HIDDEN hallways and forgotten rooms at the historic Towneley Hall that are off limited to some visitors are to be revealed through a new virtual reality tour.

Two students from UCLan Burnley have dedicated their year-long university project to uncovering the secrets of the stately homes.

Susan Marshall and Wayne Casey, who study web design and development, produced the virtual tour in line with the needs of the hall, using photography and specialist software to design and create the finished product.

The 360 degree tour was also designed to be easy to use.

Almost a third of the hall is off-limits to visitors who find it difficult to use stairs, and so the tour will now be installed within the visitors’ area, to enable all to view its harder-to-access rooms.

The pair are now looking forward to receiving their degrees at the UCLan Burnley graduation on September 14, and working in partnership to start up a virtual tour business venture in Burnley.

Mrs Marshall said: “It was great to be able to build our virtual tour with the complete support of Towneley Hall and UCLan Burnley.

“We both worked tirelessly over the past year to make sure every component of the project was completed to an exceptionally high standard and we’re really proud of the finished product.

“We hope it can help a lot more people see Towneley Hall and help people from all over the world visit a place we all know so well in the heart of Burnley.”

Ken Darwen, Towneley Hall manager, said: “All I can say is Wayne and Susan have been amazing.

“Nothing I asked for was too much trouble for them, they have been so dedicated and focused throughout the project.

“They listened to what we wanted and delivered a great tour which I am sure will help promote visits to the Hall.”