The History of the Society

By Michael Quinion

It is unlikely the Society would exist without two key figures in its early history: William A Caffall and Sir Algar Howard.

In the early days of the Second World War both were associated with the College of Arms, that ancient body that records coats of arms and pedigrees, whose members rejoice in titles such as Clarenceux King of Arms and Portcullis Pursuivant. Like many other organisations with valuable archives, the College sought some peaceful place well away from the dangers of bombing in the metropolis in which to store and safeguard its priceless documents.

Luckily, as their Norroy and Ulster King of Arms they had Sir Algar Howard, whose family home was Thornbury Castle. Even more fortunately, the family had some years previously moved out to Thornbury House, a 10-bedroomed mansion a short way away in Castle Street (don’t go looking for it, it was demolished in 1971), leaving the Castle ripe for reuse. Coming with the College’s archives to look after them was a consulting genealogist named William A Caffall.

It would seem his duties were not overly onerous because he became fascinated by a collection of historical manuscripts relating to Thornbury owned by Sir Algar and set about transcribing them. He also studied and extracted information from the Thornbury Town Trust’s original documents which date back to the founding of the borough in about 1252.

After the war, Caffall continued researching, visiting various record offices, and kept in touch with his friends in Thornbury who were also active in historical studies. They conceived the idea of forming a local history society and formalised it among themselves at a meeting at Oriel House in Castle Street on 9 November 1946, resolving to form a “Society of Thornbury Folk”. About fifty people were present at an open meeting at Thornbury Grammar School on 25 November, when it was decided that there was enough public support for the society. The name was adopted and a committee was appointed, with Sir Algar — by then promoted to Garter King of Arms — becoming president.

The records of the Society of Thornbury Folk show it was extremely active. It formed links with other Thornbury organisations and with individuals from the surrounding villages. Four meetings were held each year, plus coach outings and talks. Exhibitions were organised. Members provided historical information and original documents for study; these and Sir Algar’s manuscripts were in time safeguarded by depositing them in local record offices. The most enduring results of its work were the frequent Thornbury Folk Bulletins that recorded many aspects of local history.

One early ambition was to create a town museum. Despite much lobbying of the local council it took a while to see any action. It was not until 1985 that the Town Council voted to discuss the project with the Society and a working party was set up with substantial Society representation. Later, three of the six founding trustees of the trust created to run the museum were from the Society. The Thornbury and District Museum was finally opened in October 1988.

In 1977 the Society of Thornbury Folk had changed its name to the Thornbury Historical Society. In the early 1980s it changed again to the Thornbury Society for History and Archaeology and not long after that it became the Thornbury Local History and Archaeology Society. Over the years, many people have referred to it as the Thornbury Society and some still do.

The Museum is now the centre for research into local history. The Society has continued its lecture programmes and outings and is looking forward to many more years of telling local people about their heritage as well as to its eightieth anniversary in November 2026.

The author and the Society are grateful to Thornbury Museum for its substantial assistance in compiling this history.