Frome Times Past-Never mind the weather

A couple of columns ago we celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of a visit by Field Marshall Montgomery to Frome. This time we go back to the same period, but only to a much less welcome visitor.
In July 1968 Frome experienced one of the worst floods in living memory.
The prolonged and torrential downpour, along with intense thunderstorm, reached the town during the early evening of Wednesday 10th of July.
The River Frome broke its banks around 11.30pm and by the early hours of the next day, Willow Vale, Bridge Street and Market Place were impassable.
Most of the shops in Market Place were completely flooded, including Boots, Briggs’ shoe shop, two butchers (Somerset’s and Baxter’s) and Woolworths. One shop owner, however, had taken the precaution of calling in his entire staff and they worked through the night moving goods to a safer and drier place.
At Wallbridge, Marley Carpets suffered considerably damage to its stock, a machine suffered a short circuit, and several fish were discovered swimming in the premises.
In the same area, a car and caravan spent the night stranded in the flood waters, while another vehicle was swept away by the torrent and imbedded in the river bed.
As awful as 1968 was for Frome, in terms of weather, it seems to have been a regular occurrence over the centuries. The river regularly overflowed until its course near the bridge was moved and flood prevention measures adopted around the turn of the twentieth century.
Even this, however, did not stop severe floods once more, exactly a century ago, and of course, those of 50 years after that.
Rain is not the only purveyor of inclement weather, of course, and Frome has had its fair share of snowfalls, as well.
During the extreme winter of 1963, snow blocked the three major roads in and out of the town, while 15 years later, ten feet drifts and a jack-knifed lorry did so again.
And although 1976 is remembered for its heat, the year opened with 85mph winds that brought down numerous trees in Frome and so virtually cut it off once more.
But whatever the weather – rain, shine, snow or wind – Frome has been a resilient place and, of course, without it, there would be one less major topic to discuss.
Mick Davis & David Lassman