Wellington, Shropshire

Wellington is a town in Shropshire, England and now forms part of the New Town of Telford. Its name was originally 'Watling Town', because it lies on Watling Street, a Roman road that linked London with the city of Viroconium (now Wroxeter). Another possibility here is that it used to be called Weoleahington, meaning 'settlement by temple' this may be correct because Wellington's roots date back to Saxon times. The temple itself has not been found, but evidence may suggest that it was on the site of All Saints' Church.

Related Topics:
Shropshire - England - New Town - Telford - Watling Street - Roman road - London - Viroconium - Wroxeter

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Wellington gained its town charter in 1244 and the market still exists today. Historically, its only claim to fame is that King Charles I was staying at an inn at Wellington when he declared war on Parliament (raising his standard at Nottingham days later).

Related Topics:
1244 - King Charles I - Inn - Declared war on Parliament

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Nowadays, there are a great number of shops and pubs in the streets surrounding the market, some of which are Tudor buildings, giving the town a lot of character. It has an old-fashioned railway station which was built in 1849 and has three platforms, offering trains towards Shrewsbury and Wales, as well as to the Black Country. The town has a population of roughly 50,000, making it the biggest single part of the Telford and Wrekin Borough.

Related Topics:
Tudor - Railway station - 1849 - Shrewsbury - Wales - Black Country

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Some of the townspeople do not think that the formation of Telford New Town has been a positive change for Wellington. Its economy has been damaged by Telford Town Centre, its football team's name was changed from Wellington Town to Telford United in 1969, and its large Victorian library is increasingly ignored as Telford Library has become the headquarters for the Telford and Wrekin library service. The town also sometimes suffers a lot from the bias of the Borough Council towards the town centre and against Wellington, although the formation has bought a large number of jobs to an area which would otherwise have been short of employment.

Related Topics:
Telford Town Centre - Football - Telford United - Victorian - Library

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Artistic events in Wellington include the monthly Wellington News and the well-attended annual Wellington Literacy Festival, a celebrated month of workshops, competitions and even audiences with famous poets and authors. The town's only literary claim to fame is that the poet Philip Larkin once worked at Wellington Library. The abolitionist Dr William Withering was born in the town in 1741; he also investigated digitalis, used in the treatment of heart disease.

Related Topics:
Wellington News - Wellington Literacy Festival - Philip Larkin

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See Telford and Wrekin Borough.

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