Frome Museum
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June 15th to July 24th
Benjamin Baker exhibition
Born in Frome he was a talented architect.
28th July to September 26th
Civil aviation exhibition
September 29th to winter closing
Wilfred Watson exhibition
A talented Frome photographer in the late 19th early 20th century.
Frome Museum, in the historic market town of Frome, Somerset, houses a fascinating collection of local artefacts and sources of information, ranging from the Horner family to glass negatives from Singers Art Metal works.
It has a library, a collection of historic maps, photographs, and a range of local information leaflets and books.
It has many artefacts on display, from the ancient quern to the Marston House Fire Engine, a great favourite with children.
The Museum plans to enhance its permanent and temporary exhibitions and to increase the use of the building by local schools as well as the general public.
It will concentrate on improving the display of the collection of local crafts and industrial artefacts and the social history of Frome.
Recent acquisitions include; copies of tithe maps for most of the local area, pre-war scrap books kept by the Singer family, back numbers of Current Archaeology & research notes of the Knights Templar in Somerset.
When the Cheese Show was in the Market Place
The current exhibition at Frome Museum will open on 29th Sept and features photographs by Wilfred Lewis Watson.
Watson was the proprietor of a drug and photographic shop in Cheap St Frome from 1899-1909. About twenty years ago a collection of his glass negatives and some photographic equipment were found in the eaves of a house in Ealing, London. Some of the negatives were recently donated to the museum and the rest of the collection was loaned for copying.
The glass negatives are well preserved with some slight deterioration in a few. Some of them are of hitherto unseen views by this photographer. In particular there is a view of the Market Place on Cheese Show day - a crowded, bustling scene with market stalls.
Watson’s life has been extensively researched and it was discovered that he was a pharmaceutical student in 1891, but apparently failed to qualify as a chemist as the registers at The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of GB drew a blank. He described himself as a chemist at his marriage in 1897 to Ethel Hessey of Warminster. At the 1901 census in Frome his occupation was ‘dispenser to surgeon.’ After leaving Frome his whereabouts remain a mystery. Records at Ealing have been searched together with the 1911 census as well as passenger lists to the English speaking world, and they have all drawn a blank.
The exhibition will continue until the end of November and is open Tuesday-Saturday 10am to 2pm Admission is free.
Interview with Jennie O'Kane by Christine Meadows from Frome FM Here
Visitors can view the Frome Timeline at the Museum, see sample Here
Some links:
Family research - Fussels Iron Works - Radstock Museum - Frome Society for Local Study - Warminster Museum - Somerset Museum Service - Frome Towntalk - Somerset Archaeology
The Museum is normally open from 10am to 2pm, Tuesday - Saturday. Free entry but donations are appreciated. It is a good idea to email/ring to advise of a search before visiting.
+44 (0)1373 454611
NB. The Museum is closed from the end of November and opens on Tuesday 2nd March 2010
Frome Museum, 1 North Parade, Frome, Somerset BA11 1AT
Hon.
Patron, The Earl of Oxford & Asquith KCMG.
Reg.
Charity no. 266780. Reg. Museum no. 1985
Email: fromemuseum@tiscali.co.uk
Some of the display items, including the ancient quern
The Museum's aims are; To maintain, manage and enhance the museum's collection of artefacts and library resources in accordance with its collections management policy and to make these resources accessible to researchers and the general public. To provide a modern museum with an industrial focus.
There are many images and old documents in the Library section.
Right: Old house at the top of Gentle Street in1850, and far right The George Inn, Norton St. Philip. (15th Century)
