Wellingborough is a town in Northamptonshire, to the north of the River Nene and with the old town mainly lying above the rivers flood plain.
Wellingborough dates back to the 6th century and the Domesday Book referred to it as Wendelburia.
Wellingborough began to grow into a country market town from the 1920’s and by the 1950’s it had grown to a small town with many facilities including four cinemas and several dance halls.
The town’s economy grew round the shoe and boot industry and iron and steel smelting. Pieces of iron ore can still be found on the Ladywell allotments. It was also known for light manufacturing and chemical plants. British Leyland had a plant in town.
After World War II many immigrants chose Wellingborough to live in and Black Caribbeans and Indian/Pakistanis now make up around 10% of the towns population. Recently the Polish community has grown and now represents 4% of the population in Wellingborough.
There is plenty of property for rent in Wellingborough with costs around £395 - £450pcm for a 1 bed flat, £450 - £495pcm for a 2 bed flat, £525 - £645pcm for a 2 bed house and £575 - £850 for a 3 bed house.
The towns cinemas have now closed the nearest now are the Odeon at Kettering and the Vue in Northampton. The town’s last cinema has now become a bar called The Cutting Room.
The Castle Theatre opened in the mid 90’s on the site of the old cattle market and is a valuable asset to the town’s community as it includes a 500-seat theatre, Studio Theatre, Drama Room, Bar, Restaurant, Art Gallery and Meeting Room. Most of the theatres rooms are used by the community most days including several youth groups.
The town has good shopping in the Swansgate Shopping centre where Argos, Boots, Game, HMV, WH Smith, Woolworth and Wilkinson amongst others can be found.
Outside the centre are Matalan and Burton along with other smaller shops.
There is also a local market two days a week.
DIY and Motor stores can be found on the nearby retail parks.
The town has a good selection of supermarkets with most of the larger stores represented including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco and Aldi.
With the Polish community growing several specialised Polish shops have opened in the town.
The town was last developed in the 1970’s and now is in need of regeneration and plans for this are now being discussed.
Wellingborough is easily accessible with Midland Mainline running a direct service to St. Pancras every half hour from Wellingborough Station. There are also connections to Kettering, Leicester, Nottinghamshire, Derby, Sheffield and Leeds.
St. Pancras is now home of Eurostar International Services.
|
