Frome Times Past: A matter of convenience – The Frome Guardhouse

Until 1857, anyone caught breaking the law, being drunk and disorderly or generally making a nuisance of themselves in Frome ended up in one of two lock-ups.

“The blind house was, and incredibly still is, situated in the south-east corner of St John’s Churchyard and despite its 1798 datestone, may have been built even earlier.

“It consisted of an underground stone-vaulted cell with a stone slated roof, but no windows (hence the name), although a small opening allowed relatives to lower food in.

“The other lock-up was the main guardhouse, which was built in the 1720s and abutted the Blue Boar (which would provide it with many temporary residents over the years).

“The spot chosen was convenient for the nearby Magistrate’s Court, located at the end of Edgell’s Lane, but is today Justice Lane and part of the Cheese & Grain car park.

“When Isaac Gregory was constable of Frome during the 1810s, he kept a journal and in it are many references to the guardhouse and the miscreants he locked up there.

“These included two boys confined for ‘a few minutes’ for stealing from their parents, while an older boy received an hour’s confinement for ‘being impudent to me’.

“Many a Frome drunk slept it off in the guardhouse and one of these was John Crees who, in 1823, got into an alcohol-fuelled argument inside the Blue Boar.

“The quarrel continued into the Market Place, where Crees was attacked. A constable, not realising how serious the injuries were, took him to the guardhouse.

“As Crees did not receive the medical treatment he required though, he died soon afterwards.

“Those fortunate to make it through the night were either taken across the road or, if their crime was more serious, escorted to Shepton Mallet jail, 15 miles away.

“Among the more hardened criminals who experienced the latter were the suspects in the infamous murder of 14-year-old Sarah Watts, in 1851, out at West Woodlands.

“These were William Sparrow, William Maggs, and Robert Hurd, aka ‘Frome Bob’. The incredible full story is recounted in the recent book ‘The Awful Killing of Sarah Watts’.

“Five years after the Sarah Watts case, Frome finally got its own police force and a new station, complete with cells and magistrates’ court, was built to accommodate it.

“Now redundant, the guardhouse acquired several other uses in the following century, including a storehouse and public convenience, before being demolished in the 1960s.

“The other lock-up was restored by Frome Civic Society but is now much dilapidated, although its entrance can still be seen from Church (Blindhouse) Lane.”

Mick Davis and David Lassman.