Wellington is a small industrial town in rural Somerset, England, situated seven miles south west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the town. The town has a population of 13,696^[1]. It has many dependent villages including West Buckland, Langford Budville, Nynehead and Sampford Arundel. Rockwell Green is a formerly-independent village to the West of the town and while there is a green belt of land in between them, many consider it to be part of the town.

Wellington was a very traditional small town until the 1970s when huge housing developments happened on the South side of the town, prompted by its proximity to Junction 26 of the M5 motorway. The town is also a favourite location for people who work in the county town of Taunton, which is seven miles away. Exeter in Devon is only 25 miles away.

The town had its own railway station until the Beeching Report of 1963 which closed hundreds of the UK's provincial railway stations. The main Great Western Main Line from Penzance to London, and also to Bristol and the North, runs past the town, but no trains stop.

Wellington gave its name to the first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, and boasts a large obelix to his honour, spotlit, on top of the closest hill to the town, the Wellington Monument. This is now separated from the town by the major motorway in the South-West, the M5. Because of this, Wellington, Somerset can have a legitimate claim to have contributed to the more widespread use of the term in other place names and, of course, the Wellington Boot.

Wellington's main industry was wool-making, but this has now declined. The Fox family, still one of the more renowned names in the town, was at the forefront of this, and the name still lives on today. However, the town is still largely dependent on industry, notably its aerosol factory making aerosols for big names such as Marks and Spencer and Gillette. The company, now called Swallowfield, benefitted from the growth of own-brand products during the 1970s. The company dates back to 1950 though, when it was named Walter Gregory and Co. and produced the first consumer aerosols. The company has also been known as Aerosols International and was, for a time, owned by Cadbury Schweppes. After a management buyout in 1986, Swallowfield was then listed on the stock exchange. However, the company has recently been hit with the loss of a contract with Marks and Spencer, bringing estimated losses of £2 million.

The other big industry is bed making under the Relyon name. Relyon is now South-African owned and for many years has provided its own brand beds as well as making beds (and formerly furniture) for other high street names.

Wellington is also famous for its public school, Wellington School, Somerset, not to be confused with Wellington School, Shropshire or Wellington College.

The main secondary school in the town is Court Fields Community School. The school is a technology college.

In spite of its small size, Wellington has historically been notable for its profusion of churches of many different denominations, including a Quaker meeting house. It also boasts its own weekly newspaper, the Wellington Weekly News, in which a recent winter headline proclaimed "Tree falls in road".

Wellington has its own amateur dramatic group called Wellington Arts Association, which holds productions both at Wellington Arts Centre and at the Wellesley Theatre (the cinema and theatre in the town).

Wellington was home of Fox, Fowler and Company, which was the last commercial bank permitted to print sterling banknotes in England and Wales.

The town is twinned to the town of Immenstadt in Germany, and the town of Lillebonne in France.