Are you sure? You might have just seen a shop sign in the main street.
One of the amusing things about travelling by train in Italy is overhearing conversations between tourists who don't have any knowledge of the language ... "Where are we?" "It's a place called Uscita".
There are TWO Albrightons in Shropshire. One is near Shrewsbury and the other is near Wolverhampton. I've already mentioned one village that was the birthplace of an ancestor of mine. My great great great great grandfather was born in Albrighton by Wolverhampton.
California is in Birmingham.
The place that isn't an important US city is not far from Ashington, whether we are talking about West Sussex or the north east of England.