Football, fairytales and freezeframe at Towneley this year

The historic hall is offering exhibitions and collections to suit all tastes and capture the imagination of all ages over the coming year.

The programme starts off with an exhibition of work by Burnley-based mixed media artist Sophie Gibson, who works around the themes of pop art to develop everyday items and create them into something magical.

On the subject of art, but with a very different approach, a selection of work by local artist Edwin Thornber, who creates magical panoramas and landscapes and injects new life into dull buildings through colour, will be on display between June and August.

For those wanting to bring out their inner creativeness there will also be a Book Illustrations event where there will be a selection of illustrations from the Hardcastle collection from July 9th.

The era of steam engines through rare historic photographs will be on display from July 9th to September 30th.

Stuart Roy Clarke, a photographer who creates professional freezeframe photos of football and brings out all the hidden elements of a game and turns them into something beautiful, will be holding his second photographic exhibition at the hall from October 6th.

Lastly, but by no means least, the centenary of the armistice of the First World War will be commemorated with local memorials from the Towneley collections and some stories of the men who lost their lives. The exhibition will run from October 6th to January 19th 2019.

Ken Darwen, Towneley Hall manager, said: “The wide range of events being held at Towneley over the coming months just illustrates the diversity of what the hall has to offer.

"They will appeal to people of all ages – come along, you might learn something new or see something that inspires you to become a future exhibitor at Towneley.”