Burnley Room

The Burnley Room is the room used to display part of the social history collections associated with Burnley. It was first opened in 1907 in the room now known as the Wild About Burnley Room on the first floor of the North wing. It was originally called the "Old Burnley Room" and mostly displayed documents and photographs.

A major development in 1911 was an exhibition curated by John Allen to celebrate the Burnley Corporation Jubilee, being the 50th anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Burnley. John Allen's day job was Attendance Officer for the School Board, (subsequently the Education Committee of Burnley Corporation). He died, aged 51, on October 3rd 1911. There was an obituary in the Burnley Express on October 4th 1911, which noted "In the Old Burnley section of the Townely Exhibition which closed on Saturday most of the pictures and antiquities were the property of John Allen". These were purchased by the Corporation from Mrs. John Allen on November 27th 1911 for £45.

By 1920 it had expanded to become the "Old Burnley" Rooms, overflowing into the current Burnley Room. This part was taken over in 1955 to form the first Towneley Room. By the 1980s, documents and photographs were no longer part of a permanent display and the "Old Burnley" display was retired to make way for more temporary displays.

In 2002, the Burnley Room was set up to display mostly three dimensional objects that had been made in Burnley during the 20th century.