When Burnley Corporation took over in 1902 the Borough Surveyor reported the building was in a bad state of repair. The repairs required then and subsequent changes necessary to turn Towneley Hall into an Art Gallery and Museum are recorded in two entries repairs and changes. These changes and repairs have continued right up to the present with a programme of major repairs to Towneley Hall taking place from October 2022 and hoping to be completed in early 2025.
Towneley has buildings around three sides of a courtyard, the North and South wings connected by the Great Hall, but before around 1712 there was a fourth side containing the chapel, now part of the North wing. One of Burnley Corporation's first actions in 1902 was to make a heating plan, which shows all the rooms as they were before the Corporation began to make changes, an A to Z entry Room Names .
New wing
Entry to the museum is via the Museum Shop in the new wing.
Display rooms are divided into themes: Life In The Hall and Collections. The Life In The Hall displays relate to the Towneley family and the history of the building at various points in the hall's history.
Visitors are free to choice their own route through the display rooms around the building. There is also the option to take a guided tour that includes the cellars and the area above the Great Hall. An outside tour is also an option. A separate Museum of Local History is situated behind the New Wing in the 18th century Brew House.
North wing
The upper rooms in the North wing are accessed by the Jacobean Staircase in the North Tower and by a lift in the Victorian Tower. The Victorian Tower was built against the North wing around 1851 and the lift was added in 2002. There is a further back staircase within the 18th century part of the North wing, originally used by the servants. Only one room in the North tower is used for display, the Decorative Arts Room, this having no disabled access.
On the top floor of the North wing is the art gallery displaying oil paintings and the Stocks Masssey gallery usually displaying watercolours. Originally taking up the same full length of the wing as the art gallery, it was divided into two rooms in 2006, the second room being used for temporary exhibitions.
The first floor of the North wing contains the Vestments Room and Chapel and the Family Dining Room, all relating to the Towneley family. Also on this floor are displays of the social history and natural history of the local area in the Burnley Room and the Wild About Burnley Room. Finally, at the same level within in the Victorian Tower is the Towneley Room, used to display part of the fine art collections associated with the Towneley family.
The ground floor of North wing contains the Kitchen, Housekeeper's Room and Servants' Hall. Further museum collection displays are seen on this floor in the Collectors' Room and Military Room.
South wing
The rooms in the South wing are the Regency rooms on the ground floor and the Long Gallery and the Long Gallery bedrooms on the upper floor.
The Regency rooms are used for cultural events, weddings and social functions. The rooms above, which are without disabled access, display a large part of the furniture collection. These rooms are accessed from the cantilever staircase in the South tower. Within the South tower is the Priest's Hide, seen through a glass panel in the floor of the bedroom above. The room below the hide, known as the Green Parlour in the 18th century, and a fourth room on top of the South tower are now store rooms.
Storage Areas
Below the Great Hall are cellars used for storage They also extend below the South wing but those rooms are too damp for storage. The roof area above the Great Hall links the tops of the North and South towers and is also used for storage.