Twin town Wellingborough

Wellingborough with all its suburbs is a town of 68,000 inhabitants. It is located 130 km northwest of London, at the same latitude as Northampton and the famous university city of Cambridge located 80 km away. The London Stansted airport is about 130 km from Wellingborough. The main railway line from St Pancras station in London to Nottingham and Sheffield passes through Wellingborough.

River Ise flows into River Nene here. The large number of springs in this flat landscape rich of water is immortalised in the town's coat of arms and may possibly also have played a role in giving the town its name (“well”). In the 6th century AD, a horde of Anglo-Saxons under their leader by the name of Wendel settled there. The fortified settlement was given the name “Wendeling burh”. Even today, the name of Wendel is recalled by the “Waendel Walk”, an annual event attracting thousands of ramblers and rambling clubs from all over the world and in which ramblers from Wittlich also regularly take part.

The town of Wellingborough can look back on a chequered history. In Anglo-Saxon times, it was alternately part of the Kingdom of Mercia, then of Wessex. At the beginning of the tenth century, it was invaded by the Vikings. Finally it came under the rule of King Eadred who handed it over to the Abbey of Croyland (today Crowland). It remained with the monks until Henry VIII who dissolved the monastery in 1539 and confiscated the property for the crown. His daughter Elizabeth I gave the manor and the appurtenant land to Sir Christopher Hatton. Markets were held regularly in Wellingborough. At the centre there was a marketplace with market cross, a tithe barn, a church (All Hallows) and several inns, such as Hatton Manor House, which still characterise the townscape today.
After 1600, Wellingborough came in vogue with the aristocracy on account of its springs, which were said to have healing powers. Even King Charles I and his family are said to have been here. But then the town got caught up between the fronts in the Civil War after which Charles was finally beheaded. To punish them for being loyal to the King the town was sacked and occupied by Cromwell's soldiers. The traditional wool weaving industry declined during this period. Baskets continued to be produced, leather tanned and shoes sewn. In 1851, the first shoe factory was opened, not without encountering resistance by local shoemakers. In 1860 the town was connected to the new railway network. The town experienced an economic upswing, and accordingly an increase in population.
Since the Second World War, the proximity to London has attracted even more people. However, the shoe industry has declined. The iron industry and beer brewing, which had been a tradition since the Middle Ages, have vanished completely, making way for today's modern branches of industry.
Today Wellingborough has a historic centre around the ancient market and a modern covered shopping centre. It is the seat of the borough council, has a large park, a modern theatre (“The Castle”), a borough library, a public swimming pool, several public and private leisure and fitness centres, several choirs which regularly give concerts, many churches and the cultural centres of citizens of Asiatic and Afro-Caribbean origin, several large schools and a number of supermarkets and industrial areas on the periphery. There are bus services to Milton Keynes, Northampton and London. Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick, Leicester and many other places worth visiting can be easily visited from here on a day excursion.

For more information and pictures, see the home page of Wellingborough at: www.wellingborough.gov.uk Since 1993 an active twinning has existed with Wittlich. The town of Wittlich promotes and also financially supports meetings between youth groups, clubs and schools.
In both towns the twinning is actively cultivated by citizens of both towns through friendship circles and twinning associations. Those interested can obtain more information from the office for cultural affairs of the town of Wittlich, Altes Rathaus, Marktplatz 2, 54516 Wittlich, Tel. 0049-6571-1466-0. Your ideas and suggestions are welcome, too.
From this office you can also obtain the addresses and telephone numbers of
Mrs Sheila Hakes (Twinning Association Wellingborough)
Waltraud Bohr and Jutta Caspari-Arent (Friendship circle Wittlich-Wellingborough)