Burnley historian Roger Frost's eulogy to respected Brian Hall

As revealed in the Burnley Express, the chairman of the Weavers’ Triangle Trust Brian Hall died recently at the age of 87.

Mr Frost, a former Burnley mayor and esteemed local historian, and like Mr Hall was awarded an MBE, will read the eulogy at his funeral, which will be held at Burnley Crematorium on Friday at 2-30pm.

In his eulogy, Mr Frost will say: “I have known Brian for, I think, 54 years. The thing which brought us together was the creation of a local pressure group: IMAC. This had nothing to do with the preservation of a well-known hair removal cream but the creation of the Industrial Museum Action Committee, the body out of which the Friends of the Weavers’ Triangle grew some years later.

“It seemed to us that it was remarkable that Burnley, once one of the powerhouses of the Second Industrial Revolution, that there were no plans for an industrial museum in the town. These were the days before that opening of Queen Street Mill and the development of the Craft (later Local History Museum) at Towneley.

“So far as we knew, there was only one Burnley made textile machine on display in the town and that was a power loom, in the entrance hall of Walshaw High School for girls. I often thought it odd that such a machine, that had enslaved Burnley women for generations, should be on display at a girls High School. Did anyone ever attempt to assess the effect of its presence at such a location? I doubt it, but it was the nearest thing that we had to an Industrial Museum.

“Our first meetings were in the early 1970s. We attracted a lot of support from local people. Clearly, I can’t mention them all but they included David Wild, the Burnley born artist, who became our first Chairman; Brian himself, who was Deputy Chairman; Eric Shiach, who had spent a lifetime in the textile industry; myself, our first Hon Secretary, and Phil Rowan, who replaced me when he retired from his teaching post at St Theordore’s RC High School in Burnley.

“These were all men, so I will have to tell you that women were also involved. We had some encouragement from Lady Mary Towneley. Janet Hill joined us, bringing much knowledge and skill, to our Committee, found a husband in one of our members, Darren Ratcliffe, also a Burnley lad, who had recognised the importance of the area we now call the Weavers’ Triangle, when he was an architecture student at university.

“Brian helped Darren with his dissertation and a friendship grew up between them. In fact, we became a very tight, but small and determined group, exploring options whenever they arose. At the lead, in this respect, was Brian, who despite seeing problems that others (less enlightened than himself, like myself) did not see. But Brian had one clear gift. That was that when he saw a possibility which was worth exploring, it soon became a probability. He would run with and – almost disembowel it – and make it work.

“When we turned our attention to the Weavers’ Triangle Brian was unstoppable. The area had plenty of potential. Much more than it has today. Brian was of the opinion that because we failed to save important buildings, like Clock Tower Mills, that IMAC had failed. Every loss was almost personal to him. He blamed Burnley Council for not having the vision to save the best industrial landscape that survived in England.

“Of course, it was not a failure of Burnley Council. From 1974, Burnley has been a second-tier authority. The largest percentage of resources, financial and otherwise, had gone to the County Council which had other priorities including the Museum of the Lancashire Textile Industry at Queen Street Mill, in Harle Syke, where the world’s last steam powered weaving shed can still be found.

“It could be argued that we, in the Weavers’ Triangle, had the vision but Queen Street Mill had the resources, but, perhaps, not enough of them.

“Anyhow, there came a time when we had to nail our priorities to the mast of the Weavers’ Triangle. This came about because for a number of reasons. The first was that a Burnley Express reporter, Antonia Learse, did us a great favour. She coined the phrase ‘The Weavers’ Triangle’. Of course, there was no such thing as a “weavers’ triangle. They might have had shuttles and picking sticks, but there was no such thing as a Weavers’ Triangle. But Antonia nailed it. Suddenly, we had a ‘Weavers’ Triangle’ and, in quick time, it was about to become locally famous. It was just about the quickest rise to fame of almost any heritage site!

“The next thing that happened was, in part, due to me and some colleagues at the Burnley Teacher’s Centre. We, the late Ron Perry, Brian Stevenson, Edwin Ashworth, Norman Ward, and others, brought out a booklet on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Burnley. It was received very well and had an impact on the town in the opening up of a safe walking route through the town, but the booklet had a dramatic effect on the Weaver’s Triangle.

“At a similar time, Brian, and I, wrote our guide to the Triangle. Another success! It was the first time that the two of us had come together to produce a history publication. Brian was a master of writing about a lot in only a few words. I was, and remain, the opposite. Fortunately, Brian edited the booklet and he got one of my former pupils to illustrate it. This retained the connection between St Theodore’s and the Weavers’ Triangle, something I was pretty pleased with.

“Since then, of course, mainly due to Brian, that booklet has entered the twenty first century with full colour photographs as well as old historic ones. We should develop the booklet with QI codes. That may be for the future.

“Established, at the Toll House, we opened our first exhibitions and, at a later date, in partnership with British Waterways and the Canal and River Trust, we became the tenants of the Wharf Master’s House. This has since been converted into a Visitor Centre, Museum and community facility. It was Brian’s vision that determined that we would be able to house the Burnley Fair exhibition (loved by children), create the Victorian Schoolroom (not so well loved, but Brian and Roger have been excellent Victorian schoolmasters, when the occasion has called for it).

“We have exhibition space, (which Brian has worked assiduously on) a tea room (which has long since operated on an almost Victorian pricing policy) and the reception/shop. This latter we are now proposing to name ‘The Brian Hall Room’, in recognition Brian’s many services to the Weavers’ Triangle and to Burnley.

“I ought to add that, though pivotal to the development of the Weaver’s Triangle, Brian has other achievements to his name. Perhaps the most important of these was his appointment as an MBE, in 2004, an honour that was richly deserved. He hosted Prince Charles, later King Charles III, of course, at the Weavers’ Triangle. The event may have had some impact on Prince Charles deciding to base his charity work, the Prince’s Trust, not only in Burnley, but in the Weavers’ Triangle. Though, I feel sure that Brian would deny it, it is likely that the King became a fan of Burnley FC partly through Brian’s activities!

“Before I leave the Weavers’ Triangle, that area has a claim to Royal fame as it was there that HM the Queen, HRH the Duke of Westminster and Prince Charles appeared together in a canal barge on a joyous visit to Burnley, late in Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Given security considerations, a pretty unique event.

“Brian was a historian. His booklet ‘Short History of Burnley’ is a masterful exposition of the type, destined to be in publication possibly for generations. Brian’s work on the Dugdales of Lowerhouse, once that largest cotton spinners and manufacturers in the world, remains the delight that it has long since been. In more recent years, his history of St Peter’s Church, Burnley’s ancient parish church, has become the most readable and accurate history of Burnley’s most venerable institution.

“Brian was not merely connected with, and almost indistinguishable from, the Weavers’ Triangle. He was the Hon Treasurer of the Burnley and District Historical Society for very many years. You will understand what I say when I add that the Historical Society’s finances were in very safe hands when Brian was at the reigns! He became the second editor of ‘Retrospect’ the, journal of the B and DHS, and, under him, it developed in many ways, not merely in its appearance, which became of a professional standard, largely due to Philip Creegan.

“Brian was also on the committee of the Burnley Civic Trust, a body of which he has been a member for many years until his recent and final illness.

“Most of all Brian was a Burnley lad (he would say, a Lowerhouse lad). He was the son of Arthur Hall and Bessie, who Arthur had met on war service, in Kent. Brian was born in 1936. He attended Burnley schools, the Burnley Grammar School and, as a young man, Manchester University where he studied Honours in History. After University, he became a successful teacher, working in Middleton, near Manchester. It was there that he had several quite famous pupils, including Steve Coogan, the actor/comedian.

“Brian had few if any pretentions. His family worked at Lowerhouse Mill, and other places of work in the village. He was very proud of this. His living room was dominated by a massive enlarged photograph of the mill set behind a typical row of Lowerhouse cottages, in one of which the family lived.

“We have here, today, a member of the Towneley family. I hope that Cosima does not mind me telling a short story about her family. It is very short, but it illustrates, at least in part, Brian’s sense of humour playful but never critical. On one occasion - and I was there, so I should know - several of us, all historians, were talking about the Towneley family, how the family had evolved over the years and about Towneley Hall, where they had lived for at least 500 years. Brian suddenly said, ‘I am more a Hall, than any of the Towneleys are Towneleys’.

“He was right, of course, because the Towneleys died out in the male line in the 1880s. Their descendants still live in Burnley, as they have done for hundreds of years, and they still play an important role in Burnley today. Cosima was Mayor of Burnley until very recently and she is Patron of the Friends today.

“So, now is the time to say ‘goodbye’ to Brian. But Brian will still be present around us, largely because of his contribution to the Friends of the Weavers’ Triangle, his publications, his membership of other local organisations. We will continue his work in his memory.

“As Richard Bond, who is present today, says, ‘We have all lost a dear friend, but Burnley has lost a local hero’.”