Frome, at the Heart of Wessex: A Town Saved by Neglect
Contents Updated: Thursday, 26 October 2006
Abstract
For many visitors interested in the history and architecture of this part of England, it would make more sense to lodge in or around Frome to use it as a base for exploring the surrounding area. Besides the plethora of old buildings locally, there are very many attractions ancient and modern within a forty miles drive. History and current information about Frome Town and its environs—Somerset, Wessex, England, UK
Bigger than Bath!
In the early 1700s Frome was an important commercial centre, its prosperity based on the wool trade. With a population of 10,000 it was four times the size of Bath. Now Bath is famous and Frome forgotten but, as John Dawson wrote in the London Daily Telegraph:
Frome, like many a historic French or Italian town, has been saved by neglect.Its neglect in some ways has been a boon. Through lack of development since the collapse of the wool industry 200 years ago, Frome now has more buildings listed as being of architectural or historic value than any similar unsung town in Britain. Anyone visiting Bath ought to spend half a day on a conducted walk or should follow the plaques of the Frome Heritage walk—details from the Tourist Office (address and phone number above). Frome is nothing like as genteel as Bath but it has the advantage of being cheaper and more accessible, Bath being plagued by its traffic problems.
For many visitors interested in the history and architecture of this part of England, it would make more sense to lodge in or around Frome to use it as a base for exploring the surrounding area. Besides the plethora of old buildings locally, there are very many attractions ancient and modern within a forty miles drive.
