Located in the county of Northamptonshire, and around 30 miles southeast of Leicester, is the town of Wellingborough.
The history of Wellingborough stretches back to the six century AD or earlier. In Saxon times it was known as 'Wendeling burh', meaning 'stronghold of Wændel's people', where Wændel was a Saxon chieftain. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it is recorded as 'Wendleburie'.
In 1201 King John granted Wellingborough a market charter. Industry in the town over the centuries has included footwear, malting/brewing and iron ore quarrying. The town is surrounded by five wells. These proved popular with the early Stuart nobility, including Charles I who visited Wellingborough in 1628. The five wells appear on the town's coat of arms, harking back to its brief stint as a spa town.
In 1738 a great fire broke out in Wellingborough. According to reports at the time, it started at an oat drying kiln on the west side of Silver Street. More than 200 buildings were destroyed. Neighbouring towns donated money to aid in the aftermath, with its largest donation being 300 guineas from Northampton.
In 1845 the first railway station opened in Wellingborough. This was known as Wellingborough London Road, and was on a line connecting Northampton to Peterborough. A second station opened in 1857, originally called Wellingborough Midland Road. This is the town's current station, and is situated on the Midland Main Line with direct connections to London St Pancras to the south and Corby to the north. The original station from 1845 closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts. Trains to London take just under an hour, making Wellingborough a viable commuter town for those working in the capital, although season tickets are naturally pricier than other towns further south.
In 1943 Wellingborough Zoo Park opened. The original entry price was 7 old pence. It exhibited a wide array of animals including lions, tigers, bears, panthers and penguins. By the late 1960s the zoo was under pressure from the RSPCA, and was eventually forced to close in 1970 following an incident where a man broke into the zoo and was mauled by a leopard, losing part of his arm. The area where the zoo once stood features in the walk, just off Sheep Street before the 18-minute mark.
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke was born in Wellingborough.
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Filmed: 15th April 2022
Link to the walk on Google Maps: goo.gl/maps/UNvG4uDncvxY9LVM8
Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Church Street
1:28 All Hallows Church
1:40 Church Street
2:56 Cambridge Street
5:15 Victoria Road
7:49 Midland Road
10:43 Market Street
14:18 Sheep Street
17:49 Wellingborough Zoo Park (opened in 1943, closed in 1970)
19:03 Sheep Street
20:45 Silver Street
22:50 High Street
26:14 Broad Green
27:00 Wellingborough War Memorial