The Bennett Centre
Community space for Frome
In 1854, William James Early Bennett, the Vicar of Frome Selwood, bought some properties on the west side of the old grammar school site and replaced the old school with a new infant school. The properties were small and shared a water supply in their courtyard. The spring and cistern can still be seen in a chamber under the lower level of the existing building.
The grammar school building which had been on the site was the one erected in 1744 as a replacement for an earlier building which had depended on the pre-1744 vicarage to support its walls. The original Frome Grammar School was founded in the time of Edward VI. A Charity Commission report in the 1830s shows that its administration had been poor – the books were gone from the library as were the globes.