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Image:StratfordAvon20040717 CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg Stratford-upon-Avon Image:Stratford On Avon historic map 1902.jpg Historic map from 1908 Image:New Place Stratford.jpg New Place today Image:Shakespeare's Birthplace.jpg Shakespeare's birthplace Image:Hall's Croft.jpg Hall's Croft Image:Anne Hathaway's Cottage.jpg Anne Hathaway's Cottage 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 local district is named after the town, but the district is called Stratford-on-Avon, whereas the town is officially called Stratford-upon-Avon. Locally, the town is known as Stratford for short, and as such can be confused with the Stratford in the London Borough of Newham.
IndustryApart from tourism, other industries in the town include aluminium ware, narrowboat building and insurance. History and GeographyStratford has Anglo-Saxon origins, and grew up as a market town in medieval times. See also ford (river). Travel
The town has a new cycle-path, is on the canal network, and launched a park and ride scheme in 2006. Tourist attractionsThe 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. There is currently also the temporary Courtyard Theatre, opened in July 2006, which will become the home of the RSC while the RST is being refurbished, beginning in mid-2007. Early in 2006 The Other Place temporarily ceased to exist because the space it occupied is being used as the Courtyard Theatre's foyer space, cloakroom, bar areas, dressing room and rehearsal space. The Other Place will be reinstated after the RST refurbishment is complete and the Courtyard Theatre is dismantled. 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 Butterfly Farm, a Witchcraft Exhibition, 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'. Six kilometres away is Charlecote Park, a historic house set in a deer park, from where Shakespeare reputedly poached deer. 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. Each year on October 12th (unless this is a Sunday, in which case October 11th) Stratford hosts one of the largest Mop Fairs in the country. Then, on the second Saturday following, the smaller Runaway Mop fair is held. Educational establishmentsStratford 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. It also has an academic college: Stratford-upon-Avon College. The most famous school in Stratford is King Edward VI school, which is where William Shakespeare 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. There is also an all-girls selective school, Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls, in Shottery, a short distance out of town. Churches
Trivia
SuburbsShottery, Bishopton, Bridgetown, Tiddington. Town twinningNotes
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