For purchases please check the main books page. See bottom of this page for out of print books to download.
The Buildings of Frome (3rd edition) by Rodney Goodall
Rodney Goodall was an architect in Frome for over 40 years. He uses his specialist knowledge to describe the development of the town with detailed descriptions of Frome’s outstanding collection of buildings from 1500 to 2000AD. He relates the buildings to the economic and social history of the town. Fully illustrated. 150 pages. 15x21cm ISBN 9780956586957
£12.00, inc. UK P&P
Book of Frome (5th edition) by Michael McGarvie
Michael McGarvie, Frome’s foremost historian, has written the definitive history of Frome and describes the development of the town from its foundation by St Aldhelm in 685 until 2000AD. There are chapters on all aspects of the town from its origin to the present day. It is fully illustrated and has many rare photographs, drawings and maps. 163 pages. 16x24cm ISBN 9780956586971
£18.50 inc UK P&P
Frome Through the Ages (2nd edition) by Michael McGarvie.
Michael McGarvie has compiled an anthology of nearly 150 extracts and descriptions relevant to Frome which were published to coincide with the celebration of the town’s 1300th anniversary in 1985, with many original photographs. 176 pages. 15x21cm
Download the index here ISBN 9780948014284
£7.50, inc. UK P&P
Frome Place Names
Michael McGarvie has compiled an erudite and entertaining description of the derivation of the place and street names in Frome. Many of these date from the middle ages or recall the names of householders who lived in the street. 52 pages. 15×21 cm ISBN 9780993060540
£8.00 in UK P&P
Heritage Trail (v2) edited by Alastair MacLeay
The trail follows a series of plaques which were installed by the Frome-Selwood Building Society to celebrate the 1300th anniversary of the founding of Frome in 685AD. The pamphlet guides the reader through the whole of the old town and describes the important buildings in their historical context. There are many illustrations together with a list of plaques installed by the Frome Society for Local Study. 16 pages. 15×21 cm ISBN 978-0956586933
£4.00 in UK P&P
Crime & Punishment in Regency Frome edited by Michael McGarvie
The journals of Isaac Gregory, Constable of Frome in 1813-4 and 1817-8 give an original description of how life was lived in the town and the trials and tribulations suffered by the constable in the early part of the 19th century. 63 pages. 17×23.5 cm
96 pages 15x21cm ISBN 978-1916264724
£11.00 inc UK P&P
The Butler & Tanner Story by Lorraine Johnson
Lorraine Johnson follows the development of Butler and Tanner from its foundation by William Langford printing labels for his chemist shop to become the finest colour printer in the country. The trials and tribulations of operation in wartime are covered, together with the slow decline of the company which ended in closure in 2014. There are descriptions of many of the leading characters. The book is superbly illustrated. 133 pages. 17×24 cm ISBN 9780993060502
£15.00 inc UK P&P
Historic Inns of Frome by Mick Davis and Valerie Pitt
The authors have produced an exhaustive list of all recorded public houses in Frome and district together with the names of the landlords. There are many stories associated with the inns and the book is fully illustrated with many old photographs. 181 pages. 16×23.5 cm
ISBN 9780956098993
£13.00 inc UK P&P
Argyll House
Michael McGarvie describes the history of this fine Palladian grade II* listed building in Gentle Street with details of previous owners and uses from 1766 to 2000. 28 pages. 17.5×24 cm
£5.00, inc. UK P&P
The Blue House
There has been an alms house on the site of the Blue House since the middle ages. The pamphlet describes the adaptation of this grade I listed building over 200 years to the needs of the present day. Fully illustrated. 16 pages. 15×21 cm
£5.00, inc. UK P&P
Bath Street
Derek Gill describes the evolution of Bath Street from its development in 1810-13. Each house is detailed with a list of previous uses and owners. There are several rare photographs, advertisements and maps. 86 pages. 16×22 cm
£7.00, inc. UK P&P
Dissenters by Liz Hutchinson £10.95
The novel is set in the 1660’s and describes the life of a sister and her two brothers from Frome who become members of a smuggling gang. This takes place against a background of the flourishing cloth industry and the growth of non-conformism and the expansion of the town. 276 pages 13 x 20 cm ISBN 9781906978839
£13.05 inc UK P&P
Experiences of a 19th C Gentleman (The Bunn Diaries)
edited by Derek Gill. Thomas Bunn (1767-1853), solicitor and visionary, had a major influence on the development of Frome. Derek Gill has chosen and edited extracts from his diaries which describe the people that he met and the activities that took place in Frome over his lifetime. 196 pages. 17×24 cm
£14.00 inc UK P&P
The Sheppards & 18th Century Frome by Derek Gill
Derek Gill describes the Sheppard family who were the most important clothiers in Frome and how they developed the area between South Parade and Catherine Street during the 17th and 18th centuries. There are descriptions of several important buildings that they owned in the town.
50 pages. 15×21 cm. No longer available. A pdf is available here – The Sheppards
The Future of the Past by Douglas Twelvetrees
This is a description of the formation of the Frome Society for Local Study in 1958 by a group of Frome people who wished to save the history of the town. The development of the society over the first 15 years is detailed including the creation and separation of Frome Museum. 22 pages. 14.5x21cm
£2.00 inc UK P&P
Flesh & Bones of Frome Selwood & Wessex
This fictional story is set in AD 934 when the winter court of King Athelstan of Wessex is taking place in Frome. The church of John the Baptist and the royal palace are where the story of jealousy and intrigue take place. This novel is based on original documents and recent historical research. 388 pages 14.5×21 cm ISBN 9781906798501
£16.50 inc UK P&P
The Gorge
Historical novel set in Somerset and Dorset in the 10th century, sequel to the author’s Flesh and Bones.
King Athelstan is dead. Long live the new king, Edmund, his half-brother. The cobbled-together nation of England must react to the challenges of the times: threats from Northumbria and Ireland, resentment from Mercia, pressure from a Church flexing its powerful Catholic muscles. Reformation is in the air. The House of Wessex is weakened by a cliff-top promise and suffers a shocking assassination. Was it intended or was it provoked? 382 pages ISBN 978-1914407185
£16.50 inc UK P&P
Frome Frolics
Pat Tayler recounts thirty of her amusing experiences that she had in Frome over 15 years all of which are illustrated by her cartoons. 85 pages 15×21 cm ISBN 9781527218505
£7.00 inc UK P&P
Orchardleigh
Two books about Orchardleigh are now out of print but can be downloaded here
Orchardleigh Park & The Duckworths – McGarvie
Sir Henry Newbolt & Orchardleigh – McGarvie
The Sheppards & 18th Century Frome by Derek Gill
Pdf is available here – The Sheppards
Frome Society publications are also available from the Winstones (Hunting Raven) Bookshop, Cheap Street, Frome, Frome Museum, Frome Information Centre or direct from Mick Davis, Frome Museum, 1North Parade, Frome, Somerset BA11 1AT (01373 454611 or publications@fsls.org.uk).
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