’s future currently hangs in the balance. What a crying shame it would be for Preston to lose this wonderful Art Deco facade.

Saul Street Baths, Ringway, Preston 1987: Hot Bovril or was it Oxo? Weird looking wall mounted hair dryers and freezing cold water – Fantastic!

Lancaster Road – Lord Street, Preston 1984: Val Murray’s shop, what can I say other than hours on end spent in this Aladdin’s Cave of make-up magic

Church Street, Preston (north side) 1984: Jacksons Furniture Salerooms was the one-time premises of Preston’s great haberdashers, Coupe’s, of which I’m sure many senior readers will recall very well. It’s interesting to note that not one of these buildings exists in the present day, they were all swept away for housing development.

Guildhall Street – Fishergate, Preston 1984: Featuring Sketcher’s, the shop for all budding and professional artists and of course, House of Bewley, Preston’s well known tobacconists

Fishergate from Corporation Street, Preston (south side) 1981

Fishergate from Charnley Street, Preston (south side) 1981: The large building in the centre is now part of the Primark store but at one time this was a mansion house of a wealthy engineer, William Cartwright who built it in 1803. The facade was retained when this part of Fishergate was developed and became part of the new Marks and Spencer store.

Lune Street from Fleet Street, Preston 1989: Michael Mears Toy Shop, loved it! And of course, Happy Haddock which is Lune Street Chippy in the present day. Slater’s Schoolwear, I wonder how many mums bought their kids uniforms there. Can’t say I ever went in to Maher and Potts Ltd., were they a hardware shop?

Glovers Court, Preston 1984: These two shops escape me completely. Does any reader know what they were?

Fishergate, Preston (south side) 1984: What a line-up of shoe shops! I wish we had all these today, it would be absolute heaven to me. The dark underpass to the right of centre was New Cock Yard, of which only a small part now exists at the rear of the Boots store.

Hearts of Oak, Adelphi Street, Preston 1985: This one-time popular pub was eventually renamed The Variety

Crystal House, Market Place 1986: One of the only good things about this concrete block was HMV and the former Brady’s record shop. The Miller Arcade looks as though it was receiving a make-over at this time.