The archive is extensive and we aim to make many of these images available online.
*SEPTEMBER 2025 UPDATE*
There are now more than 17,553 images on the website including those on our Other Collections section. There are more images to see if you View our Articles section to read longer articles written by our volunteers on a range of historical subjects.
We have received a donation of Burco Dean archive material which has not yet been digitised for the website but you will find information about Burco Dean and a small selection of images on our Articles page.
We are now operating without the benefit of Heritage Lottery Funding and welcome donations to enable us to continue scanning negatives and making them available on the website. Donations can be made directly to us or via JUSTGIVING
Or scan our Just Giving account QR Code
BCTHIC is most thankful for the generous donations made by:
Burnley Rotary, Burnley Pendleside Rotary, Stocks Massey Bequest Fund, Celeste & Kevin (in Canada) and other donors who have contributed to our funds to enable this project to continue after our Heritage Lottery funding ceased.
All funding contributions are gratefully accepted
We WELCOME NEW VOLUNTEERS and have vacancies on our Wednesday and Thursday afternoon sessions. If you can spare a couple of hours why not contact us and arrange a visit to the archive. All that is needed are some basic computer skills and an interest in local history. PENDLE AND WEST CRAVEN images can be found in the Surrounding Districts pages and we would welcome volunteers from the Pendle area to digitise images and stories about this area as we have no volunteers working on this area at the moment.
We have produced a short history about the project which you can download.
50 Years Ago
Looking down into the depth of the ice house. Visitors to Towneley Hall should soon be able to see an extra attraction, for curator Mr Hubert Rigg is confident that the Towneley ice house - the 18th century's answer to the refrigerator - will be open by summer. Today the Burnley Express shows the first photographs ever to be taken inside this once almost forgotten building. He said: "The ice house probably fell into disuse in the 19th century when it became cheaper to buy commercially-produced ice. Then came the refrigerator and the ice house was bricked up and almost forgotten." Mr Rigg said: "The building is in very sound condition, all that is really needed is electric lighting and a safety rail."
