Wellingborough
Wellingborough History
Wellingborough is an industrial town in Northamptonshire, in the South Midlands of England.
It is said that the family of an Angle by the name of Waendel founded the original settlement; the "borough" referring to the fortification they raised on a slight hill above the meeting of the rivers Nene and Ise. The river is pronounced "Nen" round here, becoming pronounced "Neen" further downstream towards Peterborough. These days the spelling, however, does not normally change.
As mentioned in the page dealing with the history of the church, the monks of Crowland Abbey, in Lincolnshire, owned land and buildings, and the Abbot of Crowland had charge of the original Saxon church. The Tithe Barn was built in the 15th century, and is today used for functions and wedding receptions.
Wellingborough School appears to have been founded as a grammar school during Richard II's time. The school is now located on London Road, near the southern edges of town. The original school building is now the church hall. Also descended from the original school, and on the other side of London Road, is Wrenn School, formerly the grammar school.
Charles I and his wife, Henrietta Maria, came to take the waters of the Red Well in 1628. About the time that they visited, the Hind Inn was being built. This took its name from the coat of arms of Sir Christopher Hatton, Queen Elizabeth I's Chancellor. As well as the pub name, Hatton is today remembered in the name of one of Wellingborough's upper schools; he is also remembered in Hatton Cross in London. Sir Francis Drake's boat, The Pelican, was renamed The Golden Hind in honour of Hatton.
During the Civil War, apart from Cromwell apparently calling at the Hind, Wellingborough saw some limited action, in particular that relating to Thomas Jones, the vicar of Wellingborough, and his ill-treatment by the Parliamentarians. Jones was vicar of Wellingborough for forty years. During the Civil War, the story goes, he was taken by soldiers to Northampton; being taken there on the back of a bear. According to some versions, the bear meekly carried Thomas Jones. However when a soldier climbed onto the bear's back, the bear mauled him to death. Jones was twice put in Northampton prison, dying there at the age of 80. The story of Thomas Jones is shown in the stained glass in All Hallows church. The associations of Thomas Cromwell with the Hind are today reflected in the naming of a bar at the inn after him.
Another of Wellingborough's famous sons at this time was Sir Paul Pindar, who presented some magnificent plate to All Hallows. He was Ambassador to Turkey, and a rich man until Charles I acquired much of his wealth.
London and Northampton had their Great Fires; so too did Wellingborough, in 1748. This destroyed many buildings near the church; however many were saved by the actions of the brave Hannah Sparke, who soaked her blankets in (her own) beer and helped to put out the fire. Mrs Sparke, who was more than a hundred when she died, is commemorated, with her son Harvey, on a memorial in All Hallows.
In common with much of the county, Wellingborough's two major industries grew to be iron and shoemaking. Today a few shoe factories are left, while iron and steel are simply a memory. But the iron in the Jurassic sandstone shows itself in the many stone buildings, including All Hallows, which show a distinctive dark brown colour. Wellingborough was also heavily involved in the railway industry - especially with the amount of coal brought into the town to smelt the iron.
The railway industry was involved in one of Wellingborough's greatest disasters. In 1898, a train from Manchester to London hit a truck that had been parked on the line at Wellingborough station. 6 people died, including the driver and stoker, and nearly forty people were injured.
During the Twentieth Century, Wellingborough saw the building of four vast housing estates. These, together with the arrival of thousands of people, from many places as far flung as London, the West Indies, Poland and India, have seen a great change in the town's character. Today, it is a town that benefits from its central location in England by being occupied in distribution and retailing.