Cathedrals everywhere for those with eyes to see.

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Preston Magistrates’ Court, 2025

A modern building with white tiles and large windows; a sign above the entrance reads Magistrates' Courts. Yellow doors and a ramp are visible at the front, with reflections of trees in the glass. The pavement is marked with yellow lines.

A large, windowless white-tiled building with narrow vertical windows on the left side; a white railing runs along the front, with concrete columns below. A leafy tree partially covers the left side, and a pavement and road are visible in front.

A modern, rectangular white building with vertical narrow windows in staggered rows. The facade is covered with rectangular tiles, and part of the upper corner is open. The sky is overcast and grey.

Entrance to a building with double glass doors, a sign reading Area Training Suite First Floor, and a metal plaque on the wall. The plaque lists the County Borough of Preston and council information. The area is shaded and concrete.

Never has the difference between the original and later additions has been so stark as in the frontage of this one, not least in that ill-typeset, ill-positioned sign. Take a look around the back for an example of some much more pleasant signage.

Telephone House, Preston, 2025

A close-up upward view of a tall building facade featuring multiple rows of rectangular blue-framed windows set in beige panels, with vertical structural beams between the window columns. The perspective creates a slightly distorted, diagonal appearance.

A view upward between two buildings shows a dark, mid-century office block with blue-framed windows. The sky is overcast. The building on the right is red brick, while the left building has a white exterior. A CCTV camera and a lamp are visible.

A small green plant grows in a round, textured pot on a concrete surface near a rough, dark stone wall and the corner of a building with blue-framed windows. Another empty pot with sparse grass sits nearby. The scene is overcast and quiet.

A tall, modern building with a central curved stone façade flanked by two rectangular wings featuring large grid-like windows. The sky is overcast with grey clouds, enhancing the stark architectural lines and highlighting the building’s geometric design.

By Building Design Partnership, 1960-64.

Lancaster Telephone Exchange at night, 2026

A dimly lit street corner at night with old stone buildings. Warm light glows from upper windows, while a streetlamp casts a yellow light. Steam or smoke drifts near one building. The street is empty and shadows cover much of the scene.

Preston Telephone Exchange, 2025

A mid-century modern building with red brick and large glass windows stands next to an older blue-panelled structure. The building has four storeys, a covered entrance, and greenery growing in front on the right side.

A concrete shelter with a slanted roof overlooks a weathered bench and brick pavement. Overgrown plants climb nearby fences. In the background, red and grey block of flats and dense green trees are visible under a cloudy sky.

A gated alleyway with brick and concrete walls, topped with barbed wire, features a large white sign reading PEDESTRIANS CROSSING THE YARD MUST EXERCISE CARE. An old metal door and a small warning sign are also visible. A pillow lies on the ground.

A glass skybridge connects two multi-storey buildings, one with red brick and the other with dark panels and blue-framed windows. A round-topped streetlamp stands below; in the background, another pale, windowed building is visible under a cloudy sky.

Humane Building, Preston, 2025

The 18^th and 19^th century site of the Roast Beef Inn, replaced in 1926 by the premises of the “Preston Humane Assurance Collecting Society”. The building features pleasant although deteriorating cream tiling on the first floor of its facade. In 2025, it is the premises of Mr. Booze Express and the Rotana Restaurant & Cafe.

Lancashire Archives, Preston, 2025

A modern building with large, reflective glass windows forms an elevated walkway supported by pillars. Below, a paved courtyard with a bench and planter is visible. Lush green trees and a cloudy sky are seen in the background.

View through a window of a modern building with large glass panels and a rectangular courtyard. The courtyard has paving, parking spaces with yellow lines, pillars, a bench, and trees reflected in the reflective glass façade. Sky is overcast.

A glass wall reveals a concrete staircase with a wooden handrail inside a building. Two wooden benches are in the foreground outside, with some plants between them. Reflections and vertical window dividers are visible on the glass.

Signage outside Penzance railway station, 2025

A grey, overcast day at a stone railway station with tall chimneys. Outside, there are modern metal sculptures shaped like railway signals, benches, signs for buses and the town, and a palm tree. A person with a suitcase walks towards the entrance.

The opposite of minimalism.

World War II pillbox, Peaked Tor Cove, Torquay, 2025

A concrete structure with graffiti sits on a wooded slope overlooking a calm body of water. Dense green trees and bushes frame the scene, whilst clouds scatter across a blue sky. Distant land is visible across the water.

A concrete and brick structure stands among dense greenery. Graffiti, including the word “OAKS,” is spray-painted on the wall. Metal railings and stone steps lead up to the building. The blue sky with clouds is visible above the trees.

Holiday pictures of World War II brick pillboxes: 2
Holiday pictures of my partner and I: 1

These structures formed part of Torbay Home Guard’s World War 2 defences. From here, sea mines protecting Torquay Harbour could be remotely detonated in the event of an attack.

The Imperial Hotel & environs, Torquay, 2025

A large white hotel named “The Imperial Hotel,” with multiple storeys and blue awnings at the entrance. Several cars, including an orange pick-up truck and a small grey car, are parked out front. Flagpoles with flags and palm trees are near the entrance.

A low, flat-roofed concrete car park with a red and white barrier at the entrance. Trees and bushes partially surround the building, and the sky above is partly cloudy with patches of blue visible. Gravel covers the foreground ground.

A rectangular vent with geometric concrete designs sits in a rough, pebbled grey wall. Bare vines criss-cross the vent, and cables run below it. Green spiky plant leaves partially obscure the right side of the image.

1860’s hotel with a faded 1960’s exterior, pleasantly squat multistorey car fortress, and decorative vents.

Cotswold House, Torquay, 2025

A large, grey, concrete office building with four storeys of windows is shown under a partly cloudy sky. Cars are parked in front at ground level, where a sign reading Cotswold is visible above a parking area.

A black car is parked beside an empty parking space with a metal barrier. Behind them is a building with large windows, visible stairs inside, grey brick and concrete walls, and a CCTV camera above the middle window. Trees are on the right edge.

A grey concrete office building with rows of windows is shown. Three cars are parked in front, and a stairway is seen at the left. Trees and blue sky with clouds appear above the roof, and sunlight highlights parts of the building.

Largely anonymous 60’s/70’s Department for Work and Pensions call centre, replacing an “elegant” 1840s villa of the same name. Nonetheless, there is something pleasing about a building fitting in so well into a hilly area.