Giant Places
History is made where it happens! Explore some of the unlikely locations in which Wellington and The Wrekin’s world-beating cultural story unfolded — from public libraries and schools to local boarding houses.
Wellington Library
Wellington’s former Walker Street public library has a starring role in the town’s literary story, as the place where Philip Larkin not only started his professional career as a librarian but the location where he wrote much of his early work.
Philip Larkin’s Wellington Haunts
Philip Larkin’s residency in Wellington, where he served as the town’s librarian between 1943 and ‘46, is now regarded as crucial to his development as a writer. Here is a ten point rundown of some of the poet’s most notable local haunts during his 30-month stay.
Philip Larkin’s Wellington Haunts
Philip Larkin’s residency in Wellington, where he served as the town’s librarian between 1943 and ‘46, is now regarded as crucial to his development as a writer. Here is a ten point rundown of some of the poet’s most notable local haunts during his 30-month stay.
3 Market Square
3 Market Square: When Edward Houlston’s booksellers opened its doors at 3 Market Square in 1779, there was little indication of the publishing dynasty that would become established there. By the early nineteenth century it was a business transformed, sending an ever-expanding array of titles far and wide and launching the careers of some influential authors.
All Saints Church
All Saints Parish Church: There are few Wellington locations with a story to rival All Saints church in shaping the town’s cultural profile. While it was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086, and damaged in the English Civil War, it would not be until the Georgian era that its legacy was established.
All Saints Church
All Saints Parish Church: There are few Wellington locations with a story to rival All Saints church in shaping the town’s cultural profile. While it was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086, and damaged in the English Civil War, it would not be until the Georgian era that its legacy was established.
14 New Street
14 New Street: 14 New Street was the family home where Hesba Stretton spent the first thirty years of her life. A busy town centre post office and booksellers, it was here she honed the literary skills that made her an international best-selling author, gaining the life experience that shaped her work.
Wrekin College
Wellington’s nineteenth-century economic boom created a new class of wealthy suburban dwellers with upwardly-mobile aspirations. Their desire to create a private school led to the creation of a new foundation in 1880 that added a new chapter to the local cultural legacy.
Wrekin College
Wellington’s nineteenth-century economic boom created a new class of wealthy suburban dwellers with upwardly-mobile aspirations. Their desire to create a private school led to the creation of a new foundation in 1880 that added a new chapter to the local cultural legacy.
The Wrekin
The humpbacked profile of The Wrekin is not only synonymous with the county of Shropshire but the entire Midlands region. Writers, poets and storytellers from far and wide have long sought to explain the famous hill’s brooding presence in the landscape in a story of creativity three millennia.
