Cathedrals everywhere for those with eyes to see.

Modernist Delights is a blog about modernist and brutalist architecture. Find out more.

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.

Humane Building, Preston, 2025

A grey brick building with “HUMANE BUILDING” inscribed above two large windows. Below, a “MR. BOOZE EXPRESS” off-licence sign with a bottle logo and “ROTANA RESTAURANT & CAFE” sign are visible. Some plants grow near the windows.

The 18th and 19th 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.

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.

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.