East Lancashire’s historic Towneley Hall to reopen

Saturday, 19 July 2025 05:47

By Bill Jacobs - Local Democracy Reporter

East Lancashire’s historic Towneley Hall will reopen to the public on Friday.

Burnley Council’s culture boss Jack Launer revealed the July 25 date to the authority’s full meeting on Wednesday.

The 600-year-old stately home has been closed since June 2024 for a £4.56million complete repair and refurbishment overhaul.

It has been in civic use as a museum and gallery since 1903.

Cllr Launer said: “I’m delighted to report that Towneley Hall will re-open to the public from July 25 and I hope that councillors enjoyed the official opening that took place on July 11.

“The repair programme has ensured that the grade 1 listed Hall is preserved for future generations to enjoy and I would like to express the council’s gratitude to the Arts Council for their generous support.

“The project has completely re-roofed the hall, repaired stonework, futureproofed the rainwater systems, undertaken extensive internal work and repaired/replaced all 130 windows.

“The fire and intruder alarms and air conditioning systems were also replaced and the scheme is within budget.

“Every room within the Hall was affected and yet 97 per cent of the 30,000 items in the collection remained in storage within the building, with only the most valuable paintings going offsite.”