There may be additional days on which we are closed at Christmas, Easter and New Year. Please telephone us on 01772 258248 to confirm that we are open if you intend to visit at this time of year.

Admission to the Museum and all exhibitions is free of charge for everyone.

There is a charge for groups (such as schools or art groups etc.) which wish to have a tour or take advantage of special services. Please telephone our Education Officer on 01772 905405 to find out more.

There is also often a small charge for some special events such as art workshops or tours. These will be made clear on any publicity for the event including information provided on line.

The Harris Museum provides opportunities for local artists in a number of ways, as follows:

The Stairway
The Stairway exhibition area is used for shows of work by up and coming artists, usually from the locality or the region. We receive many hundreds of applications each year for exhibitions in this area. If you would like to be considered, please contact the Assistant Exhibitions Officer at the Museum on 01772 905101.

The Harris Open
This exhibition usually takes place once a year, generally in November, December or January. Anyone living in the Preston City Council area can submit a work for exhibition, whether they are a professional or amateur artist, but we are unable to accept work by artists living further afield. We are also able to sell your work at this exhibition if you would like to do so. To find out about this year's exhibition, contact the Museum in October for an exhibition application form.

The Harris Library and Harris Museum and Art Gallery are separate organisations. If you would like to contact the library, which is run by Lancashire County Council, please ring 01772 532676 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Museums are not allowed to provide valuations of works of art or historical artefacts but there are a number of professional valuers in the North West who may be able to help you. We cannot recommend a particular firm and the following list is for your guidance only:

Capes Dunn
01253 796245

Christies
0645 00 1766

Phillips
01244 313936/7

Alternatively, look in the Yellow Pages, under 'Auctioneers'.

We are sometimes able to help you identify items such as ceramics, glassware, textiles, paintings and historical artefacts. However, we are not allowed to provide valuations. If you would like to have an item identified, please telephone the Museum Office on 01772 258248 and ask to make an appointment. Please note that curators are only available Monday to Friday and that appointments are essential.

Follow M6 to Junction 31 and leave motorway following signs for Preston A59.

You will travel uphill through woods. Please note speed camera at top of hill just after speed limit changes to 30mph!

Carry straight on at the mini-roundabout and through several sets of traffic lights.

Turn right when you reach a large T-junction opposite Sainsbury’s Homebase.

Continue straight on following signs for the city centre/museum and art gallery.

The entrance to the bus station car park is on your left, just past a major junction.

If you miss this left turn, there is another one for the same car park a few hundred yards later on at the next set of traffic lights next to the Holiday Inn hotel. (Turn left at the lights and then second left up a steep ramp into the car park).

If you get lost at any stage, follow signs for City Centre/Museum and then for Bus Station car park – almost all roads lead here!

Car park is pay and display.

Follow signs from car park to Guild Hall/CityCentre.

Go down to the ground floor in the lift or by escalator. Then walk through the Guild Hall shopping arcade.

At the exit to the arcade, next to the Tourist Information Centre, the back of the Harris is directly opposite you on the left hand side.

There are entrances on either side of the front of the building.

There are regular direct trains to Preston from London, Birmingham, Manchester, Carlisle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, York, Liverpool, East Lancashire and Lancaster etc.

The Harris is a five to ten minute walk from the station.

Leave the station at the ticket office exit and walk up the station concourse.

At the top, turn right onto Fishergate.

Cross over Butler Street at the traffic lights and carry straight along Fishergate until you reach Boots on the right hand side.

Turn left into Cheapside and then right at Oddbins onto Market Square.

The Harris is now in front of you. Entrance gates are at the side of the building.

The best place to obtain information about careers in museums and galleries is from the Museums Association. This is the professional body for museum staff which also publishes the monthly Museums Journal and Recruitment Supplements in which many jobs are advertised. You do not need to be working in a museum already to join the Association and there is a 10% discount if you join on line.

The MA also produces a number of publications including the Museums Yearbook which you can find in most libraries and which gives the names and addresses of most museums in Britain.

Associate membership of the MA is open to people working in museums who have completed an appropriate amount of Continuing Professional Development. Routes to Associate membership vary according to qualifications and experience and you can get details from the MA.

The Museums Association
42 Clerkenwell Close
London EC1R 0PR

Telephone: 0207 608 2933 www.museumsassociation.org

A number of universities offer post-graduate training courses in Museum and Gallery Studies. Details can be found in the Museums Yearbook. Some of these courses are accredited by the Museums Association and can enable graduates to take a shorter route to becoming an Associate. Contact the Museums Association for a list of accredited courses.

Contact our Volunteer Co-ordinator on 01772 905407 for details of volunteer opportunities which include working as a guide or information assistant, helping with marketing and behind the scenes work with the museum collections.

The Harris Museum is part of Preston City Council. Additional funding is sometimes sought for individual projects such as exhibitions and outreach projects. Click here for a list of our current funders and supporters.

Disabled parking (Blue badge) is available adjacent to the Museum entrance and an accessible toilet is located on the ground floor.

The Museum is entirely accessible to wheelchair users with the exception of the Egyptian Balcony. A touch-screen interactive is available on the second floor which illustrates the balcony designed for ease of use by wheelchair users. It also features subtitles and British Sign Language.

An assisted audio system is available for talks, designed to assist both those who wear hearing aids and those who do not.

Large print and audio versions of our printed leaflets are available on request.

For full details of our services for people with disabilities, please contact museum on 01772 258248 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

General tours of the Harris building and of the Egyptian Balcony (the latter only for those aged over 8 years) take place regularly and must be booked in advance. There is a small charge. To book a place, contact the Museum Shop on 01772 905414.