- Local History
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- Frome has a fascinating history and there are a number of local historians located in the town who have written books on the subject of local history and who are acknowledged experts in their field. It is hoped that this site can link to other related web-sites and that we can build up a local archive of interesting material or perhaps resources on how to discover the history of certain buldings, names or local customs etc.
- Please see the list of books on Frome below:
- Local History is important as it helps to prevent knowledge being lost, it creates a sense of local identity which is important in the increasingly global world we live in. It can also help to protect important local buildings and local customs/traditions.
- If you are interested in contributing your knowledge of the local history of Frome and surrounding area, please submit your input via the comments form or via E-Mail. We will then feature your input on a page in this section.
- Frome has a fascinating history and there are a number of local historians located in the town who have written books on the subject of local history and who are acknowledged experts in their field. It is hoped that this site can link to other related web-sites and that we can build up a local archive of interesting material or perhaps resources on how to discover the history of certain buldings, names or local customs etc.
- A Short History of FROME
- The first permanent settlement began about 685 AD, when St. Aldhelm,
the Abbot of Malmesbury, set up a mission on the banks of the River
Frome. It was then on the edge of Selwood Forest, and was a suitable
crossing place over the river, with ample water supplies from springs.
It was also a good place from which to service the tracks which used
the Mendip Hills / Salisbury Plain gap. The church was dedicated to
St. John the Baptist, probably built of stone, and similar to the Saxon
church in Bradford-on-Avon. The settlement grew, on land owned by the
King, and in the Doomsday Book (1086) there is a reference to a market,
implying that Frome was already a place of some importance.
After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, the Church lands passed into the hands of the Thynne family, who later bought more land in the area to build up the Longleat estate.
The cloth industry, begun in the 14th Century, was growing in importance by the end of the 17th Century, and Frome was a prosperous town. Before Bath was "discovered" Frome was the larger and more important town.
Competition from the woollen towns of the north, and a reluctance to modernize, began the decline of the cloth industry in the 19th Century. Although the last traces of the cloth trade did not vanish until the mid-60's, since when it has almost doubled. But the new estates have not spoiled the town: the centre did not suffer too badly from the ravages of 60's development and retains its charm. The people, too, are still as friendly as ever, and the new blood has served only to stimulate the town and give it fresh vitality.
(Text copyright Frome Town Council)
- Here are a number of books about Frome:
- Frome - A Special Town: In Association with Frome Rotary Club by Moxon,
John; Sandall, Alan G. (Ed.) Rotary Club of Frome, Nov 1995; Hardback;
£9.95
- Frome in Old Photographs by Gill, Derek J. A Sutton Pub, Mar 1995; Paperback; £7.99
- Ninety Years of Cinema in Cirencester, Frome, Salisbury ; Hornsey, Brian Paperback £1.70
- Book of Frome ; McGarvie, Michael Paperback £8.95
- Around Frome ; McGarvie, Michael Paperback £9.99
- Book of Frome ; McGarvie, Michael Hardback £16.00
- Frome in Old Photographs by Gill, Derek J. A Sutton Pub, Mar 1995; Paperback; £7.99
- Literature
- Elizabeth Singer Rowe - The Poetess of Frome: A Study in ; Stecher,
Henry F. Paperback £23.00
- Railways
- Frome to Bristol ; Mitchell, Victor; Smith, Keith Hardback £11.95
- Atlases And Maps:
- Landranger Maps; Sheet 183: Yeovil & Frome, Shaftesbury & Shepton
Mallet 1:50000; Paperback £4.95
- Landranger Maps; Sheet 183: Yeovil & Frome, Shaftesbury & Shepton Mallet 1:50000; Paperback £4.95
- Old Ordnance Survey Maps of Somerset; Frome ; Paperback £1.95
- Landranger Maps; Sheet 183: Yeovil & Frome, Shaftesbury & Shepton Mallet 1:50000; Paperback £4.95
- Many of these books are stocked in Frome's excellent local bookshop:
- Hunting Raven Bookshop, Cheap Street, Frome 01373 473111 (or you can order them in.)
If you can't buy it locally then you can try ordering books online at:
(If you are searching for books about Frome then try to exclude books on Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton as many of your results will be about this book. You can do this by searching on Frome -Ethan. i.e. you type Frome and then a minus sign and then Ethan. - This will help to limit your results to books about Frome or by people with the surname Frome.)
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