Lovely Frome photos of when it was busy with commerce, with a history story of the brewery and the motor trade
By Susie Watkins
9th Aug 2021 | Local News
A lovely set of photos has come to light showing Frome when it was in the last days of being a really busy commercial centre.
Specifically they show the Lamb Brewery in its last days, probably late 1950's taken by the father of Stephen Hall.
If you have a keen eye, you can pinpoint the locations, one of which is down Gentle Street in Frome where the brewery was once. Lamb Brewery was founded around 1850. According to a local history site it merged with Frome United Breweries Ltd in 1955 to form Frome & Lamb Ltd. In turn that was acquired jointly by the Stroud Brewery Co. Ltd and Usher's Wiltshire Brewery Ltd in 1957, with 300 public houses and was then closed.
Stephen said his father was a keen photographer and explained:
" My father, Ron Hall, took these at the time that his employer, a local businessman called Garnet Nicholas, bought the buildings of the derelict Lamb Brewery that are still standing now. "Garnet was in the motor trade, and owned Marston Motors (see pics with the Mason Arms in the background) and also Christchurch Street Motors. "Marston Motors was moved to the transport yard of the Lamb Brewery, to the east of Gentle Street. Garnet later changed this business to the Southleigh Trading Company (STC), which sold used office furniture. He also sold Christchurch St Motors to George Trivett, and also sold his share in Frome Motor Auctions. STC was eventually sold to Doug Merrett. " Garnet opened up the Country Warehouse at Crockerton, still selling furniture and other items. Eventually Normans took this over and ran it as a supermarket, and today the site is much the same, but of course is now a garden centre as well. "
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