Over 200 people gathered at Rook Lane Chapel last month for the launch of a new exhibition celebrating the life and work of one of Frome’s most significant historical figures; John Webb Singer.
Casting The World, The Story of J. W. Singer & Sons, Frome celebrates and explores the life of John Webb Singer and the iconic sculptures, statues and civic works cast at J.W. Singer & Sons foundry in Frome. The exhibition, which launched on Friday 28th June and runs until 28th July, is based on decades of research, and brings to light images taken from conserved Victorian glass plate negatives that are held at Frome Museum.
The negatives were nearly lost to history but for the quick thinking of one employee at the Singer Foundry, Steve Francis, who, in the 1970s, stopped boxes of glass plate negatives from being thrown into a skip and arranged for them to be donated to Frome Museum. Steve was in attendance at the launch, along with descendants of the Singer family and employees past and present of the Singer & Sons Foundry, which now still employs 80 people today.
There are over 3,000 surviving glass plate negatives and photographs, which hold images of hundreds of artworks, large and small, that were produced at the foundry, as well as some of the local people involved in their production. Exhibition curator, Sue Bucklow, has been researching the Singer family for nearly 20 years, and was thrilled to see so many turn out for the launch.
Sue said, “The impact of John Webb Singer and his foundry on Frome is huge, and still felt today. It was fantastic to be able to celebrate this legacy at the exhibition opening with members of the Singer family who had travelled so far, as well as many generations of employees from the days of the foundry at Waterloo ,up until the present day on the Marston Trading Estate.”
As well as the exhibition at Rook Lane Chapel, there are numerous other events taking place as part of Casting The World, including town trail walks taking in the significant locations associated with John Webb Singer and the site of the Singer’s foundry, as well as casting workshops and talks from the curatorial team and other experts of local heritage and photography conservation.
Casting The World: The Story of JW Singer & Sons, Frome takes place at Rook Lane Chapel until Sunday 28th July. Visit www.rooklanearts.org.uk/ castingtheworld for more information.
Pictured above: Members of the Singer family. Credit: Mervyn Clingan
