The colourful history of Preston’s Miller Arcade in pictures

Preston’s historic Miller Arcade could be given a new lease of life under plans to create 46 flats in its long-disused upper floors.

The blueprint, lodged in February, would also provide residents with communal facilities including a gym, library, cinema, lounge, kitchen, meeting room and workspace. Preston City Council planning officers are recommending that the authority’s planning committee approve the transformation of the Grade II-listed building.

It would be the latest attempt to breathe new life into a Victorian arcade which has housed everything from independent shops and offices to a hotel, dance hall and Turkish baths. Although businesses continue to occupy parts of the ground floor, its upper three storeys have stood empty and derelict.

The arcade was developed by successful Preston dentist and property investor Nathaniel Miller, who was inspired by both London’s Burlington Arcade and construction methods he had seen during a visit to New York. Its steel-framed structure, surrounded by masonry and supported by foundations said to reach 30 feet underground, was unusually advanced for its time.

Speaking in 2021, historian Aidan Turner-Bishop, a committee member of Preston Historical Society, said the development replaced an old market square which had become run-down. “It took over the old market square, which at the time was very run down and thought of as quite a dump, so really helped to improve the area,” he said.

At its height, the building contained shops, offices, a 20-bedroom hotel, a dance hall, the King’s Arms pub and the Crown Hotel. One of its most unusual attractions was a Turkish bath and massage centre, which opened in 1901 and drew visitors from far and wide before closing in 1947.

The original entrance to the baths was later converted into a window, although the old sign above it could still be seen. Mr Turner-Bishop said: “There was so much going on here at one time. There was a Turkish baths and people used to come from far and wide to visit.”

The arcade was later taken over as offices and was acquired by the Arndale Property Group in 1946, becoming known as Arndale House until 1972. It subsequently passed through the hands of several developers and struggled significantly during the early years of the new century.

Previous proposals included turning the upper floors into apartments, although a scheme was abandoned in the 1990s amid concerns about the reputation of the surrounding area. Other suggestions over the years have included a food court, boutique shopping centre and live music venue.

Mr Turner-Bishop recalled that the arcade had once been a bustling meeting place, where people gathered around its central tobacconist, sheltered while waiting for buses and boarded Preston’s first tram from outside its doors.