Frome in Wessex
Frome: Drovers’ Gold BBC period drama
Abstract
© 1996. Contents Updated: Thursday, 26 October 2006
BBC Wales on Location in Frome
David MacGregor wrote this piece in edition 2 of the Catherine Hill Traders Association magazine.
“Its perfect. Its got just the right atmosphere, with so many streets that architecturally blend well for a nineteenth century period drama location. Frome’s an ideal period backdrop, and now we’ve discovered it, I’m sure we’ll be back!” said Patrick Schwitzer, Location Manager for BBC Wales’ drama production of Harvest Moon. (The five episode series began on BBC TV on Friday 30 May 1997 under the title Drovers’ Gold not Harvest Moon.)
The Celtic Cowboys Come to Town
The BBC machine rolled into unsuspecting Frome and began fiming in mid June for almost a week. However, before they came, the BBC Art Department, carpenters, painters, scaffolders and workers of all descriptions literally transformed Frome in days to an authentic period set. Frome was fortunate in its architecture, as it enabled the BBC to make full use of many areas of the town, thus ensuring a variety of Frome scenes will appear in the production.
Cardiff, Bristol and Bath were also used in scenes of the film, as well as the Welsh hills. Frome was commended by the production team and cast for its helpful residents and traders, and their enthusiastic cooperation making filming an enjoyable and memorable experience.
The areas of frome the BBC chose to film and create as sets were Eagle Lane, Gentle Street, St John’s Church and graveyard, Catherine Hill, Sheppard’s Barton, Paul Street and Catherine Street. All in all with up to fifty production crew, a large cast and many extras, up to 115 people were involved daily.
The car park at the rear of Rook Lane became the main base, with the memorial Theatre assembly rooms being used for dressing and make-up. Costumed characters thronged the streets, the shops and houses were aged, with whole facades built and period props everywhere. The streets lined with stone dust, smoke machines, clapper boards, horses, cattle, peelers, cowboys, urchins, merchants, ladies and gentlemen of all description in appropriate costume creating a most vivid and lifelike glimpse of the past, in a temporary theme town with fantastic atmosphere.
The town gathered in considerable numbers throughout the filming to watch take after take, and take a photograph or two whilst enjoying the behind the scenes priviledged glimpse.
Harvest Moon is the title of the production which tells the story of the Welsh cattle drivers, their adventures and their running feud with the evil landowner of their tenanted farms. Set in 1843 the dastardly landlord concocts a plan to evict the farmers by raising the land rents, forcing the farmers to try to drive their cattle to London for better prices to save their homes. The journey to London and their adventures there and en route are dogged by persistent attempts to scupper the drive by the land owners’ agents. The drover gang are truly “Celtic cowboys“ and their character and determination are tested all the way. Without giving away too much of the story the bad guys don’t usually win.
The whole production took fourteen weeks to film in two seven week blocks, ending in Cardiff on 21st July. Part of the filming involved 57 cattle, a mixture of older breeds of Longhorn, Welsh Black and white Parkes being driven through the various areas. In the film the cattle are being driven through London (Frome) on their way to Smithfield Market. The parts used in cattle scenes were Catherine Street, Catherine Hill and even up Sheppards Barton steps.
Many takes were needed, five on Catherine Hill, which was a technical nightmare, requiring the cattle to be repeatedly marched up and down the hill, avoiding crowds, shop windows, and the traders trying calmly to protect their frontages. No serious damage resulted, although one cow horn did claim one shop window and a couple of drain pipes were caught. A small number of cattle recived a few injuries during the filming and when the herd was being turned. The cattle were all very gentle despite their long horns. None of the extras, actors or spectators were injured despite the close proximity of the passing herd in many scenes.
The sets dissoled almost as quickly as they were erected when the production moved on, much to the regret of many locals who would have liked to have seen the sets remain in period style, as a permanent attraction.
The whole whirlwind event was most entertaining and interesting, and will be remembered by locals who came and saw the sets for a long time, as a splendid example of location filming.
Frome Harvest Moon
And here Tania Watts gives a personal view together with some relevant background material. The author, who has successfully completed her textile design course, has offered a piece she wrote for one of her final year projects to the AskWhy! Frome Town pages…
It was after receiving a letter from the BBC Cymry Wales on the 9th June 1996 that we were first told of the forthcoming events. A six part period drama was to be filmed in the small town of Frome in Somerset.
Dear Residents,
Just to re-cap, our story set in 1843 starts on the bleak mountains of Mid-Wales, where a community of tenant farmers embark on a cattle drove to London’s Smithfield market in order to get a better price for their stock. The episodes are full of adventures and follow the many trials and tribulations they face along the way.
The scenes we want to film around Catherine Street are of the drove, arriving in London. This involves 70 cows being walked down Catherine Street and up the steps to Shepherds Barton. The cows come complete with a team of men to look after them, and are very well behaved animals. In Shepherds Barton we will need to cover over some of the brighter coloured front doors with fake period doors just before we film the relevant scene. We also have some scenes to film around The Sun Inn in Catherine Street, where we will have a road closure in operation.
Work will start in your area on the afternoon of Thursday 4th July 96, when our design team will begin work on all alterations. It would be of enormous help if we were able to gain access to the properties from this date. I hope that our design team have already managed to talk to many of you about our plans. Any of the alterations we will make will be temporary, and everything will go back to how is was originally. Alterations will be done without causing any damage, and what we take down will be put back, such as signs, hanging baskets, hooks, exterior lights etc. Re-instatement work will start as soon as the filming has finished and everything should be back to normal by the end of Wednesday 10th July 96.
The main area of Catherine Hill is between the Paul Street junction and the run up to Shepherds Barton steps. All the shop fronts in this area will need some alterations, many of the empty shops will be clad and others may need alterations to the window displays and perhaps paint the outside a different colour. Any alterations made will of course be rectified when we leave and if necessary have a fresh coat of paint. The larger windows will need to have more period looking smaller windows wedged over them, and we will need to lay gravel cover over any modern paving. In Paul Street we also plan to erect some beams between the buildings to create an older Dickensian look to the area.
We realise that there is an Arts Festival in Paul Street at this time. but hope we might be able to work together in taking banners down temporarily. I will be trying to establish contact with everyone in the street to check you are happy with our plans, many thanks to those of you who have already contacted us.
Yours sincerely
Patrick Schweitzer
Location Manager
Harvest Moon
This extravaganza would be the biggest happening to hit Frome for many a year. Tongues were wagging and the local gossips were in their element as rumours spread about the filming. “What actors are in it?” people asked and “What have they starred in previously?”
A local paper, The Frome Journal, wrote an article, BBC Films Drama Series in Frome, which answered a few questions but continued the rumours. A programme manager spoke of one of the scenes that involved a herd of cattle being driven through a street.
This may sound hazardous, but I can assure you that we have an experienced cow handler with us at all times and the animals are generally very well behaved.
“Well behaved cows!” was the outcry from the public which brought many an amusing tale in the local inn like “Rampaging mad cows destroy local streets!” and the surreal idea of cows entering the inn for a quick pint before starting their work.
In this article, I will seek to explore the themes of why they picked Frome for the location, delving into images that are related to Dickens and our visions of him today. Did the producers envisage the small group of residents staging an arts exhibition causing so many problems, and the problems of the local and national press looking for a story? I shall also survey relevant aspects of Victorian costume alongside my first hand experiences of watching the filming take place, and catching images from my view point with a camera, pencil and note pad.
I will begin by reviewing some of the fuss caused by the filming and the reaction of some people to it, as well as the publicity it created. Then I shall say how the design team changed the streets of Frome into a grubby, rat infested 19th Century London streetscape and describe the filming that took place during the week they spent in Frome.
Harvest Moon Bloomers
To our amazement even before the filming had started, it was not the story of the cattle or the filming of a drama series that hit the headlines. Instead, a Mrs Corrina Sargood cleverly set the ball rolling.
The Somerset Standard wrote:
The filming of Harvest Moon coincided with a charity arts festival staged by residents of Paul Street, part of the show involved colourful underwear strung across the 17th century street, (more little Italy than Dickensian). When BBC bosses insisted the bloomers came down, the organiser Mrs Sargood said ‘It is high handedness. When the crew told us they had just discovered Frome, we had visions of them beating down virgin jungle with their machetes to find a lost race. We reached a compromise eventually. I just wish that their public relations had been better.’
Michael Bradbury replied on behalf of various traders in Cheap Street, Kings Street and Bath Street to The Somerset Standard after reading the item on Mrs Sargood:
As many readers will have noticed the BBC are filming in Frome. I have read an article in the Western Daily Press on a certain person complaining about the fact that they were not notified about filming and she would have to take down her washing which was being used for a street fair! As traders in the town we were all approached five to six weeks previous and boards have been up on posts for three weeks regarding what streets were being closed etc. I and my fellow traders despair at times. The town’s trade is not very healthy at the moment and Frome needs all the publicity it can get. The crew have been very good to the town, spending well and creating a lot of interest to locals and tourists alike. All we can say is the person complaining must be a newcomer to the town, should she look around and see all the empty shops, she can see that we need all the help we can get and merely a few days filming and upset will be worth it with the amount of the publicity the town will receive. We hope that further TV and film companies will use the town in the future, its what we all want.
The knickers story was immediately picked up by the national press. The People bellowed:
Knickers Down
Housewives halted filming of a 3 million BBC costume drama by leaving their knickers and bras on a washing line. Producers begged the residents of sleepy Frome in Somerset to take down the underwear, so shooting could continue. But they held on until BBC bosses paid them £150 each. The drama Harvest Moon turned in to a soap opera because Corrina Sargood, 41, had organised an outdoor art exhibition. She had turned the towns lanes into Mediterranean style back streets with colourful bloomers hanging from washing lines. Location manager, Patrick Schweitzer said, ’Lines of coloured washing did not fit in to the scene of 1840 London. They had to come down’.
There was no mention of the drama itself, the actors or the thriving trade that appeared while Harvest Moon was being filmed.
Smithfield Market, Frome!
The BBC design team had arrived and begun all alterations on Catherine Hill a week before filming was to start. This involved covering shop signs, re-dressing windows and placing mock frontages on some of the shops. The carpenters had arrived prepared with wooden boards, which they slotted into place, after checking the measurements were correct.
Caroline Wood wrote in, The Somerset Standard , July 11th 1996:
The BBC with all its paraphernalia rolled in and transformed the St Catherine’s area in to a grubby rat-infested nineteenth century London streetscape. The 120 strong cast and crew this week filmed a 3 million series, Harvest Moon. Set in the 1840’s and starring Freddie Jones, Geraldine James and 57 Welsh long horned cows.
The scene they set was that of Smithfield market and the surrounding area in 19th century London. London was the heart and soul of the Dickens world, although there was much more squalor and poverty in 19th Century cities.
Dirty men, filthy women, squalid children, fluttering shuttlecocks, noisy battledores, reeking pipes, bad fruit, more than doubtful oysters, attenuated cats and depressed dogs.
Dickens would walk around the streets untiringly, investigating, observing and remembering the people that he saw, transforming the reality into that unique world of his novels.
The once weekly cattle and flesh market had been held in Smithfield since medieval times. The live stock had grown with the London population and animals were driven from long distances for sale there. By 1853 an astonishing number of cattle, 277,000, were delivered to that area of London. The accompanying disturbances and debris made by the animals, as they were herded through the streets brought hundreds of complaints and caused constant accidents. (As it did in Frome during the cattle scenes.)
As Pip said in Great Expectations: “Smithfield was a shameful place, being all asmear with filth and fat and blood and foam.” Yet absolutely nothing of this squalor is conveyed at this time in artistic representations of Smithfield market, such as that of Thomas Rowlandson who portrayed open space in front of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, filled to capacity with thousands of cattle, sheep and pigs controlled by stockades, a group of buyers examining the stock, arguing prices with salesmen while drovers in smocks retain a precarious order.
During the filming of Harvest Moon, the scene that the director wished to convey was that of the drive through the streets of London heading towards the market. The cattle would be herded through the public streets, passing the street traders. These were members of the urban working population who lacking in capital investment to trade from a shop or stall, earned a living by plying their wares and services on an individual, itinerant basis.
Coffee stalls were a main feature in the streets at this time and were usually surrounded by people standing about, drinking their coffee from cups, mugs or bowls. The coffee stall used in the filming stood out like a jewel, due to the copper water and coffee pots which shone out brightly in the sunshine.
The design team spent three days preparing the hill for the shoot. Once the wooden boards were nailed on to the shop frontages, small windows were placed on top of the existing large windows. All the wood was stained to look old and dirty, to give the impression of a crumbling shanty-street.
Black and white posters were glued on to the wooden boards, then stained by brushing tea over them for the finishing effect. Advertising boards were hung along side the posters, offering the public such products as Coopers Glue and Refreshments and Tea. The shop fronts all had their own advertising boards, but it was the windows that caught the eye. They were filled with such wonderful delights.
To the surprise of the local community, one member of the design team explained: “When we were looking in to the history of Frome, it was very interesting to us looking and discovering the background history of the shops. Besides the expected trades, such as a grocer, draper and butcher, that still remain here today, there was once a halter and a gingerbread maker along this hill.” So the producers decided to use the original traders that once thrived here, not forgetting the cow keepers and the purpose of the drama.
A bookstall was added, as were the baskets of vegetables, bird cages and a stone fountain which was placed by the steps leading from the hill to the High Pavement. The road had recently been cobbled, but wood-chips, gravel, straw and hay were added for effect.
But why Frome?
Frome: A Brief History
Patrick Schweitzer explained:
The BBC had spent a long time driving around the country looking for a suitable location. Frome has such a lot of old buildings, it was ideal for what we were looking for, to create an older Dickensian look.
Frome, like many a historic French or Italian town, has been saved by neglect. From the 1830s, when the town`s woollen industry was already lost to newly industrialised and less conservative Yorkshire, the population remained static until the seventies at around 13,000. A legacy of this stagnation is the remarkable number of buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries which managed to survive the planners until the Sixties. No less than 500 of Frome`s buildings are considered by the government to be of architectural or historical interest - a record for a town of this size.
The number of inhabitants in Frome has doubled in the past 20 years, but almost all of the new development is on the outskirts of the town. The historic centre remains largely intact including a large area of ancient residential properties and some particularly fine examples of early industrial premises. All are built of a stone similar to that made famous by nearby Bath - which Frome long exceeded in size and prominence.
In about the year 685, a group of monks wound their way along ancient trackways through the great forest which stretched from the English Channel to the Cotswolds. The monks reached a river which they forded, then climbed uphill to a small level area in a clearing where they stopped. Here they prepared the ground, dug foundations and built a small stone church which they dedicated to St John the Baptist.
The leader of the group would go down to the riverbank where he played the harp and sing in a clear beautiful voice. Very soon crowds of people gathered from small scattered settlements to listen to his Christian message. Many believed his words and so he baptised them in the river. This leader was St Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury. Gradually around his church a small community developed and thus Frome came in to existence.
At first its growth was slow, but by the time of the Doomsday survey in 1087, Reinbald the priest held Frome, which was then one of the royal manors belonging to the king. During the later medieval period the abundance of sheep in the area resulted in the development of cloth making. Frome prospered and expanded.
From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, new houses were needed for the weavers and other artisans, as well as grander homes for the clothiers and dyers. Many new streets were constructed. Until the industrial revolution, cloth making was a cottage industry, with the father working on his loom upstairs and the rest of the family spinning thread. By the nineteenth century, cloth making was concentrated in mills, the largest was Sheppards Mill in Spring Gardens.
During the Napoleonic period Frome was renowned for its blue cloth used for army uniforms. Before 1856 natural colorants were used for dyeing, this then changed to chemicals. The Trinity area was originally the oad or wode ground where the plant which produced the blue dye was grown.
Field names reflected this industry: for example, Cut Hedges, where hedges were kept low to enable the wind to dry the cloth more easily, or Rack Close, where the cloth was hung on wooden racks to dry in the sun.
After the defeat of Napoleon the cloth industry in Frome declined. It could not keep up to date with the more modern methods, and lost the trade to the north of England. By the 1830’s, with empty houses and unemployment, the Poor Rate was used to sponsor emigration to Canada. Here poor families could start a new life. Frome was a declining town.
Fortunately in the 1850’s new industries were being established which gradually bought back prosperity to the town. It was thanks to people like Lewis Cockney who came to Frome in 1680 to work for the church, casting church bells, and leaving the business to his descendants who continued the work for hundreds of years.
By the nineteenth century Frome had turned gas in to a new industry, so it was no accident that Frome had gas street lighting as early as 1812.
William Langford set up a small printing press in the stable of the Wheatsheaf Inn to print labels for his medicine bottles, from which developed Butler and Tanner the printers, which is now a major employer in the area.
John Webb Singer, a local watchmaker, indulged his interest in metal by making church ornaments as a hobby, coinciding with a liturgical revival of the Church of England. Later three London sculptors persuaded him to build a foundry for casting statues. The figures of Boadicea on the Embankment in London and the Justice of the Old Bailey court houses, King Alfred at Winchester and the Lions at Capetown were all cast here.
John Dawson wrote in West Country Living:
Next time you are you are in London, glance up at the statue of Justice performing her blindfold balancing act on the top of the Old Bailey - and take another look at Boudicca galloping along the Embankment. Consider that both these national monuments arrived there from the West Country, having been cast in the pretty though often neglected Somerset town of Frome.
Neglect in the last 200 years had its advantages. Through lack of development Frome still retains most of its old buildings, which reflect the prosperity brought by the cloth industry of the earlier period. There are more listed buildings here, than in any other town in Somerset.
Nevertheless there were danger points. In the mad urge to modernise in the early 60s a third of the seventeenth century terraced cottages in the town had been destroyed and inferior system built flats and houses built in their place. The turning point was in 1970, when a proposal was bought forward to demolish the remaining seventeenth century terraced cottages in the town. Strong objections were voiced locally and fortunately the voices were heard. Now the Trinity area has been restored and is nationally renowned.
Clothing In Dickens’ Time
“Dickens is still ahead of us”, wrote Jack Lindsay. He was referring to the remarkable way in which Dickens’ art has survived and indeed to some extent conquered the age of mass media. During the last decade or so Dickens has entered the world of television and that of the musical while continuing to be read avidly by thousands.
It was Dickens’ characters with their quirks, mannerisms and unforgettable sayings, such as “Please Sir, can I have some more” that underwrite the popularity of Dickens which has never quite become outmoded.
You instinctively know Dickens’ heroes and villains by their characteristics in his novels or in drama by their facial appearance, gestures and deportment. Bransby Williams, an actor who specialised in the impersonation of major Dickensian characters, had a career which started at the beginning of the century and extended into television age. Other actors such as Ron Moody and Alec Guinness are known to us today for their roles as Fagin through film adaptations of Oliver Twist.
There is one scene in Oliver Twist where Oliver is taken into care by the kindest of men, Mr Brownlow. A carriage awaits them as they leave the court room and, just as they are driven away, the Artful Dodger jumps on the back to follow Oliver. This exact storyline was used in Harvest Moon, showing that Dickens ideas are still used today.
The 120 strong cast and crew arrived for the first days filming. The St Catherine’s area had been transformed in to a 19th century London streetscape. The actors were already dressed in their costumes, ready for their days work. Immediately, you could tell their position in society by the dress of the individual, or their behaviour characterised figures.
Second hand, or in fact third, fourth, fifth hand clothing started from the earliest times, to the rise of mass-manufacture in the present century. This played a major part in the 19th century, not only for poor people but also for the middle-classes, as the population was increasing due to the improvement in health and sanitation. The roots of second hand trading was in the barter system which happened in the markets and streets. Clothes were both expensive and very laborious to produce, so they were not lightly discarded. A second hand clothier, known as a clothes broker, was a respected tradesman, being skilled in tailoring.
Henry Mayhew, author of London Labour and the London Poor first published in 1851, devoted his time and vivid descriptive talents in producing a twenty-odd page manuscript. He wrote:
The great mart of second hand apparel was in the last century in Monmouth Street, now termed Dubley Street, Seven Dials. Its second hand wares are almost wholly confined to old books and shoes… A little business is carried on in second hand apparel… but is insignificant. The headquarters of these trades are now in Petticoat Lane… mostly of a retail character.
This was a new phenomenon that had started early in the 19th century, the old clothes exchange, dealing with the whole-sale side, and it is rather remarkable that a business occupying so many persons and requiring such facilities for examination and arrangement, should not until the year, 1843, have had its regulated proceeding. This, Mayhew suggests, coincides with an increase in business in second hand clothing which could not be equalled by any other trade. In Petticoat Lane the goods offered included:
decent, frowsey, half-rotten or smart and good habiliments, been ready for use. Although there are some other traders around it is essentially the old clothes district…. presenting a vista of many coloured garments, alike on the sides and on the ground, soiled with clothes; Dress coats, frock coats, great coats, livery and game-keepers, coats, palatals, tunics, trousers, knee-breeches, waist coats, capers, pilot coats, working jackets, plaids, hats, dressing gowns, shirts, Guernsey frocks are all displayed. Mixed with the hues of the women’s garments, spotted and stripes. Plus boots, handkerchiefs, lace, muslin hats, while, incessantly threading their way through all this intricacy, is a mass of people, some of whose dresses speak of recent purchases in the lane.
During the filming the street urchins or destitute boys wore haphazardly fitting, over sized, tatty clothes, obviously second hand. Their clothes were adaptations of the earlier part of the century and were usual cut down to size to fit. Usually faded in colour with rips and sleeves that were turned back to fit the owner. Breeches were worn and reached just below the knee, but neither shoes nor stockings were worn. The boys hair was long and unkempt, with a cap perched on top of his head, as most of the waifs observed the properties.
Young ladies, from the middling classes upwards, wear very much the same materials of dress, frequent the same dressmakers, and adopt the same style of hair as those which were in vogue amongst the highest classes.1845, The English Gentlewoman
The shape of the dress in the 1840’s emphasised long angles directed towards the pinched-in waist, which was then, extremely low. The shoulder drooped, the sleeves were tight or semi-tight and the full skirts almost hit the ground. The bodice and skirt were usually made in one with a back fastening by hooks and eyes. Many different materials were worn by the middle classes in the chase of the higher classes. Materials such as cloth, merino, alpaca, striped silk, (commonly known as Perkins), levanine, foulard, chine silk, grenadine, taffeta plaited and broche, barege, organdy, tarlatan and gingham.
As for colour there was a marked preference for delicate tints always harmonising with each other, and for shot materials. Primary colours were thought to be “in bad taste” and were generally found in the lower classes, such as prostitutes in their gaudy apparel and painted faces. Printed materials with all over patterns in mixed colours but never glaring were popular. The new materials in merinos, cashmeres, and alpaca presented a host of patterns, usually composed of small floral designs as well as narrow stripes.
One of the dresses used during the filming was one of many conventional dress worn at that time. The fabric was of a fashionable pin-strip, cut in a full-skirt shape, emphasising the waist. The sleeves are tight at the bottom, puffed at the shoulder which bellowed down to the elbow. A large collar covers a large area at the front and back of the dress. A matching fashionable bonnet with contrasting looped ribbon and feather trimming was worn with proudly. The shape is deep and straight-crowned, worn in a way that because if the wide brim, entirely obliterates the profile. The bonnet strings emerged from inside the brim to be tied under the chin. The actress held a parasol, of the same pin-striped material, it is hinged for effect and the handle and top ornament are made from ivory.
Skirts were also popular, still long enough to touch the toe of the shoe and very full. The material was gathered into the waist by organ pleating, a device peculiar to those years, 1841-1846, and composed of small tubular pleats drawn together. This was replaced by flat pleating later. The bustle and multiple petticoats gave a domed shape to the skirt. The bodice was “tight to the shape” and again usually long waisted.
Accessories were always worn, such as shawls, of varying sizes, but often very large with plain or richly fringed boarders. Gloves, fans and parasols were also day-time accessories, often fringed or occasionally embroidered.
There was a change at the start of the 19th century in men’s legwear. Breeches were worn daily along with pantaloons which were generally of stretch material, such as indiarubber. They were generally worn quiet tightly with an instep strap, which kept them taut. Trouser materials on the finer cloths were often speckled or marbled, merino, fawn, doeskin, kerseymere etc. It was the long straight trouser that was making a first appearance and has continued to so too the present day.
There were several coat styles, skirted coats, tail coats plus frock and morning coats, single or double breasted. Tail coats were usually double-breasted with the collar high at the back and low at the front. The coat body was square at the waist with short tails at the back. Cuffs or slits decorated the sleeves, plus two buttons. Frock coats were single breasted, buttoning from neck to waist. The collar was rolled in a stand-fall style known as a Prussian collar. Morning coats were also single-breasted with large collars and lapels.
It was the skirted coat that was worn throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, that set the fashion during the filming. The coat tails at the back were divided by a vent and had pleated tops ending with a hip button. There were either pockets in the pleats or a flapped pocket each side of the skirt at waist level. the flaps were mainly rectangular, but were scalloped for courtwear. The front skirts ended at the waist and met the back-tails horizontally - similar to present day coats. Another fashion had the fronts curving down from the last from button to the back tails. This style resembled the contemporary morning coat.
The Shoot
Frome people from all walks of life came to watch the filming. Local photographers, reporters and many others, whom had heard about the days events through local media of papers and radio. Everybody seemed to have the same idea, carrying cameras or camcorders.
People were discussing the new look to the architecture, the actors in costume and where to stand for the best position during filming. Rehearsals began on the hill with the characters going about their daily business. Wheelbarrows full to the brim, all with different wares, match sellers, street urchins (that had been borrowed from local schools for the day, to make their professional acting debut) dressed as beggar boys all enjoying the pleasures of childhood, running amok between the stalls and their keepers.
Dark figures hidden in door-ways by the shadows, crouching in the darkness as the police chase two prostitutes on gaudy apparel up the hill. Those fallen women exaggerating their charms in their seedy attire. a group of sea-faring sailors stagger out from an inn, wearing their naval uniforms. Waist-length jackets, navy in colour with a white neckerchief tied around their necks. The trousers were wide, and made from a heavy canvas. Slanted hats balanced on their heads, probably due to the amount of consumed alcohol. They stumble and fall on two ladies in more tasteful clothes, full printed dresses, bonnets and umbrellas. A different class of people from the tatty ripped clothes of the destitute.
Three large farm trucks stood stationary at the top of Catherine Hill, so the director was advised that the stars had arrived. The doors were opened to let the animals escape and as they descended the ramp onto the cobbled stones a gasp was heard. A large crowd had gathered around the trucks, to have a first hand look at the beasts. They were huge stocky animals with their horns curved up towards the skies. They obligingly provide the authentic smell and dung, apparently wheelbarrows of it. To the crowds surprise they were all docile creatures, but we the public decided to move out of the way further down the hill. A herder helped our passage through, giving us relevant information as we passed.They had brought fifty-seven Welsh long-horned cows with them, and did not expect to loose any. He mentioned that the cows really were stars in their own right, having appeared in several films in the past twelve months.
A loud speaker bellowed:
Quiet please, we are going to begin the shoot. Will all members of the public please move behind the barriers during the filming… Quiet please… Quiet… Turn over… Action.
The actors began their bustling hive of activity, as they had rehearsed previously, going about their daily business. Two of the main actors slowly walked down the hill in conversation, holding the reins of their horses, which followed behind them. Followed by the bulls being pushed on by three drovers who sat proudly on their horses. The actors just manoeuvred out of the way as if this was every-day occurrence resuming their every day business….
Cut.
I was extremely lucky during the filming of this shot, as I had prime position next to the director, Leslie Manning. He and his team, had set up one of their cameras upon the steps leading up to the High pavement, which gives you a prime view of Catherine Hill. The second camera team walked backwards down the hill and were followed by the actors in conversation, with the cows and second group of drovers with their horses. This sequence conveys the impression of a herd driven through the working streets of London, and was filmed several times before the director was happy with the footage he had shot.
I clicked away vigorously on my little canon sure-shot, hoping to catch a piece of the action I was recognised by the director as he had checked the transformation of my home “The Sun Inn” earlier that morning.
Our clean white-washed building had become a seedy looking Victorian ale house. To achieve this, all boards, signs, electric lighting and wiring had been removed. Two coats of a very dull beige had been painted on, covering everything that was to be filmed during the shoot, apart from the window frames that were a dull green in colour. The walls were then flicked, by using large paint brushes, with a concoction of mud, dirt and water. Wooden boards were placed over the two large windows for the final effect, but also helped to hide the drinkers inside. As the public house was still open for business, and stopped the locals and public peeping out and getting caught on camera. The Welsh Lad sign was swinging from a hang-mans style post at the far end of the pub. The road and double yellow lines were completely hidden from view by a concoction of gravel, sand and straw.
Five different shots were filmed outside the public house, involving the main character, the first being the scene of the drovers herding the cattle through the streets. The second involved a speech, which was rehearsed several times before shooting began, a parting of company between father and son. The cattle were sold, so he was returning home to Wales. They were dressed as they had been throughout the filming , in their every-day working clothes, woollen fabrics of grey and beige, symbolising rustic simplicity. Single jacket, such as a Taglion frock coat. Beneath this was waistcoat plus a shirt and a neckerchief was worn. Two of the characters wore knee-length breeches, stockings and tall boots, while the third wore long straight trousers, with his riding boots underneath. The hats worn were either tallhats which had a slight curve at the sides or a beaver which was shorter and wider.
As Handle, the father, said goodbye to Dafydd, his son, he is sitting astride his horse. His son at first is standing with his back against the front of the inn with another character looking in the doorway. Other folk are going about their daily business when the father spoke.
Father:Are you sure about this boy.
Son:I must wait.
Father:I must hurry.
Son:Tell my mother that I’ll see you soon and Isiara.
Handle turns and looks in to the doorway.
Father:Goodbye Daniel Jones.
Daniel Jones:Goodbye to you.
Handle collects his reins together and gallops off, homeward bound.
The third scene, was of the departure of the two drovers, riding away from their lodgings. They pass a hooded figure not realising it is the person they have been waiting for. The fourth involves two maids walking past the inn, they are the two Miss Jones’s. The characters are wearing identical dresses, very conventional, loose fitting, printed and prettified with an angling drape effect on the shoulders. On their heads, caps are worn with a gathered frilled boarder under a straw bonnet.
The final shoot was that of the lovers departing company, ending with a kiss goodbye. The actress being driven away by her awaiting carriage, as she leaves a young street urchin jumps on to the back of the carriage. Obviously obeying an order to keep an eye on the young female, but we will have to wait until September before we can understand the plot.
I did find out from a very good source, (one of the cowboys) information on the story. Basically the tale shares with us the adventures of the cattle drovers and their running feud with an evil landowner of their tenanted farms. The dastardly landlord is raising land rents, forcing the farmers to try to drive their cattle to London for a better price and save their homes. The journey to London, and their adventures there and en route are dogged by persistent attempts to scupper the drive by the landowners agents.
The cast includes Geraldine James, Freddie Jones, David Calder, Robert Pugh, Nicholas Grace, Emma Fielding, Andrew Howard, John Standing, Pay Stevenson, Beth Roberts, Keith Baron, Ruth Jones, Aneirin Hughes, Dorian Thomas, Alun Jones, Anastasia Hille and Robert Glennister. Harvest Moon was directed by Leslie Manning, assisted by Stephen Woolfenden, produced by Ruth Caleb with Rory Taylor directing photography.
“Give Us A Break”, Lewis-Smith
There was a defiant aroma in the air that evening, due to the filming of the cattle drive through of small town streets. In fact the smell lingered like a heavy cloud over most of Frome for nearly a week and took your breath away in certain places. The local residents were not happy, especially as the town council had obviously decided to hope for rain to wash away any unwanted rubbish.
There had also been a couple of broken windows when the cows charged down Catherine Hill, but they had been replaced the same day. They had not even been mentioned until the smell arrived.
Caroline Wood’s piece in the Somerset Standard continued:
St Catherine Traders Association manager, Mr David MacGregor, has been delighted with the focus on Catherine Hill, ’It’s been brilliant. The BBC has been pleased with the response from the traders and is considering coming back sometime’.
One of these traders, Mr David Mallard, who runs the Arts and Crafts studio, stayed in his cafe all night so he could provide breakfast for the crew on set early Sunday morning. Business blossomed for all concerned during the filming, and we in return received free entertainment on the streets by day and in the local ale house during the evenings. A thrilling atmosphere was created by actors and locals alike, entertaining each other with singing and dance.
Thanks to the BBC the town’s people not only enjoyed the filming, but the opportunity to experience it firsthand. The local media had supported the filming, so it was not long before radio and television started to report on the days events.
Two weeks after the filming had finished another article was printed in the Daily Mirror (27th July 1996), by Victor Lewis-Smith.
End of the road for Frome sweet Frome. For centuries, the inhabitants of a small Somerset town have proudly boasted that there’s no place like Frome. But all that changed recently when the BBC moved in and reduced the streets to chaos, while filming their latest period drama, Harvest Moon. Before they could say ’Lights, camera, action’ houses were boarded up, pavements were blocked by film crew and roads were littered with horses, hay bales, stampeding cattle and plague victims. The corpse’s were not genuine, but the plague was - a pestilence of arrogant TV producers descending on Frome and making the citizens thoroughly sick. Never mind that their arrival clashed with a large festival, which had been raising money for Third World countries. The BBC simply offered 150 quid and suggested the festival committee should cancel any event that interfered with the cameras. Once they’d got what they had come for they packed their bags and left, but I have some sombre news for the towns people. If you think that was bad, wait for the real horror to start when the series is broadcast and Frome becomes ’Harvest Moon County’.
We Frome people agree to disagree with Victor Lewis-Smith. He has obviously never been to our town as he cannot even pronounce the name. It certainly doe not rhyme with home as he implies, annoying local people. It is pronounced “Froom” not “Frohm” as it is to everyone who does not come from the area.
Victor Lewis-Smith also wrote:
We don`t live in traditional towns or counties anymore, but in little counties sketched out by TV producers and governed by tourist boards. Herriot Country, Last of the Summer Wine Country Hearbeat, Brideshead and Emmerdale Country. Will Frome inevitably be next? Maybe not. I was delighted to see that the residents weren`t intimidated and fought against the intrusion. Their council had already given permission (without consulting the locals), but the towns people insisted on proceeding with their festival anyway.
Having discussed this with various members of the public, we agree to disagree, as all towns have rules, such as planning permission. A road closure was placed on Catherine Street during filming and like all planning permission applications, this proposal went into the local newspaper weeks before the due dates. To my knowledge there was no objections, also three weeks before filming, notice boards were placed all along the street informing the public of a road closure. Mr Smith should check his information in the future!
“We do not live in traditional towns anymore”. On this point I do agree with Lewis-Smith. Nowadays we cannot afford to! Like most small towns, in Frome trade is falling rapidly with businesses closing every week. Sadly Catherine Street and Hill have been hit badly during the recession. It was once filled from top to bottom with thriving shops which have now disappeared only to be replaced by residential homes. Issues concerning the bad trade in the town have recently been argued. A shopping complex has been a major proposal in boasting trade for years but there are still too many objections.
To reiterate Michael Bradbury:
I and my fellow traders despair at times. The town trade is not very good at the moment and Frome needs all the publicity it can get.
The Frome Town Council recently started an improvement scheme which included Catherine Hill. It introduced a plan of one year’s free rent on all new businesses, giving them a chance to stand on their own two feet. So far it seems to be working, especially with the help of the BBC and their free advertising that followed them whilst filming in Frome.
There were days of discussion not only of the filming and actors but also the new interest in Catherines Hill. Many people had not bothered shopping in this area of Frome for quite a while, believing that most of the businesses had dissolved to be replaced by flats and other housing developments. I t was such a surprise to see business blooming again and Yes! they would now return more often.
As for Harvest Moon country, we cannot wait. Why shouldn’t we make use of Harvest Moon to boost our prosperity? Only a fat cat can write as Lewis-Smith did that Frome folk are: “Selling out their town history to become another stop-off point on the tourist map, selling Harvest Moon cream teas and fudge!”
Modest about its potential as a place of interest, Frome is still a working town despite the limited opportunities for employment. Only now is the tourist potential beginning to be realised. Frome is a town full of charm, with winding narrow streets leading down into the market place. It has many nooks and crannies that constantly surprise the explorer. Socially it is an active town with many varied activities and events. “There is no excuse to be bored in Frome”, said Derek Gill in October 1994.
We are surrounded by beautiful places such as Longleat House and Bath. There are suggestions that the town should claim the status of a world heritage site, and increasingly instead of merely passing through on the way to Longleat or Bath, tourists would stop to look and would be amazed at what they would find. So why not make the use of Harvest Moon? Come again BBC and other fim companies.
And give us a break Lewis-Smith!
