FRESH from a London exhibition that won rave reviews the cultural treasures of East Lancashire are returning home.

Cotton to Gold, opening at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery in September, is a selection from the world class collections and rare artefacts amassed by local Edwardian mill owners and entrepreneurs.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The exhibition reveals how they collected both the exquisite and the unusual from the furthest corners of the earth and spent their fortunes on items such as Turner watercolours, Tiffany glass and rare Japanese prints.

It features items from the collections of Blackburn Museum, Towneley Hall Art Gallery & Museum in Burnley and Accrington’s Haworth Art Gallery.

Visitors will be able see among the exhibits works collected by Blackburn rope manufacturer Robert Edward Hart, who amassed what has been described as ‘an almost entire history of the written word’ from Assyrian tablets dating back to 2,000 BC to works by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones.

Some of the 1,000 Japanese prints bequeathed by textile mill owner Thomas Boys Lewis, who founded Blackburn Textile Museum, will also be on display.

The exhibition was the idea of Dr Cynthia Johnston at the Institute of English Studies from the School of Advanced Study at the University of London who is conducting a three-year research project into the Hart collection.

Executive member for Blackburn with Darwen Council Damian Talbot added: “We’ve always known that we have some world class items in our collection and are delighted that this exhibition, with the help of Dr Cynthia Johnston, has brought some much deserved recognition.”

Cotton to Gold runs from September 12 until November 14.

For more information call 01254 667130.