W E L W E L 493 Midland Railway is also situated in the town. The popu lation of the township and urban sanitary district (area 3992 acres) in 1871 was 9385 and in 1881 it was 13,794. In 948 EJred gave the church at Wellingborough to Croyland abbey, and the grant was confirmed by King Edgar in 966. In the reign of Edward II. the abbot was lord in full. It received the grant of a market in the 2d year of King John. In 1621 it was visited by Charles I. and his queen, who resided in tents during a whole season that they might drink the waters. It was after its almost total destruction by fire in 1738 that the town was built on its present site on the hill. WELLINGTON", a town of Shropshire, England, on the Great Western and London and North-Western rail way lines, and on the Shropshire Union Canal, 151| miles north-west of London, 11 east of Shrewsbury, and 31 north-west of Birmingham. The neighbourhood is pictur esque, the Wrekin, about 1^ miles from the town, rising to a height of 1320 feet. The church of All Saints, built in 1790, was restored in 1876, and again in 1883. There are a number of charities. The manufacture of agricultural implements, iron and brass founding, and malting are carried on. The population of the urban sanitary district (area 352 acres) in 1871 was 5926, and in 1881 it was 6217. Wellington, which is situated near the old Roman Watling Street, is referred to in Domesday as held by Earl Roger. It was granted by King John to Thomas de Erdinton for services rendered at Rome at the time of the interdict. It was held by Earl Edwin, but by the rebellion of Robert de Belesme was forfeited to the king. The church of Wellington was given by Earl Roger to Shrewsbury abbey. Wellington was the first rendezvous of Charles I., who on 19th September 1642 mustered his forces near the town. WELLINGTON, a market-town of Somerset, England, is situated on a gentle elevation at the foot of the Black- downs near the river Tone, and on the Great Western Railway, 170 miles south-south-west of London, and 7 south-west of Taunton. The church of St John, a hand some structure, with one of the characteristic Somersetshire towers, is of the Perpendicular style of architecture, except the nave, which is Early English. The church contains a monument to Sir J. Popham, lord justice of England in the time of Elizabeth and James I. Among other public buildings are the market-house or town-hall (1833), the West Somerset county school (1880), and the Popham hospital for aged men and women, founded by Sir John Popham in 1606 and rebuilt in 1833. On the highest summit of the Blackdowns, 2| miles south of the town, is a triangular stone tower erected in honour of the duke of Wellington, who took his title from the town. The staple industry is the woollen manufacture ; iron-founding and brick and tile making are also carried on. The population of the township and urban sanitary district (area 5195 acres) in 1871 was 6286, and in 1881 it was 6360. King Alfred gave Wellington, with other two neighbouring manors, to Asser, who was afterwards raised to the see ofSherborne, and died in 883. Subsequently it was conferred on Aldhelm, the first bishop of Wells. In Domesday it occurs as Wallintone, and is valued at 25. In the 2d of Edward VI. the manor was granted by Bishop Barlow, together with the borough of Wellington, to Edward, duke of Somerset. On the duke s attainder it came to the crown, with whom it remained till the 22d of James I. WELLINGTON, the chief town of Hutt county, New Zealand, and the seat of the colonial Government, is situated in the south-west of North Island, on the shores of Port Nicholson, in 41 16 25" S. lat. and 174 47 25" E. long., 80 miles east of Nelson, 160 south of New Plymouth, and 1200 south-east of Sydney. The imme diate surroundings of Wellington were originally very uninviting, as it is walled in by high ranges unsuitable for tillage, but great enterprise has been shown in the con struction of roads to the more fertile regions. Railways are being gradually extended towards both the north and the north-east. Owing to the prevalence of earthquakes the city is built chiefly of wood, but within recent years there has been an increasing tendency to make use of concrete and brick. Among the principal public buildings are the Government house, the houses of legislature, the Government buildings, the new postal and telegraph office, Wellington college, St Patrick s Catholic college, the odd fellows hall, the freemasons hall, the hospital, and the lunatic asylum. The city also possesses a colonial museum, an athenaeum and mechanics institute, a lyceum, and three theatres. The botanical gardens have an area of 100 acres. There is also a public park called the Town Belt. To supplement the water supply from two large reservoirs at Polhill s Gully, an aqueduct has lately been constructed from the Wainuiomata river, 16 miles distant, at an expense of 130,000. Wellington was the first settlement of the New Zealand colonists. It owes its commercial prosperity and its selec tion as the capital to its convenient and central position. It is the seat of both a Protestant and a Catholic see. The harbour, which has lately been extended and improved, is one of the best and safest in New Zealand. There is a lighthouse at the eastern entrance, on Pincarrow Head, opposite which is the pilot station. There are two large wharves, and in Evans Bay there is a patent slip capable of receiving vessels of 2000 tons. As a shipping port Wellington ranks next to Auckland and Lyttelton. It possesses foundries, shipbuilding yards, boot factories, soap and candle works, tanneries, woollen, coffee, flour, and saw mills, breweries, aerated water works, coach factories, brick and tile works, and a very extensive meat- preserving establishment, which exports large supplies to Europe. The area of the municipal borough is 1100 acres, and from 4176 in 1861 the population increased to 13,488 in 1871 and 20,563 in 1881, while in 1886 the city and suburbs had 27,833 inhabitants. WELLINGTON, ARTHUR WELLESLEY, DUKE OF (1769- 1852), was the fourth son of Garrett, earl of Mornington, now remembered only as a musician. He was descended from the family of Colley or Cowley, which had been settled in Ireland for some centuries. The duke s grand father assumed the name of Wesley on succeeding to the estates of Mr Garrett Wesley, a kinsman of the famous divine; the affinity between the families of Colley and Wesley rests, however, on nothing nearer than a common ancestor in the 15th century. In the duke s early letters the family name is spelt Wesley ; the change to Wellesley seems to have been made about 1790. Arthur (born in Ireland in the spring of 1769 l ) was sent to Eton, and subsequently to the military college at Angers. He entered the army as ensign of the 73d regiment in 1787, passed rapidly through the subaltern grades, became major of the 33d, and purchased the lieutenant-colonelcy of that regiment in 1793 with money advanced to him by his eldest brother. Before reaching full age he was returned to the Irish parliament by the family borough of Trim. Little is known of his history during these years ; but neither in boyhood nor early youth does he appear to have made any mark among his contemporaries. His first experience of active service was in the disastrous campaign of 1794-95, when the British force under the duke of York was driven out of Holland by Pichegru. In 1796 he was sent with his regiment to India. Three Indian years more passed before Wellesley became known to service. the world, but we have his own testimony that it was during these years of obscurity that he qualified himself in one direction for the great military career before him. As colonel commanding a regiment he gained the most minute and accurate acquaintance with every detail of the soldier s life, learned the precise amount of food 1 In Merrion Street, Dublin, or at Dungan Castle, Meath, towards
the end of April or on 1st May; but both place and date are uncertain.