Editing Frome (section)

=== Toponymy of 'Frome' ===

The name Frome comes from the [[Brittonic languages|Proto-Brythonic]] word *''frāmā'' ([[Welsh language|Modern Welsh]] ''ffraw''), itself from [[Proto-Celtic]] *''srōm-'' <ref>{{Cite web |title=Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru |url=http://www.geiriadur.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html?ffraw |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126053734/http://www.geiriadur.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html?ffraw |archive-date=26 November 2015 |access-date=2015-11-25 |website=www.geiriadur.ac.uk |df=dmy-all}}</ref> meaning fair, fine or brisk and describing the flow of the river.<ref name="belham" /> In 2019, the [[BBC]] ranked Frome as, among places in the UK, having the most difficult name to pronounce.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-49813249|title=Frome tops list of most difficult to pronounce place names in the UK|work=BBC News |date=2019-09-24|access-date=2021-02-18}}</ref>

A church built by St. [[Aldhelm]] in 685 is the earliest evidence of [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] occupation of Frome. Aldhelm was a member of the Wessex royal family, cousin to [[Cenwalh of Wessex|King Cenwealh]].<ref name="belham" /> The name was first recorded in 701 when Pope Sergius gave permission to Bishop Aldhelm to found a monastery "close to the river which is called From" (Latin: "juxta fluvium qui vocatur From").<ref>Annette Burkitt, Flesh and Bones of Frome Selwood and Wessex, 2017, The Hobnob Press, p341 {{ISBN|978 1 906978 50 1}}</ref>
The Saxon kings appear to have used Frome as a base from which to hunt in [[Selwood Forest]]. In 934 a ''[[witenagemot]]'' was held there, indicating that Frome must already have been a significant settlement, with even a royal palace.  The [[charter]] names a Welsh sub-king, sixteen bishops and twenty five ministers, all called by [[Æthelstan]], now regarded as the first king of England.<ref>Annette Burkitt, op.cit. pp355-356</ref> Æthelstan's half-brother, King [[Eadred]] (son of [[Edward the Elder]]), died in Frome on 23 November 955.{{sfn|Gathercole|2003|p=5}}<ref>Lowe, Jean (2014) A Survivor's Practical Travel Guide to Parish Councils. Earthscape Publishing, {{ISBN|978 0 9929988 0 6}} e-book and 978 0 9929988 1 3 paperback. www.fromewatch.co.uk.</ref>