The Frome Society for Local Study & Frome Civic Society

Kevin McCloud gave the Society a talk during the Frome Festival 2010

t

Talks in the coming 2011/12 season will be at the Assembly Rooms behind the  Frome Memorial Theatre at 2.30 pm
unless otherwise specified.

Guests are welcome at £2 per head

FSLS & FCS TALKS 2011/2012
Saturday 8 October Dave Crisp: “Discovering and Saving the Frome Hoard” On 11th April 2010, Dave Crisp from Devizes made a chance in a lifetime discovery of 53,503 Roman coins dating from AD 253-305, buried in a field near Frome. This is the largest hoard of coins ever found in Britain, and includes coins from the reign of Emperor Carausius, who rebelled against Rome and ruled Britain as an independent state. Dave, who is Secretary of the Trowbridge and District Metal Detecting Club will talk about his lifelong passion for metal detecting, what it involves and how it is done. He will also tell us how he made the discovery of the Frome Hoard, the reporting of the find, its excavation, significance and content and its saving for the nation, for display in Taunton and Frome. The Frome Society for Local Study gave £1,000 to help save the Hoard.

Saturday 22 October Dinah Starkey: “Sitting for Mr Gainsborough, the Artist and Bath” Dinah Starkey, a very popular lecturer on previous visits to Frome,will talk to us about Gainsborough's experience as the most fashionable painter of his time in Bath. His pictures, whether of noble clients or members of his own circle tell the story of a glittering society and the hard economic realities that underlay it.Dinah will be able to vividly describe the historical  context of the era.Next year, we hope to follow up this talk with a visit to the newly re-opened Holbourne Museum in Bath.

Saturday 5 November Edward Nash: “Re-creating the Kingston Mills at Bradford on Avon” The Avon Rubber Factory, housed in the historic Kingston Mills in the centre of Bradford on Avon, was closed in 1992 and for the last 19 years, in a situation similar to Saxonvale in Frome, the buildings have decayed and become derelict as scheme after scheme failed to meet the aspirations of the local community. When the Nash Partnership from Bath were called in, they started a proper consultation with 75 community groups and as a result, a viable scheme that includes energy from renewable sources is at last under construction. Edward Nash, an architect and senior partner of the Nash Partnership, will describe how the regeneration of this problematic site is being achieved and how it has empowered the local community, enhanced civic pride and won the Regeneration Award from the Royal Town Planning Institute in 2010. A visit to Kingston Mills will be included in the summer visits for 2012.

Saturday 19 November John Birkett-Smith: “The Joys and Tribulations of Managing an Independent Bookshop in a Small Market Town” John Birkett-Smith has owned and run Hunting Raven bookshop in Frome since 2000.At a time when so many small shops have come and gone, this shop has prospered and in many ways is a hub of the community. John has been a member of the Society for many years and has talked to us in the past on planning matters.Now we welcome him to share some insights with us about running his business, so popular with our members, and an outlet for our publications.

Saturday 3 December David Wright: “The Geology of the Frome Region” David Wright, who lives at Rudge, has written on the landscape and geology of the Mendip region, and will talk on The Geology of the Frome Region

Saturday 17 December:  Adam Stout: “Christmas in Arimathea: The Idea of Glastonbury since the Reformation” Adam Stout is the author of Creating Prehistory: Druids, Ley-Hunters and Archaeologists in Pre-War Britain, 2002, and will talk on Glastonbury legends. He has been a member of the FSLS for several years.

Saturday 14 January The Ashworth Memorial Lecture - Robin Thornes: “Quarrying in the Mendips” FSLS published Robin Thornes’ ‘Men of Iron - The Fussells of Mells’ in 2010 and his most recent book ‘The Yeoman Story’ is now available and published by Ash Tree Publications. Robin Thornes is an industrial archaeologist with a special interest in the industries of the Mendips. This year he has been working on a history of quarrying in the Mendips with an emphasis on the development of the roadstone industry from the mid 19th century. He will be making a very welcome return to talk to us.

Saturday 28 January Laurence Tindall: “Restoring Abbeys” Laurence Tindall has worked with stone for over 36 years and after his conservation work on Wells Cathedral he helped found the Nimbus Conservation Trust in 1984. This firm is still in Frome but Laurence moved on to concentrate on other projects, for instance on his work with children. His illustrated talk will be covering the practical and philosophical issues of the way stone is used to repair historic buildings. Examples of all his work can be found on his website:www.laurencetindall.co.uk

Saturday 11 February Andrew Foyle: “Revising the Pevsner for North Somerset " The series of Penguin books on the Buildings of England, written by Nikolaus Pevsner between 1951-74 are being revised and expanded. The revised volume for North Somerset, covering the Frome area, which was first published in 1958 is due to be launched in Autumn 2011, fifty two years after it was first issued. Andrew Foyle, an independent historian and researcher, based in Bristol, and the author of the Pevsner Architectural Guide to Bristol and the revised Pevsner for North Somerset will introduce the Buildings of England series and tell us about Pevsner, and about the physical development of the books from the earliest counties through to the new format. He will bring some volumes, letters and notes in Pevsner's minute and unreadable writing, which led to some comical mistakes in typing up, and will cover his revision for the Frome area and talk about some specific buildings, local character and experiences in undertaking the work.

Saturday 25 February Stephen Minnitt: “The New Somerset Museum” Stephen Minnitt is Head of Museums in Somerset with specific responsibility for archaeology and has played a leading role in the new Museum of Somerset in Taunton Museum. Stephen's illustrated talk will take us through the project and also highlight some of the particularly significant artefacts on display and he has hinted at a mention of the Frome Hoard! As a follow-up to this talk the Frome Society will be given a guided tour of the new Museum in the spring of 2012.

Saturday 10 March Alexander Sturgis: "The Re-creation of the Hulburne Museum" In Mark Fisher’s guide to Britain’s Best Museums and Galleries, the Holburne Museum in Bath is the only one to be awarded four stars in south-west England. For the past three years the Museum has been closed for a complete renovation and to build a new exemplar extension to display more of its collection of coins, miniatures, silver, ceramics, porcelain, glass, furniture and paintings, including works by Turner, Stubbs and Gainsborough. Alexander Sturgis, who worked at the National Gallery for fourteen years, initially as Education Officer and then as Exhibitions and Programmes Curator, was appointed Director of the Holburne Museum in 2005. He will outline how the project was conceived and brought to fruition, overcoming many obstacles on the way, how the collections are better displayed, and how the Museum has functioned, since its re-opening to the public in May 2011. A visit to the Holburne Museum will be included in the programme for 2012.

Saturday 24 March 2 p.m. Humphrey Barnes: "FAOS, Frome Memorial Theatre and the History of Pantomime" preceded by the AGM.Humphrey Barnes, chairman of the trustees of the FAOS and the Memorial Theatre, will talk to us about his association  and experiences. He has been a member of the FAOS for 60 years and can tell us of the development of this important and remarkable part of Frome life, accompanied by his own lively reminiscences.

To join the FSLS please fill out a membership form click here Outings are as per quoted here each Spring/Summer. Only money for books can be taken on this website, posting is the only option for membership!