This friendly community museum uses its collection to tell stories of the market town of Thornbury and the villages and landscape round about, including:

The Littleton Whale

In the museum you can see part of the whale washed up in Littleton in 1885. Special excursion trains were run to bring sightseers.

The Thornbury Coin Hoard

You can find out about the Thornbury Roman Coin Hoard, discovered by a local man digging a garden pond.

Local People

You can learn more about the people who lived and worked in this area – on the high street, on the land and on the river Severn.

Why visit the museum?

• There’s lots to find out
• It’s friendly and welcoming
• It’s FREE – you can come back again and again to see new exhibitions

Who runs the museum?

Local people! This has been a community museum since it was founded in 1986. It’s entirely volunteer-run, with seventy to eighty people regularly giving their time to it.

How can you get involved?

• Share your knowledge – come in and talk to us
• Become a museum friend
• Become a volunteer
• Join a group – there is a research group, a geology group, and an archaeology group
• Make a donation – all amounts gratefully received
• Visit the exhibitions, attend one of the talks or come on one of the walks. Check out what’s on

The area covered by the museum

The museum covers Thornbury and the 14 surrounding parishes of the Lower Severn Vale. They welcome photos and stories from the entire collecting area.

Opening times

Normally, Tuesdays to Fridays (1pm to 4pm) and Saturdays (10am to 4pm). Check the website to make sure they’ll be open when you visit.

How to get there

Chapel Street is just a step from Thornbury High Street, with a FREE car park across the road. There are lots of pubs and cafés around. Get directions to the museum.