The George in Frome’s Market Place was centre of the town’s social and business life for up to three centuries and is mentioned as far back as 1650, but its life has not been without incident.
This fine Georgian building was the scene of serious rioting during the campaign of Frome’s first ever election of 1832, when Sir Thomas Swymmer Mostyn-Champneys, the bankrupt baronet of Orchardleigh stood against the immensely rich banker Thomas Sheppard.
The rival gangs of supporters clashed and severe rioting broke out. Every pane of glass in the pub’s windows were smashed, stones were hurled and serious injury caused to many people until a platoon of Dragoons were summoned and fired into the riotous mob, severely injuring two people, with one man losing a leg. The disturbances went on for three days, with the election resulting in a win for Sheppard by 63 votes.
History almost repeated itself at another election in 1854 when a contest between Tories and Liberals resulted in more work for the town’s glaziers, but this time no-one seems to have been seriously hurt and all was quiet by 8.00pm.
The old pub had seen use as a ballroom, courtroom and debating chamber, hosted bankruptcy hearings and coroner’s inquests, but perhaps the saddest event occurred almost exactly 100 years ago when on the 23rd of October 1918 a lorry laden with over 2 tons of scrap metal, going from the railway station to Singers & Co, took the porch off the front of the building, killing Wilfred Hassell, a farm bailiff from Wanstrow, who was driving a small cart on his way to deliver some apples. Edward Hull, the lorry driver, was going down Bath St and as he turned the corner, he saw the horse and float by the hotel entrance, he braked but the road was very greasy and he skidded into the lower pillar, knocking it down, crushing the float against the hotel wall and throwing Hassell out of the cart and under the falling masonry.
Dr Harris was quickly on the scene and found the man unconscious and badly crushed, with not long to live. He had him taken to the Victoria Hospital where he died shortly after. This startling photograph was taken within half an hour of the crash. A verdict of mis-adventure was brought in by the coroner, with no blame attached to either party and a little later, his widow was awarded £300 in compensation. The porch was never rebuilt.
In May of 1968 history almost repeated itself again when a refrigerated lorry containing half a ton of pig carcasses crashed into the same spot, trapping one baby in a pram against the pub wall, while another was snatched from under the vehicle. Luckily no-one was seriously hurt.
The full story of The George pub and many others is told in the book, “The Historic Inns of Frome” by Mick Davis & Valerie Pitt.
Mick Davis & David Lassman
