The Harris Institute

Introduction

The photograph on this page of The Harris Institute by Stephen McKay as part of the Geograph project.

The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk

The Harris Institute

Image: © Stephen McKay Taken: 11 Jun 2023

The Harris Institute building on Avenham Lane was opened in 1849 as the Preston Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. It was extended in 1883 using funds provided by a local benefactor, Edward Robert Harris, who stipulated that it should be used for educational purposes. In more recent times it has been the Harris School of Art and later the Darul Aloom Islamic Institution. It was also used for a time by The University of Central Lancashire for its Department of Performing Arts. However, the grade II listed building has been unused since 2014 and Historic England has expressed concern at its deteriorating condition. A police raid in January 2023 found a large cannabis farm on the ground floor. The front door has since been secured in the rather makeshift manner visible here. The future is uncertain although a group called the Friends of the Harris School of Art hope to purchase it and use it as a community arts centre.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

Image Location

coordinates on a map icon
Latitude
53.754512
Longitude
-2.698973