Welling is a town in South East London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Bexleyheath, 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Woolwich and 10.5 miles (16.9 km) of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent.

Local legend has it that Welling is so called because in the era of horse-drawn vehicles it could be said you were “well in” to Kent, or had a “well end” to the journey up and down Shooters Hill which, at the time was steep, had a poor road surface and was a notorious haunt of highwaymen. Until the 1800s, most of Welling down to Blackfen was covered in woodland which offered excellent concealment for outlaws and robbers who would prey on vulnerable slow-moving horse-drawn traffic.