THE Frome Society for Local Study has produced its latest Yearbook, number 24 in a series which began in 1987, covering a range of fascinating stories on the town and its history.
Among the treats this year is an article which explores the possibility that William Shakespeare may have spent a night in Frome and been shabbily treated by the locals in 1583. An in-depth piece of detective work involving a document from 1808 by local baronet and lord of Orchardleigh, Thomas Champneys who was convinced that he had seen a journal kept by the bard himself. Did he really see what would be the only known example of an original document by Shakespeare or was he fooled by an eighteenth-century forgery?
There are also tales of treasure, mummified bodies, an ancient gallows and secret tunnels in Beckington, and a walk through the ancient Forest of Selwood giving its history and showing some of its surviving trees of incredible age.
In Frome town itself there is a history of The Butts, how it got its name and developed over the centuries with many historic maps and photos, an illustrated walk through the last days of the Cuprinol factory at Adderwell by Ian Wright and a journalist’s view of the Lamb Brewery from 1861 when it was in its prime and is combined with what is perhaps the only contemporary description of the original Lamb Inn before its destruction.
The late Dr John Harvey, medievalist and Frome historian writes about the state of public transport in an article from 1977 followed by a piece by David and Nigel Lassman on the origins of the railway in Frome.
There is a long article on the lost manor house of the Cockey family in Spring Lane, built in the 1600s and demolished in 1972 with its history unrecorded until now. The article includes maps and two hitherto unpublished photographs of the house. Five generations of the Tuck family, book sellers and binders of Whittox Lane are examined in an article by John Millns, Liz Corfield examines the origins and organisation of the Workhouse in Frome and well-known expert on witchcraft, Andrew Pickering looks at the life of demonologist Joseph Glanvill.
Anyone with an interest in Frome and its history is invited to write an article for the 2022 issue The Yearbook can be contacted at yearbookeditor@fsls.org.uk
The Frome Society was founded in 1958 to promote the history of Frome and district and preserve its historic buildings and records. It organises a variety of lectures and coach trips and can be contacted via the society website www.fsls.org. uk. The Yearbook is published on July 1st and can be obtained from Winstones Hunting Raven Bookshop, Cheap Street, Frome or Frome Museum 1 North Parade, Frome 01373 454 611
