The house at the corner of the Crescent and Acton Square was once the home of the scientist James Prescott Joule.  When he lived in the house, he conducted experiments into the nature of heat, as the plaque on the outside wall explains.

An article appeared on the BBC website on 9 June 2011 entitled,  "University of Salford make Joule House energy centre". The article concerned an announcement by the University of Salford to turn the  Joule's house into part of an energy research centre.   It said that, "Staff will move into Salford's Joule House in October 2011. Vice chancellor, Professor Martin Hall, said the university was "looking forward to becoming a part of the building's rich history". Joule, whose name is used as the international standard unit of energy, never attended university. The scientist was born at the house in Salford in 1819 and lived there until 1854. During his time there, he conducted experiments in the basement of the building, studying heat and how it related to mechanical work. This led to the first law of thermodynamics and the naming of an international unit of energy after him. The house had been the base for a firm of solicitors for a decade before the university acquired it, using money from the European Regional Development Fund in part. From October, it will become part of the university's new Energy Hub, a multi-disciplinary research centre which was launched in January 2011. "

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