Editing Frome (section)

== Governance and public services ==
=== Local government ===
{{Infobox legislature
| name               = Frome Town Council
| coa_pic            = Frome Town Council is made differently.jpg
| coa_caption        = Logo
| coa_res            = 260px
| house_type         = Town Council
| leader1_type       = [[Mayors in England|Mayor]]
| leader1            = Andy Wrintmore
| leader2_type       = [[Municipal clerk#United Kingdom|Town clerk]]
| leader2            = Paul Wynne
| members            = 17 Councillors
| seats1_title       = [[Independents for Frome|Independents<br />for Frome]]
| seats1             = {{Composition bar|17|17|hex=#000000}}
| voting_system1     = [[Plurality-at-large voting|Plurality-at-large]]
| last_election1     = 7 May 2019
| next_election1     = 2 May 2023
| website            = {{URL|http://frometowncouncil.gov.uk}}
| meeting_place      = Town Hall, Frome
}}

Frome has two tiers of local government. At the upper level, it is in the [[unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] of Somerset. It elects six members to [[Somerset Council]] from three electoral wards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/329/introduction/made|title=The Somerset (Structural Changes) Order 2022|date=17 March 2022|access-date=23 April 2022|website=[[gov.uk]]}}</ref>

At the lower level, it is a [[civil parish]] with a [[parish council (England)|parish council]] which styles itself as Frome Town Council. The council has 17 members elected from eight wards: three each for Berkley Down, college and Keyford wards, two each for Market, Oakfield and Park wards, and one each for the Highpoint and Innox wards. In May 2019 all 17 council members elected were members of the [[Independents for Frome]] party (ifF).<ref name="x79"/>

{{Emblem table
|collapsed=y
|name=Frome Town Council
|shield=Sable on a Chevron between in chief two Sallow Trees and in base a Teazle slipped Or a Chevron Ermine.
|crest=Out of a Saxon Crown Or a demi Dragon wings elevated and addorsed Gules supporting a Crozier Gold.
|motto=Time Trieth Troth
|notes=Granted to the urban district council on 14 August 1953. Transferred to the [[successor parish]] council on 21 May 1974<ref>{{Cite web |title=FROME TOWN COUNCIL (SOMERSET) |url=http://civicheraldry.co.uk/south_west.html#warminster%20tc |access-date=31 October 2019 |publisher=Robert Young |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024060532/http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/south_west.html#warminster%20tc |archive-date=24 October 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Historically, from 1894 to 1974, Frome was administered by Frome Urban District,<ref>{{cite web |title=Frome UD through time {{!}} Census tables with data for the Local Government District |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10025394 |website=www.visionofbritain.org.uk}}</ref> while surrounding parishes were administered by a separate Frome Rural District Council.<ref name="fromerd">{{Cite web |title=Frome RD |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10025539 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016004035/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10025539 |archive-date=16 October 2013 |access-date=4 January 2014 |website=A vision of Britain Through Time |publisher=University of Portsmouth |df=dmy-all}}</ref> From 1974 to 2023, Frome was part of [[Mendip District]], electing 11 members to the district council and 3 members to [[Somerset County Council]].<ref name="x79">{{Cite web |title=Election Results 2019 |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/election-results-2019/ |access-date=2019-05-05 |website=Frome Town Council |date=3 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505200708/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/election-results-2019/ |archive-date=5 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Initiatives====
In early 2015, the UK's first high street [[library of things]] was set up in the town.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Somerset Share Shop offers a new kind of enterprise |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/13/frome-share-shop-social-enterprise |access-date=2015-05-13 |website=The Guardian |date=13 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201085700/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/13/frome-share-shop-social-enterprise |archive-date=1 February 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> In one year (May 2018 to April 2019), use of the shop helped avoid 92 tonnes CO2e of greenhouse gas emissions, saved 117,000&nbsp;kg of material usage and avoided 10 tonnes of manufacturing waste. In the same period its members collectively saved £66,800 by borrowing instead of buying items.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fowler |first=Kris |year=2019 |title=SHARE:Frome, A Library of Things Impact Assessment |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/SHARE-Frome-Impact-Assessment-2019-Final.pdf |access-date=2019-09-01 |publisher=Frome Town Council |publication-place=Frome |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201090553/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/SHARE-Frome-Impact-Assessment-2019-Final.pdf |archive-date=1 February 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2024 the Share Shop closed for lack of funding.

The Town Council installed the first [[community fridge]] in the country in May 2016;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Community Fridge |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/resilience/community-fridge/ |access-date=2019-05-07 |website=Frome Town Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331181040/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/resilience/community-fridge/ |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> 90,000 items a year have been saved from landfill.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fowler |first=Kris |year=2019 |title=Frome Community Fridge Impact Assessment |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Frome-Community-Fridge-Impact-Assessment-Revised-Final.pdf |access-date=2019-05-07 |publisher=Frome Town Council |publication-place=Frome |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507105541/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Frome-Community-Fridge-Impact-Assessment-Revised-Final.pdf |archive-date=7 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> This was joined by a community larder in October 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-24 |title=Community Larder Launched for Frome |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/community-larder-launched-for-frome/ |access-date=2019-05-07 |website=Frome Town Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507105452/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/community-larder-launched-for-frome/ |archive-date=7 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 13 December 2017 the Town Council unanimously agreed to become a 'single-use plastic'-free council.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plastic Free |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/resilience/plastic-free/ |access-date=2019-04-14 |website=Frome Town Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331170310/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/resilience/plastic-free/ |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Frome has an online market, the Food Hub<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yes To Local |url=https://www.fromefoodhub.co.uk/ |access-date=2019-04-14 |website=www.fromefoodhub.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414170936/https://www.fromefoodhub.co.uk/ |archive-date=14 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> launched in November 2018, where sustainable supplies from local farmers and food producers can be sourced, either for collection or by delivery (central Frome only).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frome's new Food Hub announces launch party |url=http://www.frometimes.co.uk/2018/11/20/fromes-new-food-hub-announces-launch-party/ |access-date=2019-04-14 |website=Frome Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414170932/http://www.frometimes.co.uk/2018/11/20/fromes-new-food-hub-announces-launch-party/ |archive-date=14 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

There are a number of public green spaces within the town, both formal and informal; some are substantial such as the Victoria Park<ref>{{Cite web |title=Victoria Park |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/parks-and-open-spaces/victoria-park/ |access-date=2019-04-14 |website=Frome Town Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331181005/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/parks-and-open-spaces/victoria-park/ |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> or the Rodden Meadow;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rodden Meadow |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/parks-and-open-spaces/rodden-meadow/ |access-date=2019-04-14 |website=Frome Town Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331173936/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/parks-and-open-spaces/rodden-meadow/ |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> others may be smaller but are valued within their neighbourhoods, such as Weylands<ref>{{Cite web |title=Weylands |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/parks-and-open-spaces/weylands/ |access-date=2019-04-14 |website=Frome Town Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331173850/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/parks-and-open-spaces/weylands/ |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> or the Dippy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Dippy |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/parks-and-open-spaces/the-dippy/ |access-date=2019-04-14 |website=Frome Town Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331173818/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/parks-and-open-spaces/the-dippy/ |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Many of the public spaces have organised litter picks, arranged by local community groups.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-24 |title=Keep Frome Clean: Join a litter pick |url=https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/keep-frome-clean-join-litter-pick/ |access-date=2019-05-07 |website=Frome Town Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507110404/https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/keep-frome-clean-join-litter-pick/ |archive-date=7 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Parliament ===
For Westminster elections the town is part of the [[Frome and East Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)|Frome and East Somerset]] constituency,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Election Maps: Great Britain |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |access-date=2 August 2024 |website= |publisher=Ordnance Survey}}</ref> which was first contested at the 2024 general election when it was won by [[Anna Sabine]] for the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]].<ref>{{cite web |date=5 July 2024 |title=Frome and East Somerset – General election results 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001241 |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=BBC News}}</ref>[[File:Frome Community Hospital.JPG|thumb|Frome Community Hospital]]
The town was not represented in Parliament until given one member in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] by the [[Reform Act 1832]]. The constituency elected a female MP in 1934: [[Mavis Tate]]. Separate representation was abolished for the [[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950 general election]], with Frome itself being transferred to the [[Wells (UK Parliament constituency)|Wells]] division, whilst most of the remainder of the constituency formed the bulk of the new [[North Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)|Somerset North]] constituency. Further changes took place for the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]] when the [[Somerton and Frome (UK Parliament constituency)|Somerton and Frome]] constituency was created.

==== Reform Act violence ====
Frome was given the right to elect its own member of Parliament, one of 67 new constituencies, by the [[Reform Act 1832]]. This act removed [[Rotten and pocket boroughs|rotten boroughs]] like [[Old Sarum]] (with three houses and seven voters to elect two MPs) and included for the first time new electors such as small landowners, tenant farmers and shopkeepers; voters were defined as male persons, so women were formally excluded.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Reform Act 1832 |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/houseofcommons/reformacts/overview/reformact1832/ |access-date=2019-04-28 |website=parliament.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428150423/https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/houseofcommons/reformacts/overview/reformact1832/ |archive-date=28 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The election was disputed by two well-known local men: Sir Thomas Champneys and [[Thomas Sheppard (MP)|Thomas Sheppard]], a Tory and a Radical or Whig respectively. There was no serious trouble until the election itself. The two were personal enemies, with a long history of property dealings between their families over 180 years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gill |first=Derek J |title=The Sheppards and Eighteenth Century Frome |publisher=Frome Society for Local Study |year=1982 |location=Frome |pages=1}}</ref> [[Mostyn-Champneys baronets|Champneys]], the second baronet, may have been popular but he was disreputable, his [[Orchardleigh Estate]] in decline and in debt. In 1820 Sheppard had been a key witness when Sir Thomas was accused of sodomy; the case was not proven.

Voting at that time was in person in public, the hustings taking place in Cork Street just off the Market Place.&nbsp; The [[Frome (UK Parliament constituency)|Frome county constituency area]] included Weston, Radstock, Bathampton, Batheaston as well as freeholders in Bath; there were only 322 registered voters.  On the first day, 10 December, Champneys arrived with hundreds of men and boys, many armed with lead-loaded bludgeons and cudgels. They attacked Sheppard's supporters. Thomas Bunn, a local man of property, recollected what he saw:

{{Blockquote|When I went to vote for a member for the county the mob arranged themselves on each side of a long street, to pelt all who did not approve their favourite candidates. I … disdained to put a printed paper in front of my hat, to shew them for whom I should vote. … I was pelted going and returning from the hustings and the missiles struck me on the back part of my head.<ref name="op.cit">{{Cite book |title=op.cit. |year=2003 |editor-last=Gill |editor-first=Derek J |pages=34}}</ref>}}

Sheppard arrived, backed by 500 men, all said to be unarmed.

{{Blockquote|I was to nominate one of the candidates. I entered the town with him in a barouche and four, with a long procession of well dressed men, flags, and a band of musicians.&nbsp; I was surprised at the Market Place to see a rank of horsemen in hostile array. … The flag was torn to pieces… The candidate and his friends … had literally their coats torn to atoms. … All this was instigated by the opposing candidate, a well known character with whom no gentlemen would associate.<ref name="op.cit" />}}

A Sheppard supporter, Thomas Ford was badly injured and died later. Special constables were sworn in by the magistrates in the George Inn. The mob besieged the building and smashed the windows. Sheppard retreated to his home, Fromefield House, guarded by 300 men. Dragoons were brought from Trowbridge to neighbouring Beckington.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McGarvie |first=Michael |title=op.cit. |pages=121–2}}</ref>

Early on the second day, Sheppard had gained 163 votes, more than half of those entitled to vote. Shouting 'Champneys for ever', the opponents attacked the Crown Inn trying to get at Sheppard in the George Inn next door. A draper's house was completely destroyed.&nbsp; Several constables were stoned and injured.&nbsp; The [[Riot Act]] was read. Constables with carbines opened fire. At 3 in the afternoon the Dragoons arrived and the battle was halted. Having won 100 votes to Sheppard's 163, Champneys resigned and returned to Orchardleigh. Thomas Sheppard won the next three elections and remained Frome's MP until 1847.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McGarvie |first=Michael |title=op.cit. |pages=122}}</ref>

One notable successor of Sheppard was elected in 1868: [[Thomas Hughes]], author of ''[[Tom Brown's School Days]]'', as a [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] under [[William Ewart Gladstone|Gladstone]].