Frome Today |
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Cheap Street |
Modern Frome is a vibrant market town on the edge of the Mendips. It is an interesting blend of the old and the new. The centre of Frome retains its Medieval street pattern and many of the buildings are hundreds of years old. There a several interesting independent shops most notably along Cheap Street and Catherine Hill. Cheap Street is paved and unusually has an open stream running down its length. It was used as a location in the cult BBC programme, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. Catherine Hill is a steep cobbled street with a variety of independant businesses along its length. It too has been used as a TV location for the BBC, this time in Drover's Gold. Frome is an important centre for the arts. Many artists and craftspeople are based in the area. A focal point for this activity is the Frome Festival which is held in July each year. It has attracted various well known performers in a variety of fields such as Van Morrision, Steeleye Span, Paul Merton and Tony Benn. |
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The Black Swan is a former pub which is now a dynamic centre for the arts. It houses several workshops and hosts exhibitions. It also houses a café. The Cheese and Grain is a thriving entertainment venue. It attracts an interesting range of acts including the Stranglers, Howard Jones and Bo Diddley. HistoryThe history of Frome began around 685 when St Aldhelm, a monk from Malmesbury founded a monastery in the area and a settlement quickly grew up around it. In fact, St John the Baptist church on Bath Street is the successor to this Saxon foundation. Frome also has a connection to the legendary Viking king of Northumbria, Eric Bloodaxe. King Eadred wrestled control of Northumbria from Eric and brought it under English domination. Eadred died in Frome in 955. By the time of the Doomsday Book, the town was a thriving community with a weekly market and four watermills. |
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Frome’s prosperity continued to grow through the Middle Ages on the backs of sheep. The town became a centre of the wool industry and the manufacture of cloth. At one stage Frome was larger than Bath, Taunton, Yeovil, and Bridgwater due to this trade. In fact, the cloth trade continued in the town until well into the twentieth century when the last manufacturer closed. Frome has more listed buildings per head than any other town in Somerset and many of these buildings date the height of the wool trade. Frome’s relative decline came with the industrial revolution when the manufacture of cloth moved to the industrial north. Other notable manufacturers in Frome include J.W.Singers who now produce sprinkler bodies. In times gone by they made statues, notably the Scales of Justice over the Old Bailey in London. Butler and Tanner are a notable printer of high quality books. Many best selling hardbacks are printed by them in Frome. |
Sheppard's Barton |
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Frome In Focus is produced and maintained by WrightPhotos |
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