THIS evening the speaker was Mr M Townsend the Keeper of History at Towneley Art Gallery and Museum Burnley.

The Towneley House and its grounds were bought by Burnley Corporation in 1894. The house was in a poor state and after renovation it was decided it should become a museum and arts centre.

The Towneley family and other families in Burnley donated pictures while the corporation bought several art collections and other artifacts. The centre was well established by the 1930s and began to develop themed rooms.

Mr Townsend talked about the rooms showing and recording the history of Burnley. He showed some of the records and pictures of how people raised money for their first hospital. Burnley Victoria opened in 1884. Money was also raised by public events to provide the first holiday homes for poor families.

There were on display many items that were used in the home in times gone by and the audience asked to try and guess their uses.

Mr Townsend told us now he spends much of his time visiting schools and meeting school groups at Towneley Hall to help the students widen their knowledge of history and art.

The leading families in Burnley made fortunes in the cotton, engineering and brewing trades and many left large endowments to benefit the arts, education and medicine in the town. All this is on record at Towneley. The hall and its gardens are open all year round for all people to visit. The meeting ended after a short question time and a vote of thanks by JackKenneford.

The next meeting of the society is a visit to Castlefields in Manchester on Julv 18. Meet in Carr Street at 6.30pm. Car sharing.