Winckley Square
Winckley Square is situated near the centre of Preston, Lancashire, England, at the west end of Avenham.
The history of Winckley Square has been documented by Marian Roberts.
The square was first established in 1801, around Town End Field owned by Thomas Winckley, as an exclusive residential area for the town's gentry. It is now occupied mostly by insurance, legal and other business offices, although some residential developments have recently been made. The square's gardens, now an open public park, originally consisted of private plots, each owned by a resident. A statue of Sir Robert Peel stands on one side of the central gardens opposite Cross Street, erected by public subscription in 1852.
An Italian-style villa was built in 1850 on the south corner of Cross Street, which was later used as a County Court office from the 1940s. It was demolished in 1969. On the opposite corner was the Winckley Club, a gentlemen's club, and next to it, in Cross Street, the Literary and Philosophical Institution, both built in 1846 and both now demolished. The suffragette Edith Rigby lived at number 28.
Winckley Street lies between Winckley Square and Preston's main street of Fishergate. Today it is home to mainly professional and religious service providers, including solicitors practices, a translation company, a Jesuit presbytery as well as restaurants.
Schools
Winckley Square has been the home of several schools.Preston Grammar School
Preston Grammar School dated back to the 15th century. In 1841 it moved to new premises in Cross Street next to the Philosophical Institution. In 1913 it relocated to Moor Park, and closed in 1967. It is not to be confused with the former Preston Manor County Grammar School in London.Notable alumni
- Mahdi Al Tajir, billionaire, Scotland's richest man
- Frederick Banister, civil engineer, Chief Engineer of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway 1860–96
- Lawrence "Lawrie" Bond, designer of the Bond Minicar
- James Edgar Dandy, Keeper of Botany at Natural History Museum, London
- Sir John Eldon Gorst, Conservative MP for Chatham from 1875 to 1892 and Cambridge University from 1892 to 1906
- Sir John Holmes GCVO CMG, Ambassador to France from 2001 to 2007 and to Portugal from 1999 to 2001
- Sir John Lockwood, Master of Birkbeck College, 1951–65; Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, 1955–58
- Herbert Ponting, photographer, best known for his photographs of Captain Robert Scott's Terra Nova expedition and of Japan.
- John Preston, Chaplain-in-Ordinary and Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
- Sir George Toulmin, Liberal MP for Bury from 1902 to 1918
- Charles Wilfred Valentine, Professor of Education at the University of Birmingham from 1919 to 1946 and President of the British Psychological Society from 1947 to 1949
Preston High School and Park School