Stratford upon Avon

Stratford-upon-Avon is a town in Warwickshire, England. In 2001 the town had a population of 29,676. Stratford is known worldwide as the birthplace of William Shakespeare. It is also the administrative centre of Stratford-on-Avon District.

Stratford has Anglo-Saxon origins, and grew up as a market town in medieval times. Due to its associations with Shakespeare, Stratford is a popular tourist attraction and receives over two million visitors a year from all over the world. Apart from tourism, other industries in the town include aluminium ware and boat building.

Stratford is near to the UK's second city of Birmingham and is easily accessible from junction 15 of the M40 motorway. The town has good train links from Birmingham (Snow Hill) and has train services to London (Paddington).

The influx of tourists into Stratford has caused much tension with residents in recent years, who have complained about numerous tour busses clogging local roads in the town.

Tourist attractions

The town is located on the river River 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 (which is currently closed). Other tourist attractions within the town include Shakespeare's birthplace and two contemporary buildings, Hall's Croft (the one-time home of Shakespeare's daughter, Susannah) and Anne Hathaway's Cottage, the former home of Shakespeare's wife, and Mary Arden's House, the former home of his mother. The latter has recently been re-identified as a different house from the one originally thought to have the family link.

Non-Shakespearean attractions include a Teddy Bear Museum, a Butterfly Farm and the Black Swan (locally known as the 'Dirty Duck'), a pub frequented by actors fresh from the stage, and the Bancroft Gardens.

Scholarly institutions

Stratford is also home to several instutions set up for the study of Shakespeare, including the Shakespeare Centre, which holds books and documents related to the playwright, and the Shakespeare Institute, an academic institution.

Trivia

Another famous playwright, J.B. Priestley, died in Stratford.

The towns of Stratford, Australia and Stratford, Ontario both lie upon rivers named Avon.