Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a town on the
River Avon in south
Warwickshire,
England. In
2001 the town had a population of 23,676.
The town is the birthplace of
William Shakespeare and because of its
Shakespearean connections the area is a popular
tourist destination, receiving about three million visitors a year from all over the world.
[Stratford District Council Report]Locally the town is known as
Stratford, and the surrounding district as
Stratford-on-Avon. Hence it is easy to confuse the town with the district as the postfix 'upon-Avon' refers to the town, whereas 'on-Avon' refers to the district.
Stratford in Warwickshire is also often confused with
Stratford in the
London Borough of Newham some 100 miles away (and partial host to the
2012 Olympic Games).
Apart from tourism, other industries in the town include
aluminium ware, narrowboat building and
insurance.
Stratford has
Anglo-Saxon origins, and grew up as a
market town in
medieval times. See also
ford (river).
Stratford is close to the UK's second largest city,
Birmingham, and is easily accessible from junction 15 of the
M40 motorway. The seven-mile £12m Stratford Northern Bypass opened in June
1987 as the A422. The town has good rail links from Birmingham (
Snow Hill station,
Moor Street station) and from
London, with up to seven direct trains a day from
London Marylebone.
The town has a new cycle-path, is on the canal network, and launched
park and ride scheme in
2006.
The town is located on the Avon, on the banks of which stands the
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, home of the
Royal Shakespeare Company. The RSC also runs two smaller theatres, the
Swan, which is modelled on an Elizabethan theatre, and
The Other Place, a
black box theatre.
Other tourist attractions within the town include the
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and two contemporary buildings,
Hall's Croft (the one-time home of Shakespeare's daughter, Susannah) and
New Place, which stands on the site of an earlier house originally owned by the playwright himself. Also within the town is
Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was baptised and is buried.
Near to the town are several other properties associated with Shakespeare:
Anne Hathaway's Cottage at
Shottery, the former home of Shakespeare's wife,
Mary Arden's House, the former home of his mother, and farms and buildings at
Snitterfield, the former home of his father.
Non-Shakespearean attractions include a
Teddy Bear Museum, a Butterfly Farm, the Bancroft Gardens, and The Black Swan (locally known as the 'Dirty Duck'), a
pub said to be frequented by actors 'fresh from the stage'.
A great way to see all that Stratford has to offer is by taking the Stratford Town Walk. A daily guided walk around the historic streets that is entertaining and informative. The walk passes the 3 Shakespeare Houses, Theatres, Holy Trinity Church and much more. Hear stories of fires, flooding, the plague, medieval cures and the origins of old fashioned sayings.
For evening entertainment, the Stratford Town Ghost Walk offers tales of ghosts, witches, murder and mayhem.
Eight miles away is
Ragley Hall, one of England's finest stately homes and home to the Jerwood Sculpture Park.
The town had a publicly-funded art gallery, The Gallery, but this was closed in 2004.
The influx of tourists into Stratford has caused tension with residents for decades, and there are perennial complaints about numerous tour buses clogging certain roads in the town.
There are plans to refurbish the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and to build offices and flats on the defunct cattle market next to the railway station.
Stratford is also home to several institutions set up for the study of Shakespeare, including the
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which holds books and documents related to the playwright, and the
Shakespeare Institute, an academic college: Stratford-upon-Avon College.The most famous school in Stratford is
King Edward VI school, which is where William Shakespere is believed to have studied. It is an all-boys school, and one of the few schools which selects its pupils using the
Eleven plus.
*
Stratford-upon-Avon Elim Pentecostal Church*
Stratford-upon-Avon Heartlands Church*
Stratford-upon-Avon Holy Trinity Church*
Stratford-upon-Avon Methodist Church*
Renewal Stratford*
Stratford-upon-Avon St Gregory the Great*
Stratford-upon-Avon Baptist Church*
Stratford-upon-Avon URC*
Stratford-upon-Avon The Salvation Army*
Word of Life Christian Centre*
Screaming Lord Sutch started his political campaign in Stratford-upon-Avon
*
John Profumo was
MP for Stratford-upon-Avon
* Another famous playwright,
J.B. Priestley, died in Stratford-upon-Avon.
* The towns of
Stratford, Australia and
Stratford, Ontario both lie on rivers named Avon and hold Shakespeare festivals.
*
Harvard University is named after
John Harvard, whose mother was a native of Stratford-upon-Avon (her family home currently houses the
Museum of British Pewter)
*
Stratford,
Connecticut*
Public Library Information and Tourist Leaflets*
Official Local Government Website on Warwickshire*
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Website*
Stratford Town Walk*
Stratford-upon-Avon information resource website*
Stratford 'on the web'*
Shakespeare-country A website run and maintained by South Warwickshire tourism authority
*
Stratford in photos*
Stratford-upon-Avon in Old Postcards A website with old views of the town and surrounding area
* Washington Post website - [
1]
Stratford Online Stratford Online Community Website.
