a parliamentary borough and market-town of Somersetshire, on the small river Frome, an affluent of the Avon, 11 miles S. of Bath. It was formerly designated Frome Selwood, from its situation on the borders of the extensive forest of Selwood. The Frome is here crossed by a stone bridge of five arches, and the town is irregularly built upon an acclivity rising from the river. With the exception of the principal street, most of the others are narrow and irregular, although within the last few years considerable improvements have been carried out. The parish church is an elegant edifice in the later Gothic style, with a tower and a fine octagonal spire 120 feet in height. There are two other churches and several dissenting places of worship. Among the educational and charitable institutions are a free grammar-school, a national school, an asylum for the education and maintenance of 25 poor girls, a blue-coat school, a charity school, and almshouses for old men and women. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the broadcloth and silk trades. This town has been long noted for its ale. The principal market is held on Wednesday, a lesser one on Saturday. The vicinity is fertile and picturesque, and ornamented with numerous fine mansions. Frome, since the passing of the Reform act, returns one member to parliament. Pop. (1851) 10,148.