The Frome Workhouse was built in 1838 to comply with the terms of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the aims of which were to reduce the cost of looking after the poor, take beggars off the streets and provide a harsh and unpleasant regime, which would encourage poor people to work hard to support themselves, rather than seek relief within its cold stone walls.
Situated on the south side of Weymouth Road, it was designed to hold 350 people and later became Selwood Hospital, much of it still stands today, converted into flats. Unrelentingly grim though it was, it did have a softer side which was shown at Christmas.
In 1861 Christmas Day was intensely cold, with snow feet deep in the town. Local solicitor Henry Miller distributed a large quantity of beef to 200 of Frome’s poor and treated the inmates of the workhouse to beef and plum pudding. Factory owner George Sheppard followed this up with tea, cake, snuff, tobacco and beer. Messers Cockey, the iron founders, treated 160 of their workers to supper and the scholars at Rook Lane Sunday School were treated to tea and cake.
The tradition was continued annually and in 1866 the Sheppards organised a large party of the better off to visit the workhouse and distribute presents to every inmate, along with the traditional Christmas fare of roast beef and plum pudding. The Baily family of brewers supplied quantities of strong beer. Some years later in 1886, a ‘Christmas Entertainment’ took place at the Mechanics Hall where carols were sung by upwards of 60 voices and a collection taken up, the proceeds were used to distribute coals, bread and beef to the poor.
In 1905 the YMCA hosted a substantial dinner for “30 of the most needy men in Frome” paid for by public subscription and followed by ‘miscellaneous entertainment’, and in 1913 Frome printers Butler & Tanner refunded all 51 weekly sums that its 400 workers had paid in as their insurance contributions.
Mick Davis & David Lassman
