Frome’s first Local History Festival will take place between Friday 12th May and Saturday 20th May, and it will include themed workshops, guided walks, open days and talks, highlighting aspects of the town’s history and that of the surrounding area.
The theme of this year’s nine-day extravaganza is Woven in Time, reflecting the town’s early prosperity through its connection to the woollen industry.
Co-director of the festival, David Lassman, said, “It is very exciting that Frome is getting its own local history festival, which will shine a light on its rich and illustrious past. The first weekend includes a Frome Weavers, Spinners and Dyers Open Day, and a blue day where we ask the town to wear blue clothing to represent the colour of the cloth that made Frome famous.”
The spotlight will briefly shift outside of the town on the first Saturday through a village focus, which this year will showcase Witham Friary, and will see a day of activities organised in the nearby village. There will be further events during the week representing other aspects of the town’s history – these include a play about wartime evacuees, a local history charity quiz night and a heritage café.
To mark a century of council housing in Frome, there will be a talk at the Town Hall and there will also be an exhibition about Keyford Asylum running throughout the festival at the Black Swan. The story of the town will also be told through a new permanent exhibition at Frome Museum, which starts long before the founding by St Aldhelm and continues through to more present times. More details on all of this to come.
The final day on Saturday 20th May sees a Local History Day at Frome Library which will offer the chance to learn about the various heritage organisations and groups in Frome and the surrounding area. This will include Frome Museum, Frome Society for Local Study, South-West Heritage Trust, Keyford Local History Group and many more. There will also be a genealogist, a local history book sale and the opportunity to learn how to trace your ancestors.
David Lassman added, “We hope this will become an annual fixture in the town and something that will allow people to learn about what a fascinating place Frome has been over the centuries.”
For more information about the festival and its events, see the Frome Local History Festival page on Facebook.
