Hector Maclaine – Die Hard in Spain!

New exhibition!   30 June to 19 Dec 2026

UWE student and museum volunteer Ben Mallett has delved into the archives and created a fascinating exhibition about the previously unexplored story of Hector Maclaine.

Grandfather of his better-known namesake (who is commemorated on the drinking fountain at the top of Castle Street), Hector Maclaine Snr was a Scottish soldier who married Thornbury heiress Martha Osborne in 1816 and lived for many years at Kyneton House, Kington. A large wall monument in St Mary’s Church is dedicated to the couple’s memory and lists the many battles Hector took part in.

Maclaine served as far away as Canada and the Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars. Throughout the Peninsular War in Spain and Portugal he fought primarily as a captain and then as a major in the 57th Regiment of Foot, a light infantry company nicknamed the ‘Die Hards’.

Led by Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington), Maclaine and his men grappled with the greater forces of Britain’s relentless foe Napoleon Bonaparte. Maclaine eventually achieved the rank of colonel.

He might be regarded as Thornbury’s ‘Captain Sharpe’, the fictional character whose military career has many parallels.

The Poster

Ben’s advertising poster is based on the original Die Hard film poster. The film’s main character coincidentally is John McClane!

The information at the bottom of the poster reads:

‘An exhibition based on the life of Hector Maclaine of the 57th Foot in the Napoleonic Wars. With tales of firefights, adventure, bravery and romance, see the life of Thornbury’s very own Captain Sharpe. A true international adventure as our hero sees the Caribbean, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Canada and Belgium. Buried in St Mary’s Church and a previous resident of Kyneton House, Maclaine is a local legend whose story you do not want to miss. With appearances from Wellington, Soult, Hills, D’Erlon, The Die Hards, William Brooke Jnr and William Brooke Snr.’

William Brooke Snr and Jnr were both army officers, closely connected with the Thurston family of Thornbury.

Lydia Brooke (daughter of William Brooke Jnr) wrote to the Duke of Wellington and his letters of reply are on display in the exhibition.

The silhouette on the poster is Hector Maclaine Snr, the only known image of him.

Meet the Artist

For 5 days, as part of the Severn Vale Art Trail, the Museum is hosting silversmith and jeweller Rosemary Millar.

Our downstairs front room will be transformed with  display cases full of Rosemary’s beautiful and imaginatively displayed work.

Rosemary designs and makes silver and rolled gold jewellery, incorporating semi precious stones, and is very happy to chat to people about what the stones are, where they are found and the processes she uses to make her jewellery.

The museum will, exceptionally, be open from 10am to 4pm for each of the 5 days, thanks to our wonderful team of volunteers.

So be sure to explore the rest of this free museum while you’re here.

You’ll find stories of the duke who built Thornbury Castle and who made Henry VIII feel so threatened that he had him executed.

You can find out about the Thornbury man who was digging a pond in his garden and came across a Roman coin hoard.

You can discover some of Thornbury’s history as a town full of makers and traders – saddlers and harness-makers, tailors and butchers, clockmakers and dairymen – and find out where in the town they plied their trade.

So, whatever the weather this Bank Holiday weekend, make Thornbury & District Museum one of the places you investigate – and be sure to chat to the volunteers on duty.  They’ll love to hear where you come from, whether you’ve been to the museum before, and whether you know anything about the local area that we don’t.  We’re always learning from the local community, who share knowledge, memories and photographs with us.  And if you’re new to the area, you may learn something from us!   Come along.  You’ll be very welcome.

(Incidentally, if you have small children, there are some fun things for them to do and find – and there may even be a reward at the end… )

Education in Thornbury

We currently have a small display in our Coins Room about education in Thornbury,

My Dear Mum – evacuees in Thornbury

To  coincide with our downstairs exhibition on Thornbury in the Second World War, our upstairs exhibition room has a related exhibition, “My Dear Mum”, about the Harwich evacuee schoolchildren who stayed in Thornbury during the war.

The stories of these Essex children are told using personal letters, oral histories, photographs and other sources such as school logbooks.

Thornbury – a Garrison Town, WW2

New exhibition:

Our district played an important, perhaps unexpected, role in the Second World War, as it hosted a significant military presence throughout the war years.

The exhibition looks at the various units which passed through the area and especially at Thornbury’s ‘own regiment’ – a little-known and unusual section of the Royal Artillery that was raised in the town and taken into the hearts of the residents.

What impact did the presence of hundreds of troops and the military aspects of the war have on the lives of the civilians?

The exhibition features personal accounts which remember the armed forces, the fall of Dunkirk, aircraft crashes, the arrival of the ‘Yanks’, the build-up and effects of D-Day, and much more.

VE80 display

We have put up a small display for VE80, commemorating how Thornbury marked the end of the Second World War in both Europe and Japan.

This display in our hallway will remain until the end of the year and, in a few months’ time, we shall add a larger exhibition in our downstairs front room, portraying many aspects of Thornbury in the Second World War. The town was an  important organisational centre, with many strands of war work taking place here. There will be a great deal to discover.

For now though, you can see how in 1945 the townspeople marked the end of fighting in different parts of the globe.

Jeweller in the Museum!

For the five days of the Severn Vale Art Trail (Thursday 1st May to Monday 5th May) we’re extending our opening hours so that we can host jeweller/silversmith/goldsmith Rosemary Millar.

We’ll be open from 10am to 4pm each day, including Bank Holiday Monday.

Rosemary designs, makes and sells silver and rolled gold jewellery, incorporating semi precious stones.

She loves to chat about how she makes her jewellery and the different stones she uses.

Come along and meet her.

It’s free entry and all are welcome!

The Lower Hazel Dig – the story so far

We’re delighted to be showcasing the work of museum archaeological volunteers and others in our brand new exhibition for 2025.

The Lower Hazel site was thought to be worth investigating back in 2010.  Neither the the site’s owner nor the museum’s late, beloved trustee Roger Howell, a retired professional archaeologist who had carried out excavations at Knossos on Crete, thought that the 1880 Ordinance Survey map was correct when it labelled the Lower Hazel site ‘Chapel (Site of)’.

Many years of patient and persistent work followed, led by Roger.  In due course, the University of Bristol was keen to be involved and sent its students there for their summer placements.  Alice Roberts came visiting too and the dig featured in January 2023 in one of her ‘Digging for Britain’ programmes.

If you want to find out what they’ve discovered so far and what they think was going on in this little woodland spot, come along and check out this new exhibition, put together by Aaron Girdlestone.

Aaron is now one of our trustees but originally joined the dig as a young volunteer, then went off to the University of Cardiff and obtained a first-class archaeology degree and now is studying for a Master’s – while still maintaining a heavy involvement in the site.  His enthusiasm is infectious!

On and Off the Rails

‘On and Off the Rails’ is our latest temporary exhibition and it celebrates the railways of South Gloucestershire!

Working with other museums in the South Gloucestershire Museums Group, our museum has contributed to charting the story of local railways from their early history in the 1830s up to the 2020s.

The exhibition deals with themes including: past (but no longer surviving) stations, such as Thornbury; the working lives of railway staff; passenger holidays; and the transportation of freight.

Come along and revel in the history of a vital local transport system.

The Museum is open on Tuesday and Friday afternoons, from 1pm to 4pm and on Saturdays from 10m to 4pm.  Entry is free.  All ages welcome!