RESOURCES
There is a huge amount of documentation on Frome and its inhabitants if you know where to look.
The following is a guide to where you might begin your research.
The NATIONAL ARCHIVES at Kew in London hold many documents relating to Frome and their catalogue can be searched for free: nationalarchives.gov.uk
Similarly, the SOMERSET ARCHIVES and LOCAL STUDIES collections hold the main bulk of Frome documents with a searchable catalogue. You can also visit them for free but there is a booking system which you can check online at swheritage.org.uk
There are several Subscription Sites with collections of Frome documents like Ancestry.co.uk, Find My Past, The Genealogist, and My Heritage.
Some free sites include:
www.freebmd.org.uk (free birth, death and marriage registrations)
www.freecen.org.uk (free details for most census and places)
www.freereg.org.uk (free indexes of parish registers for England)
www.genuki.org.uk (UK & Ireland search by parish)
www.familysearch.org (free Latter Day Saints website of parish records, census and more)
www.findagrave.com (click on the UK site and fill in details)
www.maps.nls.uk (hosted by the National Library of Scotland it covers all of the UK)
FROME LIBRARY holds a collection of local books, directories & guides on Frome and surrounding villages in their reference section. They also have Parish Packs (Example: Ordnance survey plan, Table of population, Extracts from Domesday Book, Lay subsidy returns, Protestation returns, Dwelly’s Heath Tax, Collinsons history and antiquities, Charity commissioners reports, Greenwoods Somersetshire delineated, Braggs Directory, Hunt’s Directory, Kelly’s Directory, Morris’s Directory, Nikolaus Pevsner’s buildings of England) for Frome.
The villages include Ashwick, Babington, Batcombe, Beckington, Berkley, Binegar, Brewham, Buckland Dinham, Chantry, Chewton Mendip, Cloford, Coleford, Cranmore (East & West), Doulting, Downside, Emborough, Elm, Farleigh Hungerford, Foxcote, Hardington, Hemington, Holcombe, Kilmersdon, Kilmington, Laverton, Leigh on Mendip, Litton, Lullington, Marston Bigot, Mells, Norton St Philip, Nunney, Oakhill, Orchardleigh, Rodden, Rode, Shepton Mallet, Standerwick, Stoke St Michael, Ston Easton, Stratton on the Fosse, Tellisford, Upton Noble, Vobster, Wanstrow, Whatley, Witham Friary, Woolverton.
There are Memorial Inscriptions for Frome’s Dissenters Cemetery, Holy Trinity and St John Baptist. Village Memorial Inscriptions for Babington, Beckington, Berkley, Chantry, Cloford, Coleford, Downhead, Farleigh Hungerford, Hemington, Hardington, Kilmersdon, Laverton, Lullington, Marston Bigot, Mells, Norton St Philip, Rode, Rudge, Tellisford, Trudoxhill, Vobster, Wanstrow, Whatley, Woodlands & Woolverton.
There are Registers & Census Returns for Chantry. Registers of Great Elm plus Marriages 1754-1910 and Banns 1754-1812. Registers for Whatley plus Banns & Marriages 1764-1812 and Baptisms & Burials 1774-1812.
There is a large selection of maps of Frome and surrounding villages. The Somerset Standard and other local newspapers are available to view on Microfilm from 1883 to present day.
If you hold a library membership card, you can access Ancestry.com on the computers in the Frome upstairs reference library for free.
THE FROME MUSEUM specialises in local items. You can search for items in their collections on the website https://frome-museum.org
The following is a rough list of items available:
BOOKS - Over 6000 books - All the local villages history books; Scrap Books; WW1 & WW2 books; Frome Directories & Guides from 1854.
CLUBS & GROUPS - Vast collection of local groups such as Dramatic Societies, Flower Show committees, Oddfellows, Sports Clubs etc.
WORK & INDUSTRY - Nearly all the big local industries, BTs, Beswick, Notts, Singers, Express Dairies, Tuckers etc plus lots of smaller workplaces & people.
EVENTS - Items of interest from local newspaper have been clipped and saved plus many photos from local events like Carnival, Cheese Show, Frome Festival etc. You never know who you might recognise!
MAPS - The collection of maps date from 1774 and shows how the town and local villages have grown over the years. Some maps even include named houses.
CHURCH RECORDS - This is a vast subject with records dating back to the early 1700s.
FROME RESEARCH collection by David Smart is available to search and to download to your computer, covering family history, censuses, church and property records. In the Collection box type in Frome Research BMD and this will bring up a list to choose from. When opened each one can be downloaded with the link. There is also Frome Research surveys with lots of searchable documents.
HOUSES & ESTATES - There is an enormous collection of indentures, mortgages and leases going back to the 1600s. There are large estate auctions, often due to death duties and over 1300 Estate agent brochures for the whole of Frome. There are also a few house inventories.
INDIVIDUALS - Documents & photos donated from individuals and families - just search for a surname.
NEWSPAPERS - BMDs from 1886, Obituaries, Property sales with the householder's name, Holiday trips, Sports clubs results with named players, School photos and events, Annual & town activities.
SCHOOLS - A large collection of Grammar/College photos, Photos of all other schools & activites, Lots of school memorabilia.
PHOTOGRAPHS - Over 4700 photos of beautiful images of Streets, Houses, Shops, Industry, Farming, Churches, Education, Sport, People, Clubs, Events, Villages.
OTHER ITEMS - Voting lists, Jury lists, West Woodland survey 1568, Buckland Dinham survey 1803, Rent Rolls, Inhabitants of Frome Selwood 1785, Census 1785, Somerset Wills, Survey Frome Selwood 1814, Frome Union paupers 1895-1908, Child vaccinations registers.
The FROME SOCIETY for LOCAL STUDY website www.fsls.org.uk has taken over the Frome Research collection by David Smart, covering family history, censuses, church and property records, local mapping and more.
