One of the principal roads leading from Nantwich to the south, Wellington Road was once called Broad Lane which was itself an extension of medieval Pillory Street. Its was renamed to commemorate The Duke of Wellington, possibly around the time of his death in 1852. It is not particularly noteworthy that Nantwich should name a street after the great hero of Waterloo, after all he had a mountain (Mount Wellington in Tasmania) and a capital city (Wellington, New Zealand) named after him, not to mention the Wellington Boot. That is, apart from the fact that Wellington himself had passed through Nantwich in 1820 and possibly along this very road – a direct link to the man himself.
The Iron Duke was probably the most famous man in the country at the time of his visit on 27th December 1820. He had been staying with his comrade in arms, Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere at this home at Combermere Abbey (about 6 miles south of Nantwich). Cotton was a hero in his own right serving as a cavalry officer in Flanders and India and later serving in the Iberian Peninsula commanding a cavalry regiment.
The Duke accepted an invitation to spend Christmas 1820 in Cheshire with the Viscount and his family. This was clearly considered by Cotton to be a high honour as he hastily extended his home at Combermere Abbey with an entire new wing to accommodate such a grand occasion. Wellington planted an oak tree in the grounds of Combermere which survives to this day.
The Duke was to travel to Chester after Christmas to attend a dinner which was to be held in his honour. On his way he travelled through Nantwich and according to local tradition, approached the town along the street which we now know as Wellington Road.
On 27th Dec. 1820, the Duke of Wellington, being the guest of his friend and companion in arms Lord Combermere, passed through Nantwich, en route to Chester, where honour was done to the hero of Waterloo.
– James Hall 1883
Read more about Nantwich Street names here.
Bibliography
James Hall, 1883 – A history of the town and parish of Nantwich, or Wich-Malbank, in the county palatine of Chester.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Wellesley,_1st_Duke_of_Wellington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stapleton_Cotton,_1st_Viscount_Combermere
