Frome Rural District

Frome ( (listen) FROOM) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about 13 miles (21 km) south of Bath, is part of the parliamentary constituency of Somerton and Frome. The population was 28,559 in 2021.Frome was one of the largest towns in Somerset until the Industrial Revolution, and was larger than Bath from AD 950 until 1650. The town first grew due to the wool and cloth industry; it later diversified into metal-working and printing, although these have declined. The town was enlarged during the 20th century but retains a large number of listed buildings, and most of the centre falls within a conservation area. The town has road and rail transport links and acts as an economic centre for the surrounding area. It provides a centre for cultural and sporting activities, including the annual Frome Festival and Frome Museum. In 2014, Frome was named by The Times the "sixth coolest town" in Britain. It was shortlisted as one of three towns in the country for the 2016 Urbanism Awards in the 'Great Town Award' category. In its 2018 and 2021 report on the "Best places to live in the UK", The Sunday Times listed Frome as the best in the South West. In April 2019, Time Out listed Frome among 15 of the best weekend breaks from London.

Rook Lane Chapel was a place of worship, and is now an arts centre, in Frome, Somerset, England. Built in 1707 by James Pope the chapel was the place of worship for nonconformists. In 1717 there were a thousand ‘hearers’ in the congregation. In 1773, a split in the congregation of Rook Lane led to the establishment of another Congregational Church, Zion, in Whittox Lane. As other chapels opened, however, there was a gradual decline in attendees and in 1933 the pastor's salary was reduced by £20 to £205 (equivalent to £20,000 in 2021). In 1965 the chapel merged with the Zion Chapel and Rook Lane eventually closed in 1968. It was sold to developers but they were unable to secure planning permission for proposed future uses. Lead and tiles were stolen from the roof, vandals broke in, smashed all the memorials and brought down the gallery. The building was square with two pillars supporting the roof and a gallery around three sides. There are two tiers of seven windows, and a central pediment spanning five windows. Side lobbies were added in a matching style in 1862 for stairs to the gallery. Over the main door is an inscription from Ecclesiastes 5:1: "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the House of God". There is a domed roof structure which is still intact. It is said that this chapel was locally known as "The Cupola".It was bought by the Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust which, with help from a grant from English Heritage, restored the Grade I listed building. The building is now owned by NVB, a firm of architects, who have converted it into a community facility for exhibitions, receptions, meetings and concerts, including chamber music, on the ground floor now run by the architects practice with this function known as Rook Lane. www.rooklane.org.uk The galleried upper floor is used as office space by the architects. The building is also licensed for weddings.

The Church of St John the Baptist, Frome is a parish church in the Church of England located in Frome within the English county of Somerset. It is a Grade II* listed building. The first church on the site was founded by Aldhelm around 685 AD The late Saxon building was replaced at end of the 12th century and expanded with addition of chantry chapels up to the time of a major extension of the church around 1420 to its present footprint. In 1852 the controversial priest William James Early Bennett was appointed as the vicar and undertook major changes both in the organisation of the parish and the fabric of the church. The restoration by Charles Edmund Giles included stained glass by Charles Eamer Kempe and statuary by James Forsyth. The entrance to the church passes a holy well and stone-sculptured Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) depicting seven scenes from the Stations of the Cross. It is unique in the Anglican church in England.

The Boyle Cross is a Grade II listed structure located in the town centre of Frome in Somerset, England. Directly across the road from the George Hotel, it functions as a market cross for the town. It was erected in 1871 and was designed by the Victorian artist Eleanor Vere Boyle, the wife of Richard Boyle, a chaplain to Queen Victoria who was by then rector of the nearby village of Marston Bigot. He was a descendent of the Anglo-Irish Earls of Cork, long-standing landowners in the area. It was sculpted of Devon marble and weighs approximately a ton. The land for the cross was donated by the Ninth Earl of Cork. Catherine Hill begins a little to the west of the Boyle Cross. Originally designed as a fountain supplied by a channel running down from a well at the Church of St John the Baptist, this function has been restored in recent years.

The Blue House in Frome, Somerset, England, was built in 1726 and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.The Blue House, located adjacent to the town bridge, was formerly the Bluecoat School and Almshouses, so named due to the colour of the school uniforms. Built in 1726 at a cost of £1,401 8s 9d, it replaced a previous almshouse dating from 1461 (and rebuilt in 1621). The Blue House provided accommodation for 20 female widows, and schooling for 20 boys, and the front of the building is adorned by two statues, one of a man, colloquially known as "Billy Ball", and one a woman called "Nancy Guy", indicating the building's dual role. Its role as a school ceased in 1921, and it now provides studio and one bedroom flats for 17 elderly residents.

The Frome Cobble Wobble, established in 2009, is an individually timed bicycle hill climb sprint in Frome, Somerset, England. It was first organised by Andrew Denham involving the local community, with support from Councillor Alvin Horsfall to celebrate the stage 5 of the 2009 Tour of Britain, which started in Frome. It is set to become an annual event for the town. The course begins at the bottom of Stony Street, takes a sharp turn as it joins Catherine Hill, and finishes at the end of the cobbles the top of the hill. The total length of the course is 179 yards, and the average gradient is 1:7.

The Anglican Christ Church in Frome, Somerset, England, was built in 1817 and 1818. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Frome Heritage Museum in Frome, Somerset, England houses a collection of local history and has a particularly important collection of artefacts from the bronze foundry of J.W.Singer.

The Frome Holy Trinity in Frome, Somerset, England was built in 1837. It is a Grade II* listed building.

St Mary's Church is a Church of England parish church in Frome, Somerset, England. It was built in 1862–1864 to the designs of C. E. Giles and is a Grade II listed building.

North Hill House School, also referred to as NHH, is an independent specialist school in Frome, Somerset, England for children and young people with Autism Spectrum Condition between the ages of 7 and 16. Owned by the Aspris Children's Services, North Hill House opened in September 1999. It has been approved by the Department for Children, Schools and Families under Section 348(1) of the Education Act 1996.There are around 60 staff members working in the school. The Executive Principal of both North Hill House is Justin Davey and Head Teacher is James Lynch. The school has a full therapy team consisting of Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and counselling.

Frome railway station serves a largely rural area of the county of Somerset in England, and is situated in the town of Frome. The station is located on a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long branch line which loops off the main line railway, which carries services on both the Reading to Taunton line and Bristol to Weymouth route. Most of the trains which take the loop line in order to serve Frome station are on the Bristol to Weymouth route, and most trains on the Reading to Taunton line by-pass the station on the main line. The station is 22.25 miles (36 km) south of Bath Spa on the Bristol to Weymouth line, it is owned by Network Rail and is operated by Great Western Railway.