Sheppards Barton

Although Frome's main industry in the 15th century was the woollen trade, the name of this street is nothing to do with shepherds or sheep! The Sheppards were local landowners, and 'barton' is believed to refer to a piece of enclosed land. So this street got its name because it was built on the Sheppards' land. I've previously blipped it from the other end.

In the 1720s, Daniel Defoe wrote: "so prodigiously increased within these last 20–30 years, that they have built a new church, and so many new streets of houses, and those houses are so full of inhabitants, that Frome is now reckoned to have more people in it than the city of Bath, and some say, than even Salisbury itself, and if their trade continues to increase for a few years more ... it is likely to be one of the greatest and wealthiest towns in England". That didn't happen, but Frome is increasingly a very popular place with visitors.