Welling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Welling | |
  Welling shown within Greater London |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| London borough | Bexley |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WELLING |
| Postcode district | DA16 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| European Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | Old Bexley & Sidcup |
| London Assembly | Bexley and Bromley |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
Welling is a district in the London Borough of Bexley. It is a suburban development situated between Shooter's Hill and Bexleyheath north of the A2 road and 10.5 miles (16.9 km) east south-east of Charing Cross.
Contents |
[edit] History
Welling is probably one of the oldest settlements in this area. A Neolithic stone axe was found in East Wickham in 1910 and 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, Welling was a village on the main road between London and 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 WWI what was then Bexley Borough 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. The settlement incorporated the local parishes of East Wickham, Falconwood, Danson and Saint Michael's.
[edit] Welling today
Welling is home to a football ground Welling United F.C. which is also shared with the Erith and Belvedere football club, a newly refurbished library with a community meeting room, free use of IT and internet facilities, a Masonic Hall, a Martial Arts Academy, an Academy of Performing Arts, a Snooker Hall, Bellegrove Social Club, an Age Concerned Parlour, a Reptile shop and a well stocked Turkish TFC supermaket and recently Lidl has opened a discount store.
There is also a wide range of restaurants (mostly ethnic take-aways), various independent outlets and charity shops, lining Welling High Street (ancient Watling Street), Upper Wickham Lane, and Bellegrove Road.
The bustling high street has plenty to offer, with a range of fashion, sports, entertainment, and IT shops, charity shops, fast-food takeaways and a good number of ethnic restaurants, estate agents, banks, pubs, and barbers. It also has local supermarkets: Co-op Superstore, Tesco, Iceland, and a Sainsbury petrol station.
The Koffi Pot, dating from 1930s, when it was called "Ferrara's" and famous for its widely loved ice cream is no more, having recently closed for economic reasons. The shop is now empty awaiting redevelopment.
Welling railway station is close to Central Avenue at the Western limit of the town centre and offers direct rail links to London Bridge, Charing Cross, Victoria and Cannon Street Stations in central London, and to Dartford and other towns in north Kent. The high street is well served by frequent bus routes, namely the B15, B16, 51, 89, 96 and the 486. Several Mini Cab companies are also based in Welling.
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 (whilst retaining the old Grade II listed main school building). Further North of the original site is an ancient church, now used by a Greek Orthodox congregation. Other schools in Welling include Bexley Grammar School.
A large Russian gun is located at Welling corner. This Russian weapon is a 36 pounder carronade (calibre 6.75 inches - weight 17cwt) 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 Woolwich Arsenal, when huts at East Wickham were built as homes for munitions workers in the Great War.
The population of Welling was estimated to be around 42,000 at the 2001 census. Singer and songwriter Kate Bush is a famous former resident.
Welling is witnessing a slow but perceptible gentrification by white and multi- ethnic middle-class professional people seeking better schools and a calmer environment.
Welling was, for a time, headquarters to the British National Party, whose barricaded building was the centre of several anti-racist protests in the early 1990s. One protest in September 1993 was 50,000 strong, and their presence brought the town unwanted notoriety. A post-office box address in Welling was still in use by the BNP in 1999, and, alongside Labour, Conservative and Lib-Dems, they continue to field unsucessfully candidates in local elections.
A major upgrade of paving and street lighting was completed in the autumn of 2005. The retention or removal of a section of westbound bus lane from Welling High Street became one of the few specific local issues on which the main political parties disagreed in the approach to the local Bexley Council elections held on 4 May 2006. The locally successful Conservative Party have kept their electoral pledge and scrapped the bus lane parking restrictions in Welling High Street.
Plans sumitted by a local developer to demolish the existing Embassy Court, car parking and private housing in Welling High Street have been agreed by Bexley Council. In its place a new Shopping Mall, integrating the existing Tesco supermarket, is going to be built.
The MECCA bingo hall in Upper Wickham Lane is no more, apparently one of six in the U.K unsuited to operate after the smoking ban. The building, which previously was a cinema, is now empty awaiting demolishion. Accordding to a local estate agent the site will be shortly developed into shops and appartments.
[edit] Education
- For education in Welling see the main London Borough of Bexley article
[edit] Nearest places
[edit] Nearest railway stations
[edit] External links
- Welling Roundtable
- Welling Website
- Welling Photos
- St. Michaels Neighbourhood Blog
- Welling Library
- Welling United Football Club
- Welling Towntalk
- About Welling
|
|||||||||||||||||
