Bygone Burnley: Towneley Park with historian Roger Frost MBE

Not just a park, but a leisure and cultural icon for the people of Burnley, Towneley remains steeped in history.

So it was no surprise that local historian Roger Frost MBE was keen to walk us round some of Towneley’s best-known, and perhaps lesser-known, facets.

We start, fittingly, at the main entrance to the park on Todmorden Road and the imposing archway which many people may not know was once part of Hanbrig Castle, designed by John Nash for Charles Towneley in 1796.

“A substantial amount of Hanbrig Castle remains, but it wasn’t a castle, it was built as a formal entrance to the park. There are a few misconceptions held by Burnley people regarding Towneley Park, I want to dispel these.

“For example, the former Fulledge Recreation Ground, near to the entrance, is the only part of the park that the Towneley family granted to Burnley. All the rest was bought by Burnley Council starting in 1902.”

Our video next moves to the site of the Towneley family’s medieval fish ponds. These were eventually replaced by the former Towneley School, completed after the Second World War.

No video of Towneley could be made without mentioning its famous avenue of trees – indeed there are three as Roger points out.

“Charles Towneley wanted to improve the park by adding the avenue of trees leading to the hall around 250 years ago. He was very keen on improving the visual appearance of the park from the hall itself.

“Another interesting feature is the ha ha wall, in front of the hall, which gives the appearance of making the park look like a complete entity.”

The video next looks at the Stables Cafe, once the actual stables for Charles Towneley’s horses.

We then examine what Roger describes as “one of the less-appreciated gems” of the park, the former Towneley brewery, now a museum situated behind the hall.

“This is an example of an estate brewery,” Roger explains. “It is only about 250 years old but probably the oldest brewery left in the county. The Towneley family brewed all their own beer which was drunk at most meals as a lot of the water at the time was polluted but beer wasn’t (due to the brewing process).

“Surrounding the building there is also a little wall featuring memorials and date stones from buildings and churches around Burnley that have been pulled down. It’s an interesting little spot.”

Now, hands up, who knew that Towneley Park was also home to a geological phenomenon known as an ‘erratic’ – a rock or boulder transported by a glacier or iceberg and deposited in a location far from its original source? Well, take a stroll behind the hall and you will see one, which probably came from the Lake District.

The land where it is now located was originally intended for the hall to be extended as a sculpture gallery which would have exhibited many of the items now kept in the British Museum.

Our video ends with a look at Towneley’s war memorial – one of three in the town – which was first erected in around 1920 to commemorate Burnley men who lost their lives in the First World War.