Wellington Rural District, Somerset

Wellington Without is a civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies south of Wellington and has a population of 727. The parish includes the hamlet of Ford Street or Fordstreet.

South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England in the United Kingdom. It consists of the counties of Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and large towns in the region include Bath, Bristol, Bournemouth, Cheltenham, Exeter, Gloucester, Plymouth and Swindon. It is geographically the largest of the nine regions of England with a land area of 9,203 square miles (23,836 km2), but the third-least populous, with approximately 5.7 million residents.The region includes the West Country and much of the ancient kingdom of Wessex. It includes two entire national parks, Dartmoor and Exmoor (a small part of the New Forest is also within the region); and four World Heritage Sites: Stonehenge, the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, the Jurassic Coast and the City of Bath. The northern part of Gloucestershire, near Chipping Campden, is as close to the Scottish border as it is to the tip of Cornwall. The region has by far the longest coastline of any English region. Following the abolition of the South West Regional Assembly in 2008 and Government Office in 2011, South West Councils provide local government coordination in the region. Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset are part of the West of England Combined Authority. The region is known for its rich folklore, including the legend of King Arthur and Glastonbury Tor, as well as its traditions and customs. Cornwall has its own language, Cornish, and some regard it as a Celtic nation. The South West is known for Cheddar cheese, which originated in the Somerset village of Cheddar; Devon cream teas, crabs, Cornish pasties, and cider. It is home to the Eden Project, Aardman Animations, the Glastonbury Festival, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, trip hop music and Cornwall's surfing beaches. The region has also been home to some of Britain's most renowned writers, including Daphne du Maurier, Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton, all of whom set many of their works here, and the South West is also the location of Thomas Hardy's Wessex, the setting for many of his best-known novels.

The Wellington Monument is a 175-foot-high (53 m) triangular obelisk located on a point of the Blackdown Hills, 3 km (1.9 miles) south of Wellington in the English county of Somerset. It is a grade II* listed building and is the tallest three-sided obelisk in the world.The monument was designed to commemorate the Duke of Wellington's victory at the Battle of Waterloo. Construction of the original design commenced in 1817; a revised and cheaper design was eventually used, though, and building was completed in 1854. It is now owned by the National Trust, which closed the monument to the public in 2007, owing to safety concerns; surveys showed that extensive renovation work was needed. Repairs were completed, leaving the monument "now possibly in better condition than when it was first completed" and the monument reopened in August 2021.

The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1991. In November 2023, it has become 'Blackdown Hills National Landscape' The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand with some remnants of chalk, and is cut through by river valleys. The hills support an extensive range of wildlife leading to the designation of 16 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). There is evidence of human occupation since the Iron Age. Fortifications include the remains of ancient hill forts, Norman motte-and-bailey castles and Second World War airfields. There are also religious buildings such as Dunkeswell Abbey and village churches. The hills are crossed by a network of minor roads with major transport routes including the M5 motorway running around the periphery.

Wellington School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 3–18 located in Wellington, Somerset, England. Wellington School was founded in 1837. Wellington School is a registered charity and has around 800 pupils currently in attendance. Around 150 of those pupils are boarders. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Wellington School is based on a 35-acre campus in Wellington, Somerset. Wellington School operates its own feeder preparatory school, Wellington Prep School which shares the main campus. Wellington Prep School students often use the sporting pitches and science labs of Wellington School.

Wellington is a market town in rural Somerset, a county in the west of England, situated 7 miles (11 km) south west of Taunton, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the town. The town has a population of 14,549, which includes the residents of the parish of Wellington Without, and the villages of Tone and Tonedale. Known as Weolingtun in the Anglo-Saxon period, its name had changed to Walintone by the time of the Domesday Book of 1086. Wellington became a town under a royal charter of 1215 and during the Middle Ages it grew as a centre for trade on the road from Bristol to Exeter. Major rebuilding took place following a fire in the town in 1731, after which it became a centre for cloth-making. It is possible that the fire referred to here was actually in Tiverton, Devon which has details of a major fire in the same year. Further information on a major fire in Wellington at this time cannot be found. In 1809, the Crown referenced Wellington when creating a viscountcy for the eventual Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, after his victory at the Battle of Talavera in the Peninsular War. When the title's name was being considered, Arthur's brother, Richard Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, found an available manor in the parish of Wellington, a name close to the family name. Richard oversaw the manor's purchase while Arthur commanded the army in Spain against the French. The Wellington Monument south of Wellington commemorates Arthur. The Grand Western Canal reached the town in 1835 and then the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1843. The town's own railway station survived until 1964. Wellington was home of Fox, Fowler and Company, which was the last commercial bank permitted to print their own sterling banknotes in England and Wales. In the 20th century closer links with Taunton meant that many of the residents of Wellington commuted there for work, and the M5 motorway enabled car journeys to be made more easily. Local industries, which now include an aerosol factory and bed manufacturers, are celebrated at the Wellington Museum in Fore street. Wellington is home to the independent Wellington School, and state-funded Court Fields School. It is also home to a range of cultural, sporting and religious sites including the 15th century Church of St John the Baptist. The capital city of New Zealand is named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, being recognised as having some influence in the company that founded the New Zealand town. The New Zealand capital therefore takes its name ultimately from the English town of Wellington in Somerset.

Wellington Museum is a free museum in Wellington, Somerset, England, devoted to the modern history of Wellington, particularly those linked with the woolen industry. These focus on agriculture but also include iron founding as well as an old bank note from Fox, Fowler and Company, a private bank that was based in the town.There are also displays on Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and his association with the town.The building used to be "The Squirrel Hotel". It was built in the 17th century and has porches and bay windows on the ground floor. The name is from the symbol of the Bluetts of Holcombe Rogus who were local landowners. It is a Grade II listed building.The building is also home to the town council and the Local History Society.

Wellington Town Hall is a municipal building in Fore Street, Wellington, Somerset, England. The structure, which was previously used as a civic events venue, is a Grade II listed building.

Wellington Association Football Club are a football club based in Wellington, Somerset, England. They are currently members of the Western League Premier Division and play at the Playing Field.

Court Fields School is located in Wellington, Somerset, England. Court Fields is home to the “Theatre Of Leaves”, which is known to be one of the most atmospheric football grounds in the United Kingdom. The school teaches 753 pupils from 11 to 16, and does not contain a sixth form.

Rockwell Green is a village near Wellington, in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. It lies just east of the Somerset-Devon border and is overlooked by the Blackdown Hills. The Wellington Monument is visible from almost anywhere in the village. The monument is on the verge of collapsing but is to be substantially rebuilt at the cost of up to £4 million by the National Trust.Rockwell Green has a railway bridge, under which a steam train, the City of Truro, was first recorded travelling at over 100 mph (160 km/h) in 1904. Although this has been the subject of much debate since then, recent research supports the claim. There have been numerous requests for a plaque or monument to be placed at the Beam Bridge hotel or Westford rail bridge: however very little has come of this so far. Two large water towers, both disused, bring a small number of visitors to the village. The older (redbrick) tower was built in the late 19th century and includes a circular steel tank. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. The more recent concrete tower was built in the 1930s.A number of houses in the original village are council-owned. In 1991 the population was estimated at 1,618. Since then more houses have been built and the population estimate from the 2001 census was 2,246. The population estimate in 2016 was 2,945.The village has a butcher's shop, one pub, a fish and chip shop, a post office, a general store, a church, a beauty salon/hairdressers, a primary school and pre-school, a village hall, and a post office; before moving to Exeter Road the post office was on the east side of Rockwell Green, in a 19th-century building that has been demolished.

Longforth Farm, on the outskirts of Wellington, Somerset, England, is the site of a Bronze Age landscape and an extensive medieval structure.The previously unknown site, which covers 0.4 hectares (0.99 acres), was uncovered during excavations in 2013 prior to the building of 500 new houses by Bloor Homes.The stone foundations, which are covered in decorated tiles are laid out around courtyards. The remains of roof slates and glazed ceramic roof tiles have also been found. The floor tiles are similar to those at Glastonbury Abbey, while the pottery finds have been dated to between the 12th and 14th centuries.