Wellington: Somerset Market Town in the Shadow of the Monument on the Blackdown Hills
Wellington is a small market town in Somerset, about seven miles southwest of Taunton. The population is around 15,000. The Wellington Monument, a 175-foot obelisk on the Blackdown Hills to the south, was erected to commemorate the Duke of Wellington's victory at Waterloo in 1815. The Duke took his title from the town, though his actual connection to the place was slight. The monument is a National Trust site and offers wide views from the hilltop. Wellington itself is a quiet town with a long High Street running east-west through the centre. The town had a significant woollen industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Fox Brothers still operates a woollen mill here, one of the last in the West Country.
Wellington station closed in 1964 under the Beeching cuts. The nearest rail connection is Taunton, about seven miles to the northeast, on the Great Western Main Line with fast trains to London Paddington in under two hours. The M5 junction 26 is on the eastern edge of town, providing access to Taunton, Exeter, and Bristol.
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Wellington is a small market town in Somerset, about seven miles southwest of Taunton. The population is around 15,000. The Wellington Monument, a 175-foot obelisk on the Blackdown Hills to the south, was erected to commemorate the Duke of Wellington's victory at Waterloo in 1815. The Duke took his title from the town, though his actual connection to the place was slight. The monument is a National Trust site and offers wide views from the hilltop. Wellington itself is a quiet town with a long High Street running east-west through the centre. The town had a significant woollen industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Fox Brothers still operates a woollen mill here, one of the last in the West Country.
Wellington station closed in 1964 under the Beeching cuts. The nearest rail connection is Taunton, about seven miles to the northeast, on the Great Western Main Line with fast trains to London Paddington in under two hours. The M5 junction 26 is on the eastern edge of town, providing access to Taunton, Exeter, and Bristol.
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