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Thornbury Castle

In 1510 Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, Constable of England, received a licence from Henry VIII to build his castle at Thornbury, and work started in 1511. Buckingham’s dream was to build a castle and a college combined into a great centre of learning but, as described in earlier writings, his efforts were perhaps not fully appreciated locally. The Duke also made a fine park near the Castle for which purpose he enclosed a considerable tract of rich arable land. It is said he had licence from Henry to impark a thousand acres, which drew down upon him the curses of the neighbourhood. Ten years later the Duke was accused of treason for ‘certain words spoken’ (according to one source, for not much more than pouring washing water into Cardinal Wolsey’s shoes) and so fell by the hand of the executioner at Tower Hill on 17 May 1521.

The Duke’s lands were confiscated and Thornbury Castle appropriated by Henry VIII who retrieved it as a royal Demesne for 33 years. In 1535 he stayed at the castle for ten days with Anne Boleyn. Mary Tudor lived here for some years and when she became Queen she returned the castle to the descendants of the late Duke in 1554. During the Civil War the Castle was fortified but subsequently fell into disrepair until it was renovated in 1824 to become the residence of the Howard family

Today Thornbury Castle still remains one of the most imposing Tudor structures in England. The inner courtyard is complete except for the east side where the banqueting hall and chapel originally stood. On the north side is a large brick double chimney built in 1514 which is extremely elaborate and unequalled by any in England. The oriel windows on the south side of the Castle overlooking the vineyard and Tudor gardens are all worthy of notice as examples of the last and most elaborate style of tracery adapted to domestic architecture, one of the windows having 720 panes of curved glass.

Thornbury castle was opened as a luxury hotel in 1982 and over the years has acquired a reputation as being one of the best in the country. Indeed, it is the only Tudor castle in England operating as an hotel. The restaurant has won many accolades and is also known for its exclusive table wine made from grapes grown in its own vineyard which are then processed in the nearby Three Choirs Vineyard.

Church of St Mary the Virgin

The Parish Church with its magnificent 130 foot medieval tower is a prominent landmark, being lit at night so that it can be seen for miles around. The tower is open to the public on rare occasions where the view from the top is breathtaking. Some twelve years ago, the then mayor, was seen to abseil down the tower to raise funds for a local charity. Built in fashioned stone, topped by an open parapet and tall pierced turrets, the tower is one of the best examples of its type in the country. There is a peal of eight bells which, when rung, causes the tower to sway.

The chancel was originally built around 1340 but has been much altered. The nave dates from the late 15th century as does the pulpit, which is situated on a pedestal carved with trefoil panels and is one of the few medieval stone pulpits surviving in England. The south door with its huge iron hinges and lock, is original and the metalwork bears the name ‘Knapp’ which is still common locally. The church was once connected to Thornbury castle by a timber gallery which was reputedly used by Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Mary Tudor.

The lectern was made in 1879 from an oak beam from Salisbury Cathedral which was then 663 years old. In the fine Stafford Chapel where the Sacrament of Holy Communion is reserved, hangs an excellent reproduction of the 12th century icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir.

Recent alterations include a modest reordering of the nave to create space for a nave altar and the restoration of the Parvise Room above the south porch with its existing spiral staircase. The church yard, no longer used for burials, contains a number of interesting memorials, including many table tombs and the Thornbury War Memorial.

Town Pump

The parish pump, with its distinctive wrought iron railings, canopy and direction sign to Gloucester, can be found at the bottom of the High Street in an area called The Plain. The original site for the pump was thought to be outside what is now the NatWest Bank. It was
removed from this site amid much local controversy during the 1920’s The present pump was erected in 1984 by the local conservation group Concern for Thornbury. Now the pump is a feature at the bottom of the High Street, bedecked with flowers in the summer, or lit at Christmas time as part of the towns Christmas lights.

The MacLaine Memorial

Lieutenant Hector MacLaine of the Royal Horse Artillery was a local man whose family lived at Kyneton House, Kington. In 1880 he was sent to assist the garrison in Afghanistan when the Russians and the Afghan puppet government led by Ayoub Khan, were preparing a threat to the British in India. The British force, including Indian and Afghan troops, met Ayoub Khan at Maiwand but, before battle commenced, the Afghans went over to the other side, leaving the British and Indians heavily outnumbered. Maclaine had charge of the two guns at the edge of the battle and when an Indian regiment broke ranks and fled, was left in a very exposed position but continued his barrage. He was eventually surrounded and, according to the inscription on the memorial, was captured while trying to obtain water for the wounded. He was murdered by his captors about one month later on 1st September 1880, during the Battle of Kandahar where Lord Roberts eventually defeated Ayoub Khan.

A drinking fountain and a window in St Mary’s Church were erected by public subscription to the memory of Lieutenant MacLaine. The fountain originally placed in the High Street was moved in the 1950’s to its present location near the NatWest bank to permit improvements to what was then the Fire Station in the High Street and is now a Chinese restaurant. The memorial was renovated in 1980 to mark the centenary of MacLaine’s death.

The Town Clock

The town clock can be found in the High Street above a shop called Wildings which was once the Town Hall and Market Place. The clock is owned and maintained by the Town Council who carried out extensive renovation works in 1980. The present clock was installed in 1835 and replaced a clock set up in May 1634 by Nicolas Jenkins, clockmaker of the Borough of Thornbury, following the subscription of £5 by local residents. Designed as an 8 day clock, winding is in fact necessary every five or six days due to the design for the massive one cwt and one half cwt weights being 6 foot too short. Below the clock and to the right can be seen what was originally the town lock up.

Porch House

Porch House, given its name due to the porch at the front of the building, which leads into the hall of exposed roof timbers containing wind braces between the rafters that are typical of a medieval hall. Since being built, the house has had many alterations and at a later period a second storey was created. Originally, the house may well have had an open fire in the middle of the room around which the household family and servants alike slept ate and cooked. The original door from the porch, said to bear the marks of axe blows made during the English Civil War, now hangs on the south wall.

The house has had a number of occupants from its medieval life, to being on the Thornbury rent roll records for 1670, as belonging to the Attwell family, a famous Thornburian family. Richard Attwell was founder of the original Thornbury Grammar School now incorporated as part of the St Mary Shopping Centre. The tythe map of 1840 shows two families living in the house and later in 1891 a London tailor called Thomas Cox Smith took occupancy. In 1961 the site was purchased as a site for Christ the King Roman Catholic Church, and the Priests house. It was at this time that the hall was restored.

There are many more interesting buildings in the town some dating back to fifteenth century, and the views down High Street and into Castle Street show many of these. There is a Heritage trail around the town which takes a circular tour pointing out all the historic sites and buildings. It is well worth following and copies of a guide giving full information can be obtained from the Tourist Office which is housed in the Town Hall. This building started life as a private house belonging to William Rolf who married Frances Mair in 1817. It has been suggested that the premises, being the lady’s dowry, was the main attraction in this marriage as it brought the property back into the Rolf family. In 1860 the building was opened as a police station and the original cells can still be seen today. When a new police station was built in 1972 the building was then used as the courts until 1991 when they too were closed. The building was then empty and fell into disrepair suffering fire and water damage. In 1993 the building was bought and restored by Thornbury Town Council, opening as the Town Hall in 1994