THE Duke of Wellington, Charles Wellesley, will be visiting Wellington on Friday (March 6) for the opening of the town museum’s 2026 season.

It will be the Duke’s first visit to his namesake town since 2019, when he marked the 200th anniversary of the only visit by his famous ancestor and first Duke, the victor of the Battle of Waterloo, and visited the then-ongoing National Trust restoration of Wellington Monument, which was built to commemorate the triumph.

The current Duke, the ninth, will officially open the museum, in Fore Street, accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of Somerset Mohammed Saddiq, Deputy Lord Lieutenant Tom Mayberry, and local MP Gideon Amos.

Wellington Mayor Cllr Janet Lloyd and town crier Andrew Norris will also be taking part in the opening, which is a month earlier than usual and will be broadcast live from 9 am by Wiveliscombe-based community radio station 10 Radio.

The volunteer-run museum has undergone a winter refurbishment to give a fresh look to its premises in what used to be the Squirrel Hotel coaching inn and which dates to 1673.

The museum has more than 5,000 items in its collection, too many for them all to be on display at the same time.

They include a portrait of the first Duke of Wellington, a model of the Battle of Waterloo complete with soldiers, horses, and cannon, a history of the Fox family, who were Quakers and ran the town’s woollen mill, and a working model of the town’s Wellesley Cinema.

The museum was formed in 1983 using funds remaining from the town’s celebration of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, together with donations from local residents and businesses.

This year is its 44th season and it continues to be run by Wellington Local History and Museum Society.