Avenham Walks

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The walk moves into Shepherd Street, named after the physician Dr Richard Shepherd who died in 1761. Through his deep generosity, he bequeathed his valuable collection of books to the people of Preston. A condition of the bequest was that the books should form part of a reference library. By 1856, the library held approximately 7000 books and now forms part of the reference library at the Harris Museum and Library.

As you walk down Syke Street, pause at the bottom of Main Sprit Weind (Stop 4). This was the site of a spring, which provided fresh water for the early town of Preston. The route of the Syke brook can be seen in the depression that runs from here through Winckley Square.

From Cross Street we turn into Avenham Road, which was the home of Thomas Duckett. Born in 1804, he was a self-taught artist who became well known as a portrait sculptor. Various pieces of his work can still be seen in Preston such as the statue of Robert Peel located in Winckley Square, the altar at St Augustine's Church and some of his marble busts carved in the mid 1800's and housed in the Harris Museum.

Avenham Road and Great Avenham Street are named after the fields on which they were built. The line of the roads follows the direction of the former hedgerows. The doorways of the houses in these streets, with the pillars on either side, mark importance of these houses. The less important houses in between feature arched doorways. The houses up as far as halfway along Great Avenham Street had been built by the late 1840's.

Move on to the next part of the walk...

*To follow the long walk, you should now turn up Frenchwood Street (see the map). Click on this Long Walk link and follow the details.

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