FROME’s most famous romantic landmark, the Valentine’s Lamp, was lit at the town’s annual Valentine’s Day ceremony.
The community gathered to watch the 32nd annual lighting of the lamp on Wednesday 14th February and hear from the founder and creator of the ceremony, Reg Ling, talk about love, life and inclusivity, and wish Frome a Happy Valentine’s Day.
A firework was launched into the air at 5.30pm to summon residents to the top of Catherine Hill; and at 6pm the new town crier, Martin Scott, gave a speech about love, as residents sipped mulled wine.
The Valentine’s Day Lamp is illuminated daily but is only gas lit on Valentine’s Day at the lighting ceremony.
92-year-old Reg told Frome Times, “When I first started this project of the Valentine’s Day Lamp and the ceremony, it was an ambitious plan. I wanted to reflect the history of the street and dedicate the site to St. Valentine as a way for people to remember and reflect on life and love. I thought really hard about the dedication that I read and felt it was extremely important to make it as diverse as possible. The ceremonies have always been well attended. We don’t do much advertising for it but people seem to know about it and still come.
“I used to see the light at the bottom of Catherine Hill and always thought it was nice. It did have a bin attached to it then. Then, one day, I saw it in a skip and took the lighting column to the Catherine Street Residents’ Group that I was a part of. With my background in mechanics and metal, I knew what it would be worth.
“I proposed that we should do something with it and they gave me the freedom to do what I wanted, so I took it to my workshop that was near the Sun Inn pub at the time and I started looking at it and taking it apart. When I did that, I saw that it was a gas light. I rang up British Gas and they put in the gas for free then.”
Attached to the lamp is a Royal Mail King George V post box from the 1930s, ready for residents to post letters to their valentines.
“I suddenly realised that there’s something romantic about post boxes and gas lighting,” added Reg. “Gas lighting is like the moonlight. When I decided this, it took over everything and it became a lamp dedicated to Valentine’s Day. A local artist in Frome helped me decorate the lamp, which I later modified in 2014. It’s a project that took over me.”
The funds raised from donations and sales of mulled wine go towards the running of the event and maintenance of the lamp. For more information, contact info@valentineslamp.co.uk
