The town’s most famous landmark is Wellington Monument, which stands on the Blackdown Hills to the south of Wellington. The 175ft high obelisk was erected to celebrate the Duke of Wellington’s victory over Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and can be climbed by an internal staircase of 235 steps to a small viewing chamber that provides panoramic views.

The Iron Duke, Sir Arthur Wellesley, took his title from Wellington. There are now more than 30 towns with the name of Wellington all over the world.

Wellington has a proud industrial heritage stretching back hundreds of years and today produces top quality beds, furniture, cloth and aerosols .


Wellington has some fine churches and the oldest of these is St John’s Parish Church in High Street which is first mentioned in a charter dated 1178 and which is believed to occupy a Saxon site.
The present church is 14th century. The delightful tower of Ham stone has a stair turret unusually placed on its south side and has a peal of eight bells, the oldest being dated 1609.
In the church stands a fine memorial to one of the town’s most notable residents, Sir John Popham (1533-1607), the Lord Chief Justice of England, who was the prosecutor in the trials of Mary Queen of Scots, Sir Walter Raleigh and Guy Fawkes.