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Wellingborough
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Wellingborough is a town in Northamptonshire, England situated some eleven miles from the county town of Northampton and eight miles south of Kettering. It has a population of 46,959 (as of the 2001 census).
It is situated on the north side of the River Nene with most of the older town being sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's flood plain.
It is twinned with Niort, France and Wittlich, Germany.
Recently there has been talk of a new twinning with Mont Sillia in Italy and the population await further developments.
Wellingborough dates from the 6th century.
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Encyclopedia
Wellingborough is a town in Northamptonshire, England situated some eleven miles from the county town of Northampton and eight miles south of Kettering. It has a population of 46,959 (as of the 2001 census).
It is situated on the north side of the River Nene with most of the older town being sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's flood plain.
It is twinned with Niort, France and Wittlich, Germany.
Recently there has been talk of a new twinning with Mont Sillia in Italy and the population await further developments.
Wellingborough dates from the 6th century. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name of Wendelburie, and was granted a market charter in 1201.
History
The town was founded in the early Saxon period. The name is formed from elements which translate, roughly, as "the town of the people of Waendel", or Waendel-ingas-burgh. Many newcomers to the town mistakenly think that the name comes from the 5 wells that are found around the town (Red Well, Buck Well, Stanwell, Lady's Well, Whyte Well), which appear on its coat of arms.
The medieval history of Wellingborough had no features that stand out from any other small town in the country. It housed a modest monastic grange – now the Jacobean Croyland 'Abbey' – which was an offshoot of the much larger and better known monastery of Croyland Abbey, near Peterborough, some 30 miles down-river. This part of the town is known these days as 'Croyland'.
In Elizabethan times the Lord of the Manor, Sir Christopher Hatton was a sponsor of Sir Francis Drake's expeditions, which is why Drake renamed one of his ships the Golden Hind. A modern connection with this is that the main hotel in the centre of town is still named the Hind Hotel.
In the Civil War there was little of note (the largest substantial battle in the area was Naseby in 1645), although a minor skirmish in the town resulted in killing of a Parliamentarian officer Captain John Sawyer. Severe reprisals followed which included the carrying off to Northampton of the parish priest, Thomas Jones, and 40 prisoners by a group of Roundheads. However, after the Civil War Wellingborough was home to a substantial colony of Diggers. Little information about this period is available, which causes some local historians to suspect deliberate suppression.
The twentieth century Church of St Mary is a masterpiece of Ninian Comper.
More recent history has been undistinguished save by economic changes, many of which are more widely shared with the eastern end of the county of Northamptonshire.
From 1920-1950, Wellingborough grew into an attractive rural market town and by the late 1950s boasted all the amenities a small town could wish for including several dance halls and four cinemas.
Cinema
At one time, the town had four cinemas in the town centre, possibly the largest number of screens per head of population in the country. The Palace (converted from a theatre), The Regal (same management as The Palace), The Silver Cinema and The Lyric (latterly the ABC). The oldest is now a kebab shop, although it still has distinctive pre-war cinema architecture on the first and second floors, and the newest of the three became a supermarket before being demolished in the 1990s to make space for a taxi rank. The Art Deco Lyric was demolished to make way for an Arndale Shopping Centre. The town no longer has a cinema, with the longest lasting one being The Palace, which has now been made into a new Bar named 'The Cutting Room'.
Local redevelopment plans have recently ruled out the building of a new cinema due to "the population being too small to support a multiplex", despite many other smaller towns in the area having them.
Theatre
The Castle Theatre was opened in 1995 on the site of Wellingborough's old Cattle Market. It brings not only a theatre to the area but other facilities for local people. Most rooms are used on a daily basis by the local community, users include the Castle Youth Theatre, Youth Dance, Youth Music and the Castle Youth Company.
Museums and libraries
Wellingborough has a library located in the corner of the market ground.
The Wellingborough Museum has exhibitions which show the past of Wellingborough and the surrounding villages. Accompanying the exhibitions and articles is a souvenir shop.
The Wellingborough Museum is now next door to The Castle Theatre.
Ethnic diversity
Following the post war arrival of immigrants from the commonwealth group of nations into Britain, Wellingborough was seen as an attractive location for many who chose to work in the many local industries, most of which are now extinct. A sizeable Black Caribbean and Indian/Pakistani community grew up in this small market town, and now represents well over 10% of the total town population.
More recent arrivals include a significant number of Polish immigrants, who are often found working in the low paid service sector jobs. It is likely that this is disproportionate compared with the rest of the UK because the town has had a small, vibrant, and well integrated Polish community since the second world war. They are now estimated to represent as much as 4% of the town's population.
Economy
Agrarian hinterland.
Boot & Shoe industry.
Iron & Steel smelting (1920s - 1990s).
Light manufacturing: a chemical plant and a former British Leyland plant at the foot of Sidegate Lane.
Wellingborough Prison is also a major employer in the town.
Transport and communication links
Wellingborough enjoys excellent communication links, with the A45 dual carriageway skirting to the south, linking the town with the A14 and M1; which allows links not just north and south, but also to the east and west of the country. The main county town of Northampton is located 9 miles to the west of the town.
The town has a good local bus network, with nearly all provided by Stagecoach Northants, with buses departing every 10 mins for Northampton during the day. A half hourly X4 service also links the town with Milton Keynes, Kettering, Corby and Peterborough.
Local buses W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6, W7 & W8 called Connect Wellingborough are provided by Stagecoach Group and First.
East Midlands Trains operate direct trains to London St Pancras International from Wellingborough railway station, departing every 30 mins, and an average train time of 55 mins, although the timetable is due to see cuts in frequency, speed and capacity at the end of 2008. The railway line also connects Wellingborough with Bedford, Luton, Kettering, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield and Leeds. St Pancras also became the home of Eurostar international services in November 2007. A railway connection to Corby was due to open in December 2008, but has been delayed until mid-February 2009 because of a lack of rolling stock.
Wellingborough originally had two railway stations, the current Midland Mainline, and another on London Road. The London Road station linked to the Midland Mainline and went on to Peterborough as the Nene Valley Railway. The other side of the station the line carried on to Northampton.
Wellingborough London Road railway station closed in 1964/66.
Several major UK airports are only within 2 hours' drive of the town, including Luton, East Midlands, Birmingham and Stansted. Luton can reached directly and Stansted can be reached easily by train with one change at Leicester. East Midlands Parkway station will make East Midlands more accessible by train also, and Birmingham is two changes away.
Shopping
As a small town, Wellingborough boasts few major high street chains (although it does have a lot of card shops) with most located in the town centre and its main shopping centre called the Swansgate Shopping Centre, previously known as the Arndale Centre, which was built in the 1960/70's. The town has a local market twice a week.
Much of the town centre was developed during the 1970s, when the town grew dramatically, based on London "overspill". In recent years this has started to look a little tired and weary and plans are currently on display and being discussed for future regeneration of the town centre. With the town seeing a large influx of Polish immigrants in recent years, a number of specialist stores have opened to cater for these markets.
To supplement the town centre shops there are several out-of-town retail parks and large supermarkets including Sainsbury's, Tesco's, Morrisons, and Aldi.
Schools
- Wellingborough School - a public day school, was founded in 1595 and is one of the oldest schools in the country. It has five boys' houses: Garne's, Fryer's, Parker-Steyne's, Cripps and Platts and three girls' houses: Nevill, Weymouth and Marsh.
Secondary Schools
- Sir Christopher Hatton School a co-educational comprehensive school.
- Weavers School on Weavers Road and adjoining Weavers Sports Centre where it shares facilities.
- St. Columbus' School
- Wrenn School which was formerly the Wellingborough Grammar School.
Primary Schools
- Park Junior School on Great Park Street. Park Junior was founded in 1873,and the infants school was founded 1903.
- The Avenue Infants School on the Avenue.
- Our Lady's Infant and Primary School - Located on Henshaw road
- Oakway Junior and Primary School
- Victoria Infants
- Redwell Infants and Primary School - the junior school is used as the site for Gleneagles Church, the sister church to All Hallows church in Wellingborough town centre.
- Warwick primary school
- Croyland School
- Freemans Junior School
- Hardwick Infant and Junior Schools
Existing Schools
- The John Lea School was closed before 1998 and was demolished in 2001 is now a housing estate.
Notable Wellingburians
999 services
Wellingborough relies on Kettering General Hospital for Accident & Emergency and surgical issues, although Isebrook Hospital in the East side of town, on Ithlingborough Road, caters for some more advanced procedures that GP surgeries are not equipped for (e.g. large X-Rays and neurological investigations), and some care for those suffering from age or long-term illness related infirmities.
No NHS mental health services currently exist in Wellingborough. However, outpatient treatment is available through the CMHT located at Clarendon House and inpatient treatment in St Mary's Hospital, both in Kettering.
The Fire station is close by and there is a large Police station on Midland Road, with a smaller out-of-hours station maintained in the town centre, near the social gathering areas.
Geology
The geology of the area has had only relatively minor influences on the development of Wellingborough. As noted above, the town is sited on the hills adjoining the flood plain of the River Nene. In the predominantly agrarian medieval period, this combination of access to fertile, if flood-prone, valley bottom soils and drier (but heavier and more clay-rich) hillside/ hilltop soils seems to have been good for a mixed agricultural base.
The clay-rich hilltop soils are primarily a consequence of blanketing of the area with boulder clay or glacial till during the recent glaciations. On the valley sides and valley floor however, these deposits have been largely washed away in the late glacial period, and in the valley bottom extensive deposits of gravels were laid down, which have largely been exploited for building aggregate in the last century. While important for the environment of the area, in economic and employment terms, this industry was pretty minor.
Iron ore
Undoubtedly though the most economically important aspect of the geology of the area is the Northampton sands ironstone formation. This is a marine sand of Jurassic age (Bajocian stage), deposited as part of an estuary sequence and overlain by a sequence of limestones and mudrocks.
Significant amounts of the sand have been replaced or displaced by iron minerals giving an average ore grade of around 25% wt/wt iron. To the west the iron ores have been moderately exploited for a very long time, but their high phosphorus content made them difficult to smelt and produced iron of poor quality until the development of the Bessemer steel making process and the "basic slag" smelting chemistry, which combine to make high quality steelmaking possible from these unprepossessing ores.
The Northampton Sands were a strategic resource for the UK in the run-up to World War II, being the best developed bulk iron producing processes wholly free from dependence on imported materials. However, because the Northampton Sands share in the regional dip of all the sediments of this part of Britain to the east-south-east, they become increasingly difficult to work as one progresses east across the county.
Around Wellingborough it was possible to extract the ore by systematically stripping the overburden of mudrocks and limestone off the ore bed, then removing the ore, and finally replacing the overburden (often the cleaner limestone was removed to make the lime for the "basic slag" process) in the exposed cavity. This left distinctive arcuate quarries across much of the landscape around Wellingborough and north-north-east towards Corby (visit the Irchester Country Park to see a much overgrown abandoned quarry redeveloped as a leisure site). Further east, around Finedon, Raunds and Chelveston, quarrying was carried out during the Second World War by underground "pillar and stall" mining. These mines were abandoned and sealed in the 1950s, and the number of people who even know of their existence is rapidly decreasing.
This regional dip spelt the ultimate death knell of the iron and steel industry in the area - ultimately it was going to become uneconomic to extract such ores. For a time the Corby smelters continued using ore imported through Humberside, but they finally closed in the late-1980s.
You can still find pieces of Iron Ore around Wellingborough.
Twin towns
Wellingborough is twinned with:
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