Wellington, Shropshire
Template:Infobox England place with map UA Wellington is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford. The population of the parish of Wellington was recorded as 20,430 in the 2001 census.
Its name was originally Weoleahington, meaning 'The settlement by the temple, or by the sacred grove. An alternative suggestion that the name derives from 'Watling Town', because it lies on Watling Street, a Roman road that linked London with the city of Viroconium (now Wroxeter), seems to be unlikely, due to several factors, including the earliest written names of the town. Evidence suggests that the site of the sacred Druid grove and temple was on the site of All Saints' Church on a raised area in the centre of the town.
Wellington's market charter is dated 1244 and the market still exists today. This was not the original charter, as it replaced one of hundreds of years previously.
King Charles I was staying in Wellington (the exact location is not known)when he declared war on Parliament and raised his standard in Wellington's Market Square.
The town is twinned with Chatenay-Malabry in France.
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 centre is the largest shopping centre in the new town of Telford outside the new, central Telford Shopping Centre.
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 Edwardian library is increasingly ignored as Telford Library has become the headquarters for the Telford and Wrekin library service. The town also sometimes suffers 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.
Artistic events in Wellington include the monthly Wellington News and the well-attended annual Wellington Literary Festival, a celebrated month of workshops, competitions and even audiences with famous poets and authors. The town's literary claims to fame include it being the birthplace of 19th century writer Hesba Stretton, and the first job of the poet Philip Larkin was as the librarian of Wellington Library. The Bronte famliy lived in the town for a short time before moving to Yorkshire. The abolitionist Dr William Withering was born in the town in 1741; he also investigated digitalis, used in the treatment of heart disease.