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Towneley Hall
We went to Towneley Hall yesterday. This was my birthday treat- postponed from the back end of last month because of my father-in-law's illness. Towneley Hall is 15th century with 17th and early 19th century additions and subtractions. Since 1901 it's been owned by Burnley Town Council- which uses it as a museum and art gallery.
On our way into town we were instructed to make way- by police outriders on motorbikes- for the big black coach with smoked glass windows carrying the West Ham players to their match at Turf Park.
What I particularly wanted to see were the medieval church vestments which the Towneley family- who were recusant catholics- rescued from the dissolution of Whalley Abbey. Most medieval church vestments went on the bonfire- so these are rare. The late medieval English were famous for their needlework- and the productions of our workshops- known as Opus Anglicana- were exported all over Europe. These two vestments- a chasuble and a dalmatic- are very lovely- with a pattern of strawberries (or are they pomegranates?) on a background of white silk- and embroidered panels (aumbries) showing scenes from the life of the Virgin.
Otherwise the museum is a cabinet of curiosites, containing everything from Egyptian antiquities to First World War memorabilia. The paintings are mostly run-of the-mill Victoriana. The best is a portrait by Zoffany of Charles Towneley- 18th century connoisseur and taste-maker- sitting among the Graeco-Roman statues which, sadly for Burnley, left the family after his death and are now in the British Museum.
On our way into town we were instructed to make way- by police outriders on motorbikes- for the big black coach with smoked glass windows carrying the West Ham players to their match at Turf Park.
What I particularly wanted to see were the medieval church vestments which the Towneley family- who were recusant catholics- rescued from the dissolution of Whalley Abbey. Most medieval church vestments went on the bonfire- so these are rare. The late medieval English were famous for their needlework- and the productions of our workshops- known as Opus Anglicana- were exported all over Europe. These two vestments- a chasuble and a dalmatic- are very lovely- with a pattern of strawberries (or are they pomegranates?) on a background of white silk- and embroidered panels (aumbries) showing scenes from the life of the Virgin.
Otherwise the museum is a cabinet of curiosites, containing everything from Egyptian antiquities to First World War memorabilia. The paintings are mostly run-of the-mill Victoriana. The best is a portrait by Zoffany of Charles Towneley- 18th century connoisseur and taste-maker- sitting among the Graeco-Roman statues which, sadly for Burnley, left the family after his death and are now in the British Museum.
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And on a personal note, every one of your historical excursions fills me with a certain envy. What a nice trip.
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I learn things that I never would have known from reading these sort of posts.
It's appreciated
x
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I'd guess strawberries, out of a half-memory that they represent purity / virginity (information left over from studying Othello for A-level - but it was a very long time ago). Whereas pomegranates symbolise fruitfulness, which seems less appropriate.
I love the textures in that photo.
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Old stonework makes me very happy.
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Are there images of those vestments somewhere? Pomegranates are the symbol of the city of Granada and I've seen those on a vestment or two there, I believe in the museum of the Granada Cathedral.
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I haven't found images of the Towneley vestments online, but I'll go on looking.
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It's not Zoffany's fault, but now I have Gilbert and Sullivan stuck in my head . . .
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It might have been the croaking chorus from the Frogs of Aristophanes.