Frome Times Past- Don’t try this at home! Cautionary tales from the past

In 1770 Theophilus Pentin a farmer of Phillips Norton fired a gun up his chimney to clear the soot, an action which was apparently usual in such cases. 

On this occasion, the gun barrel burst and killed his father in law a Mr. Sims of Radstock. Theophilus himself had his hand torn in a terrible manner.

In 1783 William Fry of Frome having violently heated himself by playing at ‘fives’ imprudently drank of cold water which brought on an immediate chill and in about a quarter of an hour he expired.

A mason named Deacon while visiting a hatter in Frome in 1786, perceived a bottle in a cupboard which he supposed contained brandy and took a draft. Unhappy for him this was soon discovered to be a bottle of spirits of vitriol and notwithstanding immediate medical assistance he died in a few hours.

In 1791 Thomas Cray a chimney sweep of Bath apprenticed 2 boys from the Frome Workhouse. One named Robert Starr was about 15, slim grown, 4 feet high, much pitted with the small-pox and has a lazy eye. The other, James Saunders was aged about 9 with hair cut close and about 3 feet high with a mark on his forehead over his right eye ‘from the dash of a lance’. The two lads had apparently had enough of being sent up chimneys and had run away. As though these descriptions were not enough to identify them, “They had on when they went away two brass plates on their hats, with my name and place of abode engraved thereon.” Mr.Cray asks householders not to harbour or employ the two miscreants and offers half a guinea for their return.

In 1832 William Toop aged 89 married his fourth wife Mary Barrow aged 52. Toop had been well known in the neighbourhood for the past 50 years as a vendor of vegetables and watercresses and when selling the latter, generally in the evenings his voice, being very shrill, could be heard for up to 2 miles. He lived at Corsley, 4 miles from Frome and walked 2 miles more to obtain his cresses, selling in Frome every day except Sundays, and it was calculated that during the last 50 years he had travelled 100,000 miles. He claimed that he had never struck any of his wives as he considered it unmanly, but would not hesitate to drag them backward and forward over a large gooseberry bush which was in front of his house if they transgressed.

In March 1833 Daniel Horton a blind man of Frome was sent to Shepton jail as he was unable to find sureties when ordered to keep the peace against his wife. An article in the Bristol Mercury explains – the emphasis is in the original:

“Daniel, his wife and his wife’s sister, generally made one bed serve for the three!!! Mrs. Horton (good easy soul) often rose to make the fire leaving “Blind Daniel” and her sister in bed! Some suspicions being however excited, she ventured to hint them to Daniel who rewarded her with a sound thrashing, and she then exhibited articles of the peace against him. Daniel told the constable he thought it rather hard to make so “much ado about nothing” and particularly as “twas all in the Family”.

In December 1866 Frank Millard aged 14 was indicted for damaging machinery at the wool factory of George Sheppard. The lad admitted that he had thrown a piece of metal into the cogs because ‘he fancied a holiday’ which put the machine out of action for 3 hours. In sentencing, the judge told him that he was liable to penal servitude for life but owing to his young age, he sentenced him to one week in prison and 20 strokes with a birch.