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Wellington

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 near Watling street, the legendary ancient road that the Romans built to link London with their important city of Viriconium, now better known as Wroxeter.

Over time Wellington 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.

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 incidentally went through Wellington en-route.

Wandering Around Wellington

Today Wellington is best know as a small town with a regular, typical English market. It is also home to a number of attractive buildings, the oldest being the 15th Century Old Hall and including the 18th Century All Saints church by George Steuart, the architect of Attingham Park.

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.

It is belived that the towns earlier name was Weo-leah-ingaton, meaning settlement by the temple in the grove. The name dates the town to pre-christian times and histrians have speculated that a heathen centre of worship may have stood on the site of All Saints church.

The town hosts the well-know Wellington Literary Festival each year, and the poet Phillip Larkin once worked at the town's Library.

You'll also find the Victorian Suburban Villa 'Sunnycroft' a typical gentlemans residence from the late Victorian period. The house was completed in 1899 and is a typical example of the many thousands of such houses that were built for prosperous businessmen and professionals on the fridge of Victorian towns. The earliest part of the house was built in 1880 for a Mr Wackrill who was a local brewer. After his death it was bought in the early 1890s by Mary Jane Slaney, a widow. She had the house extended adding the large reception rooms on the ground floor and the turret wing. she was also responsible for the layout of the grounds which today stands at just five acres, but in sunnycrofts heyday would have been twice this size. The roses and summer flowers make the gardens ideal for enthusiats to visit.

When Slaney died, the house was bought by her brother-in-law of the JVT Lander family. Possibly the continuity of family ownership has contributed to the preservation of the heritage inherant in visiting Sunnycroft. Many posessions have remained in place although new items have been added by the successive owners.

The house was eventualy left in the care of the National Trust by Joan Lander, the grand-daughter of JVT Lander in 1997. Ms Lander who inherited the house in 1973 was an accomplished embroiderer and examples of her talent for needlework are on display in the house. Each year the shropshire Embroiders Guild holds a memorial lecture in her honour.

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.