Apparently, ‘Frome is the original town within the once popular ballad, “Quaint little old-fashioned town”‘.
This is according to Monica Hutchings’ 1963 ‘Inside Somerset’ and the author goes on to add that the streets there do still ‘run uphill and down.’
If more evidence is required, there is within the song a street ‘where the cobble stones harass the feet’, referring perhaps to either Gentle Street or Catherine Hill.
But whether it is about Frome, although there is no reason to disbelieve Ms Hutchings, the song was written in 1914 and as she says, was once popular.
The lyrics were written by Ada Leonora Harris and the music by the famous composer W. H. Squire.
William Henry Squire was born in 1871, at Ross-on-Wye, and as well as an accomplished composer, was also a cellist and music professor.
By the end of the nineteenth century he had published a great deal of cello and piano music, along with several orchestral pieces.
At the same time, however, he collaborated with many well-known lyricists of his day, including Frederick Weatherly and, of course, Ada Leonora Harris.
The latter partnership resulted in several songs, including ‘If You Were Here’ and ‘In an Old-Fashioned Town’, both written in the first year of the Great War.
What connection Ada Leonora Harris had with Frome, if any, we do not know.
Possibly though, she may have been related to John Hobbis Harris, who married the future anti-slavery campaigner and photographer Alice Seeley.
The sheet music was published by the famous Boosey & Company (who would later merge with Hawkes & Son) and several well-known singers of the day recorded the song.
Among them was Elsie Baker – an American singer and actress – whose version was released on the Victor label in November 1917.
The song unfortunately lost its popularity as the century moved on although despite that, the sentiment within it remains eternal.
And, though to and fro through the world I must go,
My heart while it beats in my breast,
Where e’er I may roam, to that old-fashioned home
Will fly back like a bird to its nest.
And whatever the truth behind the inspiration for the song, there is indeed no place like our (quaint little old-fashioned) town of Frome.
Mick Davis and David Lassman.
