| Wellingborough | |
|---|---|
 Wellingborough Town Centre | |
.svg)  Wellingborough Location withinNorthamptonshire | |
| Population | 56,564 (2021 Census) |
| Demonym | Wellingburian |
| OS grid reference | SP8967 |
| • London | 65 miles (105 km)[1] |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Areas of the town | List
|
| Post town | WELLINGBOROUGH |
| Postcode district | NN8 NN9 |
| Dialling code | 01933 |
| Police | Northamptonshire |
| Fire | Northamptonshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www |
| |
Wellingborough (/ˈwɛlɪŋbrə/WEL-ing-brə) is a market town andcivil parish inNorth Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles (105 km) fromLondon and 11 miles (18 km) fromNorthampton, north of theRiver Nene.[2][3]
Originally named "Wendelingburgh" (the stronghold of Wændel's people),[4] theAnglo-Saxon settlement is mentioned in theDomesday Book of 1086 as "Wendelburie". The town's market was granted aroyal charter in 1201 byKing John.[5] At the 2021 census, it had a population of 56,564.[6] The built-up area also includes suburbsWilby,Great Doddington,Little Irchester,Redhill Grange, Stanton Cross and Glenvale Park.
The town was established in theAnglo-Saxon period and was called "Wendelingburgh". It is surrounded by five wells: Redwell,Hemmingwell, Witche's Well, Lady's Well and Whytewell, which appear on itscoat of arms.[7]Henrietta Maria, theQueen Consort of KingCharles I, came with her physicianThéodore de Mayerne to take the waters on 14 July 1627.[8]
The medieval town of Wellingborough housed a modestmonastic grange – now theJacobeanCroyland Abbey – which was an offshoot of the monastery ofCrowland (or Croyland) Abbey, nearPeterborough, some 30 miles (48 km) down-river. This part of the town is known as Croyland.[9]
All Hallows Church[10] is the oldest existing building in Wellingborough and dates from c. 1160. The manor of Wellingborough belonged toCrowland AbbeyLincolnshire, from Saxon times and the monks probably built the original church.[11] The earliest part of the building is theNorman doorway opening in from the later south porch. The church was enlarged with the addition of more side chapels and by the end of the 13th century had assumed more or less its present plan. The west tower, crowned with a gracefulbroach spire rising to 160 feet (49 m), was completed about 1270, after which the chancel was rebuilt and given the east window twenty years later.[12] The church was restored in 1861 byEdmund Francis Law.[13] The 20th-centuryChurch of St Mary was built byNinian Comper.[14]
Wellingborough was given aMarket Charter dated 3 April 1201 whenKing John granted it to the "Abbot of Croyland and the monks serving God there" continuing, "they shall have a market at Wendligburg (Wellingborough) for one day each week that is Wednesday".[5]
In theElizabethan era theLord of the Manor, SirChristopher Hatton was a sponsor ofSir Francis Drake's expeditions; Drake renamed one of his ships theGolden Hind after the heraldic symbol of the Hatton family. A hotel in aGrade II listed building built in the 17th century, was known variously as the Hind Hotel and later as the Golden Hind Hotel.[15]
During theEnglish Civil War the largest substantial conflict in the area was theBattle of Naseby in 1645, although a minor skirmish in the town resulted in the 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 ofRoundheads. However, after the Civil War Wellingborough was home to a colony ofDiggers. Little is known about this period.
Wellingborough was bombed duringWorld War II, on Monday 3 August 1942. Six people were killed and 55 injured; fortunately, being a bank holiday, thousands of people were away at a fair at a nearby village. Many houses and other buildings in the centre of the town were damaged in the attack.[16][17]
Originally the town had two railway stations: the first calledWellingborough London Road,[18] opened in 1845 and closed in 1966, linkedPeterborough with Northampton. The second station,Wellingborough Midland Road, is still in operation with trains to London and theEast Midlands. Since then the 'Midland Road' was dropped from the station name.[19] The Midland Road station opened in 1857 with trains serving Kettering and a little later Corby, was linked in 1867 toLondon St Pancras. In 1898 in theWellingborough rail accident six or seven people died and around 65 were injured.[20] In the 1880s two businessmen held a public meeting to build three tram lines in Wellingborough, the group merged with a similar company inNewport Pagnell who started to lay tram tracks, but within two years the plans were abandoned due to lack of funds.[21]
Wellingborough is part of theunitary authority ofNorth Northamptonshire. Until 2021 it was seat ofBorough Council of Wellingborough The borough council covered 20 settlements including the town together withBozeat,Earls Barton,Easton Maudit,Ecton,Finedon,Great Doddington,Great Harrowden,Grendon,Hardwick,Irchester,Isham,Little Harrowden,Little Irchester,Mears Ashby,Orlingbury,Strixton,Sywell,Wilby, andWollaston.[9]
In April 2021 theBorough of Wellingborough was abolished and replaced by a new unitary authority called North Northamptonshire, which covers the areas of the districts of Wellingborough,Corby,East Northamptonshire andKettering.[22] Elections for the new authorities were due to be held on 7 May 2020, but were delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[23]
Concurrent with these changes, theunparished area of Wellingborough was established as acivil parish and gained a newTown Council, eliminating the need forcharter trustees.[24][25] Wellingborough has amayor.[26]
Wellingborough is part of theWellingborough Constituency which includes the town, surrounding villages and other urban areas. The current MP isGen Kitchen. Most wards in the (former)Borough Council of Wellingborough are covered by the constituency and also include the wards in the (former)East Northamptonshire district, the wards are:Bozeat,Brickhill, Croyland,Finedon,Great Doddington andWilby,Harrowden &Sywell (excludingEcton,Mears Ashby, andSywell which all appear in theDaventry constituency due to overlapping parliamentary and local government boundary reviews), Hatton,Higham Ferrers Lancaster, Higham Ferrers Chichele, Irchester, Isebrook, Queensway, Redwell, Rixon,Rushden Hayden, Rushden Spencer, Rushden Bates, Rushden Sartoris, Rushden Pemberton, Swanspool, Victoria, and Wollaston.[27] Wellingborough is currently represented in theHouse of Commons byGen Kitchen.[28] In the1918 general election it became the first constituency insouthern England outsideLondon to be represented by theLabour Party.[29]
Prior toBrexit in 2020, Wellingborough was represented by theEast Midlands constituency in theEuropean Parliament.[30]
The town is sited on the hills adjoining the flood plain of theRiver Nene.[3][31] In the predominantly agrarianMiddle Ages, 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 withboulder clay or glacialtill during the recent glaciations.[32] 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.
The most economically important aspect of the geology of the area is theNorthampton Sandsironstone formation. This is a marine sand ofJurassic 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 25wt% 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 theBessemer steel-making process and the "basic slag" smelting chemistry, which combine to make high-quality steelmaking possible from these unprepossessing ores. TheNorthampton Sands were a strategic resource for the United Kingdom in the run-up toWorld 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 regionaldip 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.[33][34][35]
Iron ore quarrying was a major industry in and around Wellingborough from the 1860s until the 1960s. James Rixon and Wiliam Ashwell opened a major ironworks on the north side of the town in 1870, supplied by the extensive ironstone quarries aroundFinedon to the east of the town. Threenarrow gauge tramways served the iron ore industry, theWellingborough Tramway,Neilson's Tramway and theFinedonhill Tramway. The Wellingborough Tramway served Rixon's ironworks until 1966.[36]
Wellingborough has theriver Ise to the east, across which areIrthlingborough andFinedon, and theriver Nene to the south, across which isIrchester.[37]The Nene formed parts of the boundaries of the historical hundred ofHamferdsho, to which Wellingborough once belonged,[38] and was made navigable past Wellingborough in the middle 18th century.[39]A new channel for it was constructed in the meadows below Wellingborough bridge in 1832.[39]
Swanspool Brook, known in the 19th century asSwans'-pool, runs through the town past the southern end of Sheep Street,[40] and around the erstwhile grounds of Croyland Abbey.[41]A bridge over it was built in 1798, replacing a prior smaller bridge,[42] and in the 19th century an embankment ran for roughly1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) alongside the stream from Croyland.[43]
Wellingborough experiences anoceanic climate (Köppen climate classification) which is similar to most of theBritish Isles.
| Climate data for Wellingborough, GBR | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13 (55) | 14 (57) | 17 (63) | 20 (68) | 24 (75) | 27 (81) | 29 (84) | 31 (88) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 17 (63) | 14 (57) | 31 (88) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7 (45) | 8 (46) | 11 (52) | 13 (55) | 17 (63) | 19 (66) | 22 (72) | 23 (73) | 19 (66) | 14 (57) | 10 (50) | 7 (45) | 14 (58) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2 (36) | 2 (36) | 4 (39) | 4 (39) | 7 (45) | 10 (50) | 12 (54) | 12 (54) | 10 (50) | 8 (46) | 5 (41) | 3 (37) | 7 (44) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −15 (5) | −13 (9) | −8 (18) | −5 (23) | −1 (30) | 2 (36) | 6 (43) | 5 (41) | 4 (39) | −3 (27) | −10 (14) | −14 (7) | −15 (5) |
| Averageprecipitation cm (inches) | 4.51 (1.78) | 3.39 (1.33) | 2.87 (1.13) | 4.39 (1.73) | 3.49 (1.37) | 4.66 (1.83) | 4.21 (1.66) | 4.69 (1.85) | 5.49 (2.16) | 5.68 (2.24) | 4.8 (1.9) | 4.98 (1.96) | 53.16 (20.94) |
| Source:[44] | |||||||||||||
Wellingborough's nearest towns areNorthampton,Rushden,Higham Ferrers andIrthlingborough.
Wellingborough's population expanded rapidly from the 1960s and 1970s as agreements were signed between theUrban District Council andLondon County Council and theGreater London Council for the town to re-house over-spill population from London. Following thepost World War II arrival of immigrants from theCommonwealth of Nations into Britain, a sizeableBlack Caribbean andIndian/Pakistani community grew up in the market town, and now represents 11% of the town.[45]
Wellingborough is home to three medium-sized publichousing estates:Hemmingwell,Queensway and Kingsway. Hemmingwell and Kingsway as well as a large portion of Queensway were built to re-house over-spill population from London. There are also smaller estates such as Spring Gardens and Knights Court. These estates account for a large part of the Wellingborough residence. Glenvale Park, on the northern edge of the town, is a large-scale residential development under construction from the 2020s.[46][47][48]
Wellingborough has approximately 2,500 registered businesses within its boundaries.[49] Much of the town centre was redeveloped during the 1970s, when it grew rapidly from London overspill. TheBorough Council has adopted a 'Town Centre Action Plan'.[50] The former traditional economic structure based on footwear and engineering is gradually diversifying with wholesale, logistics, and service sectors providing new opportunities for employment.
As a market town, Wellingborough has major high street chains mainly located in the town centre. The only shopping centre,Swansgate,[51] previously known as the Arndale Centre, was built in the 1970s. Since 2009 the Borough Council has been looking at rebuilding the centre[52] and major stores want bigger floor-spaces.[53] Supplementing the town centre shops are several out-of-town retail parks and supermarkets. The town has a market three times a week and a weekly privately organised market.[5]
Other businesses operating within the town include motorsport, high performance engineering, distribution, engineering, environmental technology and renewable energy, digital and creative media, financial and business services, and global brands, once such brand beingCummins UK at Park Farm andLok'nStore Plc. The revived incarnation of British electrical retailerComet is also based in the town. There are several industrial estates in the town, these include Park Farm,[54] Denington,[55] Leyland[56] and Finedon Road.[57]
As part of its Milton KeynesSouth Midlands (MKSM) study, the government has identified Wellingborough as one of several towns in Northamptonshire into which growth will be directed over the next thirty years. It allocates 12,800 additional homes to Wellingborough, and will also create additional facilities, further improve the town centre, improve infrastructure and increase employment opportunities. A jobs growth target of 12,400 jobs has been set to accompany the large scale housing growth.[58] A plan for 3,000 homes north of the town has been accepted by the British Government after an appeal byBee Bee Developments. The plan was first refused byWellingborough Borough CouncilArchived 7 September 2020 at theWayback Machine.[59]
As a result, plans have been made for a major urban extension in the town, mainly to the east of the railway station. When finished, the town would be around 30% larger and 3,200 new homes would be built on 'Stanton Cross' site, with new schools, bus stops, community centres, shops, a doctor's surgery and new open spaces.[60]Therailway station would be developed into an 'interchange' withlocal buses andtrains. The upgrade would provide a new platform, footbridge and new station buildings.[61] Outside the station a new road bridge from Midland Road over the railway line is also planned with a new footbridge to reach the new development.[62] Other plans to include the development of the High Street, Shelley Road and the north of the town areas are also being considered.[63][64]
In November 2021 development on two fields between Park Farm and the Queensway estate was underway with a mix of one to four-bedroom properties and much needed social housing for the town. The development will comprise 600 properties, including 180 affordable homes, education, health and sports facilities and dedicated open space.
Developer contributions to the town also include money towards the expansion of All Saints Primary School and a new secondary school at Stanton Cross. ECL was appointed as Principal Contractors for thePark Farm’s infrastructure and groundworks.
TheA45 dual carriageway skirting to the south, links the town with theA14, andM1 which also allows links to the east and west of the country. The A45 links Wellingborough withNorthampton,Rushden,Higham Ferrers,Raunds,Thrapston,Oundle andPeterborough.
The town is served by a bus network provided byStagecoach in Northants,Centrebus with local Wellingborough buses the W1, W2 and W8 links the town centre (Church Street) with local suburbs and villages.[65] Departing every 30 minutes the X4 service also links the town withMilton Keynes, Northampton, Kettering,Corby, Oundle and Peterborough.[66] Other routes include 44/45, X46 and X47.[65]
East Midlands Railway operate direct trains toLondon St Pancras International fromWellingborough railway station, departing every 30 minutes, with an average journey time of around 55 minutes.[67] The railway line also connects Wellingborough withBedford,Luton,Kettering,Corby,Leicester,Nottingham,Derby,Sheffield andLeeds. Just north of the railway station is aGB Railfreight location, usage is forLondon Underground maintenance and other freight services.[68] Platform 4 was rebuilt and opened in 2021.[69]
Several UK airports are within two hours' drive of the town, includingLondon Luton,East Midlands,Birmingham andLondon Stansted. Luton can be reached directly by train while East Midlands and Stansted can be reached by one change at Leicester.Sywell Aerodrome, located 5 miles northwest of Wellingborough, caters forprivate flying,flight training and corporate flights.
Fourteen government controlled primary schools feed the secondary schools that include:Wellingborough School, an independent, fee-paying school with acadet force, and the state secondary schools ofSir Christopher Hatton Academy,Weavers Academy (formerly the Technical Grammar School & then Weavers School),Wrenn School (formerly the Wellingborough Grammar School) and also gives home to the local Sea Cadet Unit, and Friars School.[70]
TheTresham College of Further and Higher Education has a campus in Wellingborough, as well as locations inKettering andCorby.[71] It providesfurther education and offers vocational courses.[72] In collaboration with several universities the college also offers Higher Education options.[73]
TheUniversity of Northampton inNorthampton, with around 10,000 students on two campuses, offers courses from foundation and undergraduate levels to postgraduate, professional and doctoral qualifications. Subjects include traditional arts, humanities and sciences subjects, as well as entrepreneurship, product design and advertising.[74]
The D-Coy Corps of Drums of the Leicestershire, Northamtponshire and RutlandArmy Cadet Force is based in the town.[75]
The town also has its ownAir Cadet Squadron, 378 (Mannock) Squadron which is the only squadron in the corps to not be named after a geographical location, but after a person,Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock.[76]
The Castle Theatre was opened in 1995 on the site of Wellingborough's old Cattle Market.[77] 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[78] and Youth Dance.[79]
Wellingborough has a public library in the corner of the market square.[80] The Wellingborough Museum,[81] an independent museum run by the Winifred Wharton Trust, located next door toThe Castle Theatre, has exhibitions which show the past of Wellingborough and the surrounding villages. The museum is housed in a Victorian swimming pool ("Dulley's Baths") built in 1892, from 1918 to 1995 it was Cox's shoe factory. Accompanying the exhibitions and articles is a souvenir shop and café.[82]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC East andITV Anglia. Television signals are received from theSandy Heath TV transmitter.[83]
The town’s local radio stations areBBC Radio Northampton on 104.2 FM,Heart East on 96.6 FM andSmooth East Midlands (formerlyConnect FM) on 97.2 FM.
Local newspapers are theNorthampton Herald & Post andNorthamptonshire Telegraph.
Wellingborough is home to two football clubs:Wellingborough Town[84] andWellingborough Whitworth.[85] From 14 April 1928 a short lived, small independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body)greyhound racing track was opened around the football pitch at the Dog and Duck Ground.[86]
In 2009 the town's rugby club was the first club to be awarded the RFU Whole Club Seal of Approval in theEast Midlands.[87]Harrowden Hall, a 17th-century building inGreat Harrowden village just on the outskirts of the town, is the clubhouse of a privately owned golf course.[88] The four leisure centres and health clubs in Wellingborough includeBannatyne, Redwell, Waendel and Weavers (which is part of Weavers school).[89]
Wellingborough was also served for many years by Club Diana. Club Diana was closed by administrators on 1 June 2011.[90] However it has now been reopened and is available once again. It has a swimming pool, 5 squash courts and a bar and restaurant.
The Waendel Leisure Centre is the main council-owned leisure centre in Wellingborough. The facility includes a six-lane 25-metre competition pool, varying in depth from 1 to 2 metres, and used for many purposes including the main training pool for Wellingborough Amateur Swimming Club. The pool is regularly used for small competitions, as other thanCorby Pool it is the only other aptly equipped facility – boasting new starting blocks, as well as an integrated timing system and time board. The pool also has a small, shallow, 'teaching' pool, more suitable for non-swimmers. Waendel also operates a newly refurbished gym on the upper level.[91]
Waendel and Redwell Leisure Centres are both owned byWellingborough Borough Council, however are operated on their behalf byPlaces for People. Waendel pool is currently in need of urgent repairs due to tiles coming away from the pool floor.[92]
Wellingborough Phoenix is one of the United Kingdom's largest basketball clubs; the men's first team currently play in EBL Division 3 and the women play in EBL Division 2. Youth teams also play in the EBL; ages ranging from u13 to u16.[93]
On the second weekend in May, the annual non-competitiveWaendel Walk is held in Wellingborough, with a variety of routes through the local countryside. The walk is affiliated to theInternational Marching League.[94][95]
SeveralNHS centres provide health care facilities, with Isebrook Hospital being equipped for procedures such as large X-Rays and neurological investigations, and long-term care, that are not catered for by primary care surgeries. Accident & Emergency (A&E), maternity,[96] and surgical issues are mainly covered byKettering General Hospital. TheAir Ambulance is provided by Warkshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance service.[97] A petition signed by thousands of local residents in the towns of Wellingborough and Rushden for a new A&E to be built in Wellingborough has been handed to10 Downing Street (when Prime MinisterGordon Brown was in power), by local MPPeter Bone on 10 February 2010.[98]
Five Wells Prison is based in Wellingborough.
The railway station is a Grade II Listed building, and among the many unusual and other listed buildings in Wellingborough is the 600-year-old Grade I listed steeple that forms part ofAll Hallows Church.
The Three Silver Ladies is one of two identical sculptures installed on the Harrowden Road, They depict local Roman history, the river, and the townspeople working together.[99]
To the west of the town centre is theRoman CatholicOur Lady of the Sacred Heart Church which according toHistoric England has "highly original details," and a "lavishly finished interior."[100]
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Wellingborough istwinned with:
Wellingborough also has relations withWillingboro, township inBurlington County,New Jersey, United States.[106]
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