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Famous people · Frome, Somerset

Jenson Button tops a list of 16 famous people born in Frome

Articles in 73 languages make the British racing driver Jenson Button the best known. 7 of them were born in the 20th century, more than in any other period. Fewer than a quarter of the 100 towns in Somerset with famous people list more. The list comes to 5.7 for every 10,000 residents, about the same as the typical town in Somerset, at 4.9.

#1 best knownJenson ButtonSports · born 1980
+12more
Born here
16
notable people
Best known
Jenson Button
in 73 Wikipedia languages
First
1811
Henry Thomas Ryall
Youngest
1991
Chris Stokes
Most common field
Sports
6 people

What stands out about Frome’s famous people

★ What stands out · The best known

Born in Frome

First, Jenson Button (73 languages), then Charlie Higson (13) and Charles Oatley (9).

Jenson Button#1
Sports

Jenson Button

born 1980

British racing driver

73 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Charlie Higson#2
Film, TV & Stage

Charlie Higson

born 1958

British actor, comedian and author

13 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
CO#3
Science & Medicine

Charles Oatley

1904–1996

British physicist and electrical engineer

9 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years

When Frome’s famous people were born

The 1950s saw the most births of any decade: 3.

GeorgianVictorianThe 20th centuryToday18001850190019502000Charlie HigsonWilliam Henry ReedCharles OatleyWill Thorp
SportsFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsMusic

Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.

Known for

What Frome is known for

Frome has 2.5× the usual share of scientists and doctors.

The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.

Everyone

Everyone else born in Frome

The rest number 13, with 5 athletes among them.

WR

William Henry Reed

1876–1942

British musician (1876-1942)

Joseph Robson Tanner

Joseph Robson Tanner

1860–1931

British historian

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
BC

Box Case

1895–1969

English cricketer (1895-1969)

Chris Stokes

Chris Stokes

born 1991

English association football player

EM

Edgar Milne-Redhead

1906–1996

British naturalist and botanist (1906–1996)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
GJ

Gary Joyce

born 1964

English cricketer (born 1964)

HR

Henry Thomas Ryall

1811–1867

Artist (1811-1867)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
CD

Colin Dredge

born 1954

English cricketer (born 1954)

EC

Edward Compton

1872–1940

English cricketer (1872-1940)

MO

Malcolm Osborne

1880–1963

British landscape and portrait artist (1880–1963)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Richard Vranch

Richard Vranch

born 1959

British comedian

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
TR

Thomas ap Rees

1930–1996

British botanist (1930-1996)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

Of the towns nearby, Trowbridge lists the most people: 39.

Questions about famous people from Frome

Who is the most famous person from Frome?

Jenson Button (British racing driver) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 73 languages. Next come Charlie Higson and Charles Oatley.

How many famous people were born in Frome?

16 people born in Frome have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 20 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.

What is Frome known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 6 of the 16. That is 38% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Frome?

Henry Thomas Ryall, born in 1811. The youngest on the list was born in 1991.

Who counts as from Frome?

People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Frome’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.

Why is someone missing?

Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.

From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (10)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.