City Church, Preston Explained

City Mosque, Preston
Pushpin Map:United Kingdom Preston central
Map Caption:Location in Preston
Location:North Road, Preston, Lancashire
Country:England
Coordinates:53.7632°N -2.6984°W
Osgraw:SD 541 299
Previous Denomination:Pentecostal
Former Name:North Road Pentecostal Church
Functional Status:Active
Heritage Designation:Grade II
Designated Date:22 June 1989
Architect:James Hibbert (alterations)
Completed Date:1838
Materials:Brick with stone dressings, slate roof

City Mosque Preston (formerly known as North Road Pentecostal Church) is in North Road, Preston, Lancashire, England, and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

History

The church was built in 1838 as a Wesleyan Methodist Church, and was partly rebuilt in 1885–86 by James Hibbert. It was later converted into a Pentecostal church. Since 2016 it is being used as a Mosque.

Architecture

The church is built in brick (red on the front and brown on the sides) with sandstone dressings and a slate roof. It has a rectangular plan with its entrance on the east side, a small addition to the rear, and is in two storeys with a basement. At the entrance front is a projecting single-storey porch, wider than the body of the church, in five bays. It stands on a stone plinth, is symmetrical, and contains three round-headed doorways approached by steps, all with moulded architraves and fanlights. The central doorway has two pairs of Tuscan columns, and the outer doorways are flanked by pilasters. Between the doorways are round-headed windows with architraves, and there are similar but larger windows on the sides of the porch. Above the doorways is a continuous frieze and cornice. Above the outer windows and on the sides of the porch is a balustrade. The upper storey contains five windows with round moulded heads, and a band of square panels above them. At the top is a pediment containing a stone inscribed with the date of original building. Along the sides of the church are five bays with two tiers of round headed windows. Inside the church is a horseshoe-shaped gallery carried on slim cast iron columns with Ionic capitals. At the west end is a large arch with fluted pilasters.

See also