Ironart is near to the lovely Somerset market town of Frome. Frome has a unique charm and for a small town it has an extraordinary number of listed buildings. A few years ago the Frome Civic Society approached us asking for help with a great local project. If you glance skywards when walking around Frome you’ll see evidence of the town’s industrial past: the distinctive and appealing art nouveau leaf detail ‘Cockey Lamps’ which are unique to the town!
Frome has a rich history in many industries and metalworking is no exception. The Discover Frome website and Frome Civic Society blog are a great resource for well researched information on the Cockey Lamps – they were originally made by the Cockey family who originally established a foundry in Frome in 1685 and cast many of the church bells in the local area. Later the family diversified and in the early 19th Century manufactured cast iron street furniture, bollards, railings and drain covers and lamps for the gas industry. Frome had gas street lighting as early as 1831 – the art nouveau lamps are instantly recognisable. The design was later modified when the lamps were converted to electricity in conjuction with J.W. Singer & Sons (also known as the Frome Art Metal Works). There is a blue plaque signifying the location of the original Cockey Foundry at 1a Palmer Street in Frome.
The Frome Civic Society commissioned Ironart to work with their volunteers and carry out a survey of the known Cockey lamps in the town – there are nearly 80 in number. Our task was to help identify the original forged decorative detailing, together with the original cast iron lamp posts so that the Civic Society could nominate them for conservation listing. Sadly many of the lamps have been poorly modified over the years, particularly when they were altered from gas to electric, and some of the remodelled versions are truly ugly. As well as appraising the full series of lamps we were also asked to fully restore two examples, located in a new residential building development called Cherry Grove. We had to excavate the two lamps out of the ground, bringing them back to the Larkhall workshop for restoration, and then reinstall them on site. The final dark bronze green paint layer was chosen by the Civic Society to honour the original colour scheme.
Do stop to take and take a moment to look up and admire them when you are next in Frome. There are many examples dotted all over Frome, including St Johns Church, Catherine Hill and on Vicarage Street, all of which are moments from the town’s central Market place.
