Thetford Thomas Paine Hotel to open museum on revolutionary

The money, which is in part funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is being used to create a permanent exhibition about the life and work of Thomas Paine.

The 18th century thinker, whose work inspired revolutionaries in their call for equality, was born at the site of what is now the Thomas Paine Hotel.  

One of his most famous works, Common Sense, directly inspired the call for America to break with Great Britain, leading to the formation of the new nation. 

It is also thought to have inspired the Declaration of Independence on which the USA constitution is based. 

At the time of his birth in 1737, three cottages stood on the site of today's boutique hotel. 

Proud of its connection to the writer and philosopher, the hotel is creating an onsite museum, which will be accessible to members of the public for free. 

It will include information charting his life and work from birth through to his death in New York in 1809. 

Gez Chetal, co-owner of the hotel, said: "The information panels will focus on different aspects of Paine's life, from his formative years in Thetford to his travels around England before emigrating to America where he would play an instrumental role in the birth of a new nation, as well as his role in the French Revolution. 

Gez Chetal co-owner of Thomas Paine Hotel (Image: Simon Parker)

"Another section will tell the story of the hotel site from its beginnings as a row of cottages on the edge of town to its role as dentist surgery in the 20th century before being converted to the hotel we see today."

It will also include touch screens offering short video presentations, along with audio content. 

The hotel is also working with two local schools to hold classes about Thomas Paine, his history and the building, which in its current form dates back to 1743. 

There are also plans to hold an official launch event for the exhibition, as well as to create a walking trail to incorporate other heritage sites and places in Thetford linked to the philosopher. 

The museum is due to open to the public on April 19. 

Who was Thomas Paine?

Born in Thetford in 1737, Thomas Paine was a political activist, philosopher, political theorist and revolutionary. 

He wrote some of the most influential pamphlets of the time including Common Sense in 1776, The American Crisis between 1776-1786 and Rights of Man in 1791. 

In 1774 he emigrated to America, where he participated in the American Revolution. 

Thomas Paine was back living in Britain in 1792, when his writings led to a writ for his arrest was issued and he fled to France. 

This was during the French Revolution and what was known as the 'terror' which saw King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette guillotined. 

While living in Paris, he became an enemy of Maximilien Robespierre - a leading figure of the French Revolution - which saw Thomas Paine arrested and imprisoned in 1793. 

Campaigning by future USA president James Monroe got his release a year later and in 1802 he returned to America, where he died in New York in 1809.