AROUND AND ABOUT SHROPSHIREI thought that you might like to learn a little about my home town, Wellington and some places of interest in the beautiful county of Shropshire.
It's name is approximately 1,400 years old, originally called "Weo-leah-inagton", which means settlement by the temple in the grove. This implies a heathen temple, a place of non-Christian, pre-Christian worship. It follows that this must have been established well before it became a part of Christian Mercia, for the Mercians would never have permitted the setting up of a heathen temple in their country. What is more, the name must have been well established before Christianity came, or it would have been re-named.
Photo source: Anthony Van Dyck - Charles I: King of England at the Hunt 1635 |
Wellington sits comfortably in the shade of the Wrekin, which dominates the landscape. The proximity of the town to the Wrekin means that it is a popular spot for walkers wishing to work their way to the top.
Wellington was built on the edge of Watling street, the ledgendary ancient road that the Romans built to link London with their important city of Viriconium, now better known as Wroxeter.
Over time it grew in importance as a medieval market town, with its first charter being granted in 1244 - the current market hall was built in the Victorian period and today opens four days a week with 120 stalls selling almost everything!
With the development of the iron industry and growth in the coaching trade, prosperity came to the town, helped particularly by Thomas Telfords great road from London to Holyhead in 1835 - which incidently went through Wellington en-route. We have a long history of industry ranging from cloth processing, leatherwork, timber and furniture not to forget the manufacture of agricultural implements which were rated among the world's best.
Despite Wellington's name, it is not connected with the Duke of Wellington in any way. However, its main claim to fame is that it was here, in Wellington that King Charles I was staying in an Inn when he declared war on Parliament.
The town hosts the well-know Wellington Literary Festival each year, and the poet Phillip Larkin once worked at the town's Library.
Another well-known Wellington face includes, the abolitionist Dr William Withering who was born in the town in 1741. Withering investigated Digitalis, a medicine used in the treatment of heart disease.