The shape of things to come
Wellington and its near surroundings are set to grow with three big housing developments in the pipeline. Whatever we feel about this, we must strive to make them more than just faceless housing… Continue reading
Category Archive: Townscape
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Let’s bring Mythstories to Wellington – before it’s too late
Let me tell you a story. There once was a successful little museum called Mythstories – the world’s first museum of storytelling, no less. It lived happily in an old library building in… Continue reading
Why we shouldn’t fear Telford the City
This week, Mark Pritchard MP has come out against plans – should such plans exist (and he claims they secretly do) to turn Telford into a city. It’s something that he’s brought up… Continue reading
2014: The year when Wellington goes west?
The south-western corner of Wellington is a bit special. Approaching the town from Shrewsbury, the first building you meet is the Old Orleton Hotel. Formerly The Falcon, this grand old Georgian coaching inn guards the junction of… Continue reading
The brewers are back
In Wellington we’re fortunate to have three butchers, a couple of locally-based market gardeners, and even a goldsmith. But as micro-breweries have taken off elsewhere in Shropshire over the past 20 years, brewer is… Continue reading
2023: Rise of the home-town?
19th century Wellington centre was a place where hundreds of people lived, as well as shopped. Those town-dwellers moved out as retail grew in the early 20th century, but will they return in… Continue reading
Wellington 2023: 100 year-old George takes a tour
Life-loving, peace-loving, Wellington-loving George Evans turns 90 this week. Many people will know him as a local historian, but did you know he’s also a local futurist? In this first of an occasional series… Continue reading
Is it time to bring village life back into town?
We all know that nationally, high street retail is in retreat – that’s partly a consequence of a spluttering economy and thus (hopefully) temporary, but it’s also long term and structural. The fact… Continue reading
Vive la Resolution!
It’s a new year, so what should we be resolving for Wellington in 2013? Here are some new developments to look out for… 1. The Big Clifton Revival Potentially the most exciting project we’ve seen… Continue reading
Sub-divide and conquer: an uninspiring future for Edgbaston House?
Edgbaston House – a row of three buildings in Walker Street aged between two hundred and seven hundred years old. It’s the place I’ve written most about since starting this blog a year… Continue reading
Carry on Farming
It was energetic. It was busy. It was simple. Last week’s Ideas Farm showed us what Wellington is made of… Local resources. What are they? When councils talk about resources, they usually mean… Continue reading
Wellington postcard from the future [No.2]
A second postcard from the future – this one promoting the Horner’s House exhibition space that’s been set up on Walker Street. Maybe you’re one of the volunteers who helped to make it… Continue reading
You know you’re in Wellington when…
How would you finish that sentence, jokes aside? And how would you LIKE to be able to finish it? In other words what, ideally, would be the things that mark our town out… Continue reading
Trading up… new farmers’ market a big success!
This Saturday saw the second outing for Wellington’s revived farmers’ market. The first, last month, had been short on stalls – the clash with Shifnal’s market didn’t help, and one stall holder who’d booked three whole pitches didn’t show. But… Continue reading
Get some peace this weekend…
Back in January I posted on George Evans’ ambition to establish a peace garden in Wellington. As we saw then, it was a simple idea that was taking root amongst all sorts of… Continue reading
Operation ‘Paint the Town’: putting some colour into Wellington’s cheeks
Like most towns, the buildings that make up the centre of Wellington are a bit of a hotch-potch: some are relatively modern, most are Victorian and Georgian, and some, like Subway on Market Square and the… Continue reading
The Walker Street revival starts here: a view from the future
As the borough council announces it will soon by selling its historic Walker Street properties, I report back from the future to tell you how the street’s turned out three years from now.… Continue reading
Vital signs: what your shop front says about you!
We’re always taught not to judge a book by its cover, but how about a bookshop? I’d argue that Number Eight Books in Crown Street is the most attractive looking shop in the… Continue reading
George & Peace: the old soldier, the new garden and the big idea
Seventy years ago, the people of Wellington were digging for victory. At 88 years of age George Evans, who vividly remembers that war, is urging us all to join him and do a little bit of digging for peace. As… Continue reading
Fruit & veg versus health & safety (and why a little bit of clutter does you good)
The Shropshire Star bristled last week with news that traders in Wellington’s New Street had received letters from the borough council warning them to remove displays in front of their shops or face… Continue reading
What might Mary Portas recommend for Wellington’s high street?
Giving you a rest from the ramblings of your usual blogger, today we welcome a guest writer in the guise of local councillor Mike Ion (he’s a Labour councillor, but note that similar contributions… Continue reading
A 21st century project for a 14th century building?
Across the country, people in rural areas are coming together to save their local village shops by turning them into not-for-profit enterprises. In towns, we’re fortunate that we don’t need to do that… Continue reading
Designing Wellington: making every brick count
Building a thriving town is about many intangible things – building confidence, building neighbourliness, building networks between people and organisations. But we shouldn’t overlook the obvious stuff too – like how we build actual buildings. Since… Continue reading