Rockwell Green

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 50.9772
longitude= -3.2477
official_name= Rockwell Green
population =
shire_district= Taunton Deane
shire_county = Somerset
region= South West England
constituency_westminster= Taunton
post_town= WELLINGTON
postcode_district = TA21
postcode_area= TA
dial_code= 01823
os_grid_reference= ST125205

Rockwell Green is a village near Wellington in the Taunton Deane, district of Somerset England. It lies just east of the Somerset Devon border and is overlooked by the Blackdown Hills.

The Wellington Monument is visible from almost anywhere in the village. This monument however sadly is on the verge on falling down, however many attempts to raise money to 'rescue' it are being made.

Rockwell Green has a railway bridge, under which a steam train the "City of Truro" was first recorded traveling at over 100mph (160km/h) in 1904. Although this has been the subject of much debate since then, recent research does support the claim. [cite journal| last = Andrews| first = David| title = Special Experimental Tests: more pieces of the City of Truro puzzle| journal = Backtrack| volume = 22| issue = 2| pages = 116-121| publisher = Pendragon Publishing | date = 2008] There have been numerous requests for a plaque or monument to be placed at the Beam Bridge hotel or Westford Rail bridge: however very little has come of this so far.

Two large water towers, 1 concrete (below), 1 redbrick, both disused, also bring a small number of visitors to the village. The older red brick water tower was built in the late 19th century and includes a circular steel water tank. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building. [cite web|url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=270074|title=Water Tower (easternmost of pair)|work=Images of England|publisher=English Heritage|accessdate=2008-07-15] The more recent concrete tower was built in the 1930s. [cite web|url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=270075|title= Water Tower (westernmost of pair)|work=Images of England|publisher=English Heritage|accessdate=2008-07-15]

A number of the houses in the original village are council owned. Rumour has it that the village was created to keep the "riff raff" out of Wellington, the neighbouring town;weasel word however, as true as this may or may not be, Rockwell Green is actually older than Wellington. In 1991 the population was estimated at 1618. Since then more houses have been built and the population estimate from the 2001 census was 2600. [cite web|url=http://www.town-guides.org/tgo/somerset/rockwell_green/population-overview.asp|title=Town Population|work=Rockwell Green (Somerset)|publisher=Town-Guides.org|accessdate=2008-07-15]

The Village has a Butcher’s shop, three Pubs, a Fish & Chips shop, a Post Office, a General Store and a Church. Also, it has a school and village hall. The post office dates from the 19th century. [cite web|url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=270046|title=Rockwell Green Post Office|work=Images of England|publisher=English Heritage|accessdate=2008-07-15]

References