Your chance to see…

… the Thornbury Quilt!

For today and tomorrow only, this wonderful quilt is on temporary display at the Town Hall, with supporting information boards on its history and the story of its discovery.

This is only the third time since its rediscovery 10 years ago, when the museum and local residents saved it for the town.

Go along to the Town Hall, where museum staff will be on hand to answer all your questions.   More details here.

Fishy tales!

Our latest exhibition focuses on the amazing life of the people who fished the Severn for salmon, using tools, techniques and materials that go back hundreds of years.

We shan’t see their like again.  Come and see this celebration of a unique tradition.

There is a book associated with the exhibition.  You can find the details on our Shop page.

Local artistic talent on display at the museum

Over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, the museum is opening its doors every day from 10am to 4pm, to host two very talented local artists on the Severn Vale Art Trail.

Come and be amazed by Alison Dyson’s intricately detailed ink drawings of subjects found in nature: birds, butterflies, fish, animals, insects.

Marvel at the beautifully intricate silver and gold work of Rosemary Millar’s jewellery, which clasps a wide range of semi-precious stones or pearls.  Rosemary loves to chat about the different stones she uses and where they come from and will happily explain the techniques she uses to make her jewellery.

If you’re in the market for a pendant or some earrings or a fine ink drawing of a beautiful natural subject, look no further.  But there’s no pressure to buy.  The artists will be delighted if you come and see what they have been up to and will be very happy to answer any questions you have.

Make the museum a destination on this Bank Holiday weekend.  Our friendly volunteers look forward to welcoming you!

Last chance to see… !

There’s just one more week in which to catch our wonderful Indian Stories exhibition.  Lots of great stories, films and personal objects.

Read all about it here.

Pick up a Heritage Trail Guide to Thornbury

Once the weather is warm enough, here’s a suggestion for a relaxing walk around Thornbury, while learning some history on the way!

Pop into the museum in Chapel Street (you’ll be welcomed very warmly)  or into Horders on the High Street and buy a copy of our fully updated Heritage Trail Guide to Thornbury – a 28 page booklet for just £2!

You can also download a free copy of the Trail map here.  In this way, you can follow the Trail map using your phone, if you like, rather than the map in the Guide booklet.

The image above shows the kind of detail which is in the Guide.  It shows Porch House in Castle Street, one of the oldest buildings in Thornbury.

You can read more details here about how the Trail was created and all its different components.

Enjoy exploring!

New exhibition – now open!

We have such a colourful, richly interesting exhibition for you to come and see!

Our downstairs front room is now displaying the wonderful ‘Indian Stories’ exhibition.

Based on filmed interviews with South Gloucestershire residents, all of whom have some connection with India, the exhibition consists of beautifully illustrated information panels, objects on loan from the interviewees, and edited extracts of the longer filmed interviews, which you can watch on our video booth.

We’re sure you’ll be fascinated to discover the great variety of stories on offer.

Admission is free, to this and to our other displays (on Thornbury Castle, the Roman Coin Hoard, the Thornbury Quilt and much more).

We look forward to welcoming you!

Indian Stories

When the museum re-opens after its winter break on Tuesday 7th February, we have a wonderful exhibition to share with you.

We’ve been participating, along with other museums in South Gloucestershire (Yate Heritage Centre, Frenchay Village Museum, Kingswood Heritage Museum and Aerospace Bristol), in a terrific project, funded by the Arts Council and led by South Gloucestershire Council, designed to capture the stories of some local residents of Indian heritage.

Women and men, some younger, some middle-aged, some older, some born in this country, some born in India or Africa, have all generously contributed their time and energy to sharing their life experiences.  And the result is, we think, a wonderfully rich picture of diverse lives.

One contributor’s great grandfather was a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army in the First World War.

Another, a retired Yate GP, is very proud that Gandhi stayed in her great uncle’s house for a month, as he supported the farmers of Champaran who were protesting against being forced to grow indigo by the British, with barely any payment for it.  But she hasn’t managed to visit the house yet!

Someone else’s journey to South Gloucestershire started in India, moved to London and then, after living for more than 25 years in  Derry/Londonderry, ended up here.

The stories vary greatly but all are fascinating.  Come and find out!  The exhibition runs until 18th April.

Calling All Friends, Romans and Countrymen!

Thornbury Library: Saturday 1st October, 10am to 2pm

The Museum will have a stand in the library on Saturday, as part of the Thornbury Fun Palace event.

We’ll have an assortment of artefacts from the museum’s collection, spanning Thornbury’s ancient to more recent past.

As part of the display there will be an element on the Romans, including genuine 1800-year-old pottery that you can handle.

So that you can ‘Meet a Roman Soldier’, one of our volunteers is going to be dressed in Roman armour and will have a shield and helmet for people to try.

This event is a great way to show much needed support for your museum and to discover there is more to your surroundings than you might realise!

Tribute to Sandi Shallcross

Thornbury and District Museum has lost a much loved and respected friend and colleague, with the death on 20th September 2022 of Sandi Shallcross. We send our sincere condolences to her family.

Sandi was at the heart of the museum’s activities. The museum has no paid staff and is run entirely by volunteers. Sandi was a past chair of trustees, a member of the management committee, treasurer of the museum Friends and organiser of the museum’s monthly geology group. She led the museum through three successful rounds of Accreditation, accolades not easily achieved by small town museums, which undoubtedly enhanced Thornbury’s credibility and reputation. (The image on the left, above, shows Sandi holding the museum’s Accreditation award in 2009.)

Sandi gave practical and moral support to museum volunteers and to other museums and was always willing to discuss and investigate enquiries from anyone who contacted the museum with an interesting object or local query. She fostered the museum’s friendly, professional approach, which so encourages community involvement.

Her huge commitment was recognised in 2018 by The Alan Hudson Award for Volunteering Achievement, an annual Thornbury award (pictured on the right, above).

She will be deeply missed by us all.

Museum Under Threat

The future of Thornbury and District Museum is under threat.

We’d be grateful if you could spare the time to read a statement put out by the museum’s trustees here.

We would encourage our many lovely friends and supporters to act as advocates to try to ensure the museum’s future.

Thank you!