Welling
| Welling | |
| Kent | |
|---|---|
 The Plough and Harrow Public House | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ465755 |
| Location: | 51°27’34"N, -0°6’35"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 41,000 |
| Post town: | Welling |
| Postcode: | DA16 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Bexley |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Bexleyheath and Crayford |
Welling is a town in Kent, within the metropolitan conurbation, approximately 10½ miles east-southeast of Charing Cross.
History
The East Wickham part of Welling is probably one of the oldest settlements in this area. A Neolithic stone axe was found in East Wickham in 1910, and a bit more recently in 1989 the remains of Roman buildings were unearthed near Danson.
Before the coming of the railway, with the opening of the Bexleyheath Line on 1 May 1895,[1] Welling was a village on the main road from London into Kent (Watling Street). It had been a traditional staging post for coaches; the presence of three inns along the main road is the result of that.
After World War I, Bexley Urban District Council built over 400 houses north of the railway. Later, when the Danson estate was sold to developers, the land to the south was opened up to suburban sprawl and the settlement incorporated the local parishes of St Michael's East Wickham and St Johns Welling
Origin of the name
Local legend has it that Welling is so called because in the era of horse-drawn vehicles, it could be said you were "well in" to Kent, or had a "well end" to the journey up and down Shooters Hill which, at the time was steep, had a poor road surface and was a notorious haunt of highwaymen.[2] Until the 1800s, most of Welling down to Blackfen was covered in woodland which offered excellent concealment for outlaws and robbers who would prey on vulnerable slow-moving horse-drawn traffic.
However, local historians have recently concluded that the origin of the name is most likely from 'Welwyn' (meaning 'place of the spring'), due to the existence of an underground spring located at Welling Corner, or possibly a manorial reference to the Willing family, who lived in the area in 1301.[3]
Welling today
Welling as a shopping area has plenty to offer to local residents and visitors such as several restaurants and take-away outlets, a range of fashion, sports, entertainment, a school of performing arts and IT shops. Welling is home to a reference and lending library with an IT educational and training room, a Masonic Hall, a Snooker Hall, Bellegrove Social Club and a Salvation Army Chapel. Welling is also home of the football ground of Welling United F.C.
The former Foster's School building in Upper Wickham Lane is a local landmark. The school relocated to Westbrooke Road in Welling and its original site was converted to residential use (retaining the old Grade II listed main school building and headmaster's house). Further north of the original site is an ancient church, now used by a Greek Orthodox congregation.
A large Russian gun is located at Welling corner. This Russian weapon is a 36-pounder carronade (calibre 6¾ inches - weight 17 cwt) of a type used during the Crimean War (1854 to 1860), displayed on a simple wooden replica carriage. The carronade was in service from 1780 to 1860 and is now on loan from the Royal Artillery Museum in Woolwich as a reminder of Welling's early association with the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, when huts at East Wickham were built as homes for munitions workers in the Great War.
In 1992 a group of local people, led by local Councillor Nigel Betts, revived the old Memorial Hall Trust which was set up in 1921. In 1995 it started operation as a local grant giving charity called the East Wickham & Welling War Memorial Trust using the revenue from the old hall to fund grants in the area. Its main aim is remember the men of the district who were killed in World War One so a new War Memorial was built in 1996. Its charitable aim is to help local groups with rents on their meeting places or to help groups maintain their halls. Other grants help young people with adventurous activities and there is an annual academic bursary. In 2006 it gave grants totalilng £47,000. As part of a re-investment programme, the Trust sold the Hall for an housing re-development in 2007.
Notable past residents
- Kate Bush, world-famous singer/songwriter[4]
- Ernest Greenwood, artist, teacher and former president of the Royal Watercolour Society.[5]
Transport
Welling railway station serves the area with half an hour trains to London Bridge, London Cannon Street, London Charing Cross, London Victoria, London Waterloo East, Barnehurst and Dartford.
Welling is also served by many Transport for London bus services connecting it with areas including Bexleyheath, Blackheath, Crayford, Dartford, Eltham, Kidbrooke, Lewisham, North Greenwich, Orpington, Sidcup, St Mary Cray and Woolwich.
References
- ↑ http://www.bexley.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=10666
- ↑ Charles G. Harper (1895). The Dover Road. Wildhern Press. ISBN 9781848300101. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36589/36589.txt.
- ↑ David Mills (20 October 2011). A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press. pp. 488–. ISBN 978-0-19-960908-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=tXucAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA488.
- ↑ "Pupils at Former Abbey Wood School Sought". Newsshopper.co.uk. 17 September 2008. http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/2448082.pupils_at_former_abbey_wood_school_sought/. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ↑ "Ernest Greenwood: Artist and administrator whose efforts revived the fortunes of the Royal Watercolour Society". 3 September 2009. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ernest-greenwood-artist-and-administrator-whose-efforts-revived-the-fortunes-of-the-royal-watercolour-society-1780705.html.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Kent Welling) |