Welling is a suburb of south-east London in the London Borough of Bexley, situated to the east of Shooter's Hill.

It incorporates the local parishes of East Wickham , Falconwood, Danson and St Michaels.

It is probably one of the oldest settlements in this area. A Neolithic stone axe was found in East Wickham in 1910 and more recently (1989) remains of Roman buildings were unearthed near Danson.

It is home to a bingo hall, Welling United F.C. football ground, an internet cafe and a municipal library with meeting room. There is a wide range of restaurants (mostly take-aways) and independent shops, mainly lining Watling Street part of which is now called Welling High Street.

Foster's School is a local landmark, recently converted to residential use. Further north there is an ancient church, now used by a Greek Orthodox congregation.

Welling origins

No archaeological remains have come from Welling to prove that there was a settlement in Anglo-Saxon times, but the place-name evidence is important in this respect and must be considered in detail.

We can dispose at once of the fallacy that Welling was called 'Well End' because travellers who had survived the dangers of Shooter's Hill* considered that they had made a fortunate termination of the most hazardous stage of their journey when they passed through the hamlet.

The place was called wellyngs as long ago as 1362 and it is generally agreed that the first element comes from the Old English wella meaning a well or spring.

Springs do in fact occur hereabouts, one being the source of a rivulet feeding the small lake in Danson Park.

The significance of the suffix ing is, however, more problematical; it is a common ending in English place-names and was in many cases originally ingas, signifying at first the people who lived there and later the place where they lived.

Until recently ingas names were thought to relate to the earliest phase of the English settlement in the fifth and sixth centuries, but this is now disputed. In its singular form ing' the element could mean simply 'place', but to complicate the matter, early singular endings were later occasionally changed to plurals.

As we have no very early pre-Conquest forms of the name Welling, the terminal 's' in 1362 may be misleading.

Although place-name study is dangerous ground for all but the expert, it may be tentatively suggested that in the present case 'Welling' means simply 'the place of the spring' rather than indicating an early Anglo-Saxon settlement. Moreover, such settlements were not usually on the direct course of a Roman road, the newcomers generally preferring to make their homes a short distance from the highway, as apparently in the case of Welling.

Shooter's Hill is located one mile west of Welling on the road leading to Blackheath and London.

Extract from the booklet : ”East Wickham and Welling” - by Peter J. Tester, FSA, Vice President of Kent Archaeological Society.

Local Politics

• List of Local Councillors

Famous Resident

Kate Bush

Nearest places

• Bexleyheath
• Blackfen
• Eltham
• Falconwood
• Plumstead
• Sidcup
• Erith
• Woolwich

Nearest railway stations

• Bexleyheath railway station
• Falconwood railway station
• Welling railway station

External links

• Welling Towntalk
• Welling Website with local links