A WELL in the floor of a shop in Frome is 40 feet deep and possibly 600 years old, according to the people who clambered down it recently.
Members of the Frome Tunnels Project ventured down the well in Bon Bon Chic on Catherine Hill in March, and now believe it dates back to the Middle Ages. The well was discovered in 2015 when the shop was renovated and has since been on display with a glass cover for customers to peer down.
Robin Hill, of the tunnels project, said the team plan to go back and dig further to find out more.
“It was very interesting,” Robin told Frome Times. “The well was about 40 feet deep and, instead of just being cut into the rock, it was actually lined with building stone. There is a pipe which we believe was used to pump water up, but at the bottom it’s just rubble and about five foot deep sludge. No treasure this time, I’m afraid!
“We plan to go back and dig down because the well could be bell-bottomed underneath and open out into a chamber connected to waterways.
“It’s in an old part of Frome so we think it could date back to the 13th Century, but it’s difficult to date it because there’s no mortar down there.”
Frome has existed for over 1,000 years and is thought to have developed around a monastery built in the 7th Century.
Owner of Bon Bon Chic, Sharon Hall said, “We’ve been wanting the tunnellers to go down and find out more about the well since we found it.
“It’s an absolutely lovely thing to have in the shop and people often pop in to have a look down. I think it’s fascinating that it’s so well preserved and there is dry stone walling and stalagmites and stalactites down there.
“My husband went down to have a look but it didn’t look like my cup of tea! It seems to have unplugged a bit now and there is more water coming up, so I’ll be interested to see what they find when it is explored again.”
Members of the Frome Tunnels Project will, for the first time, be holding a presentation at this year’s Frome Festival. More details will be available soon.
