Well known popular TV antique expert, Paul Martin, will be sharing his knowledge and experience with Frome residents on Monday 18th March by hosting a free community valuation day in the town centre.

 The valuation day, which is being run in partnership with Devizes auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, for which Paul is Head of Valuations, will take place 10am-3pm and is intended to encourage members of the public to dust off those items they've always been curious about and bring them along to be discussed, valued and perhaps sold. 

 Paul would be delighted to see items ranging from antiques, collectables, silver, gold, militaria and jewellery. 

 "The day in Frome is going to be so interesting," said Paul. "With its historical importance to the wool industry and then its later involvement in printing, there's a really rich history there. Put this together with its unusual church history, the Roman connection and its proximity to the Longleat Estate and I'm certain it will make for a very interesting day!"

 Paul has been a tv presenter and expert for over 20 years on programmes including the Antiques' Road Trip; Flog It!; CountryFile and many more. He has a new series, Paul Martin's Auction Showdown, going live on Channel 5 this year.

 "Even though I am a TV presenter and still enjoy my broadcast career, I'm an antiques man at heart and these events allow me to get back to what drives me — the people, their objects and the stories they tell."

 The day is part of a programme of valuation days being run by Paul in his role as Head of Valuations at Henry Aldridge & Son, based in Devizes. 

 "Somerset is such a great part of the country to host these kinds of days," said Paul. "There is so much history here and the people are really generous with their time and curiosity. Some local families go back generations so I'm sure we'll see fascinating items and learn lots from the stories attached to them."

Frome - the history of the town

Frome gets its name from around AD 685 when Abbot Aldhelm founded a church and later a monastery on the site where St. John's Church now stands.

A Charter for a market and fair was granted in 1270 and the town became known as a major producer of wool across the remaining medieval period and into pre-industrial modernity, when the rise of the merchant class and an increasing ability to travel meant a flourishing and stable cloth-based economy for the town and surrounding area.

The author of Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe, described Frome in 1720 as "likely to be one of the greatest and wealthiest inland towns in England" and estimated it had more inhabitants than Salisbury or Bath.

By the end of the 18th century, however, Frome's primary industry had switched from wool to metal-working and printing, for which it was well known until the middle of the 20th century.

The industrial history of Frome can be seen in its buildings and the town has an incredible 370 Grade 1 and Grade 2 listed buildings, said to be more per head than Bath. 

 Frome also has strong Roman links, with local metal detectorist, Dave Crisp, finding in 2010 what came to be known as the Frome Hoard — a collection of 52,503 Roman coins dating from AD 235 to 305.

The Hoard is on permanent display at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton and in 2017 was voted the nation's top treasure find.

 "With this really rich and diverse history it will be so interesting to see what items will be brought to our attention," says Paul. "We could end up being presented with some fascinating items that reveal brilliant snippets about the history of the area and the people wo have helped make it what it is today. What's exciting about community valuation days is you never quite know what will turn up. It's full of surprises!"

Paul Martin's free community valuation day will be held at the Cheese and Grain. Constructed in 1874 as a market hall for farm-grown produce, the building was used as a munitions factory during the Second World War and is now a leading event venue in the South West.

 The event in Frome will be followed by others across Somerset, including: 

The Crown Inn, Wells, Somerset — Wednesday March 27, 10am to 3pm.

Radstock Museum, Radstock, Somerset — Wednesday April 17, 10am to 3pm.

For more information on Paul's community valuation days, please visit:  

https://www.henryaldridge.com/valuations/valuation-days/south-west/