STRATFORD-upon-AVON, a borough and market-town, in the parish of
OLD-STRATFORD, having separate jurisdiction, though locally in
the Stratford division of the hundred of Barlichway, county
of WARWICK, 8 miles (S.W.) from Warwick, and 94 (N. W.) from
London, on the road through Oxford to Shrewsbury, containing
3069 inhabitants. This place, originally called Streat-ford
and Stretford, derived its name from its situation on
the great north road, and from a Saxon ford on the
river Avon, at the entrance to the town. It was a place
of considerable importance prior to the Conquest, and
was distinguished for its monastery, founded, in the
reign of Ethelred, on or near the site of the present
church. In 1197, Richard I. granted the inhabitants a
weekly market; and, during the succeeding reigns, various
other privileges were conferred upon the town. In
the 36th and 37th of Elizabeth it suffered materially
from accidental fires, which destroyed the greater
part of it; and again, in 1614, it experienced a similar
calamity. In 1588, both ends of the bridge over
the "Avon were carried away by a flood that inundated
the lower part of the town. During the parliamentary
war, a party of royalists stationed here was
driven out by a superior force of parliamentarians, under
the command of Lord Brooke, in 1642; but the Inhabitants
still maintained their adherence to the royal
cause, and, in the following year, Henrietta Maria,
queen of Charles I., at the head of three thousand infantry,
one thousand five hundred cavalry, and with a
train of artillery, and one hundred and fifty wagons,
advanced to the town, where she was met. by Prince
Rupert; and, after remaining for some days at New
Place, the residence of Shakspeare, where she was hospitably
entertained by the family, proceeded to Kington,
to meet the king, whom she accompanied to Oxford.
The parliamentarians, having subsequently obtained
possession of the town, demolished one of the arches
of the bridge, over the deepest part of the river, to
prevent the approach of the royalists.
The town is beautifully situated on the south-west
border of the county, on an eminence rising gently
from the west bank of the Avon, which, here expanding,
winds round its base. The entrance from the London
road is over a handsome stone bridge of fourteen
pointed arches, originally, with the causeway, three
hundred and seventy-six yards in length, defended
on each side by a stone parapet, and having on the
north side a foot-path, with an iron palisade, supported
by brackets of iron, resting on the piers. This
bridge was built by Sir Hugh Clopton, in the reign
of Henry VII., and widened by act of parliament in
1814. Nearly parallel with it is another, of nine cycloidal
arches, built of brick, and exclusively used
as a rail-joad to the wharfs at this extremity of the
town. At the southern termination of the town, over
a branch of the river, which has been diverted to form
a mill dam, is a foot bridge of wood, resting upon
strong piers of stone; from the hill beyond which is
a fine view of the town, the church, the surrounding
scenery, and the distant woods. The town consists of
several spacious streets, intersecting each other, some at
right angles, and others crossing obliquely: the houses
in that part which is called the Old Town", though rather
of ancient appearance, are commodious and well built,
occasionally interspersed with modern buildings of large
dimensions and handsome appearance, and in some of
the streets are smaller houses of frame-work timber and
plaster; among these, part of the ancient house in which
Shakspeare was born is still preserved in its antique
state, and is an object of much interest. The house in
which he lived in retirement, for a few years previously
to his decease, was originally the mansion of the Clopton
family, and was purchased by the bard, who, after
repairing and improving it, called it "New Place:" it
has been taken down by a late proprietor, who also
cut down the mulberry tree planted by Shakspeare in
the gardens. The town is partially paved, and lighted
with oil by lamps adapted to the future introduction
of gas, and the inhabitants. are amply supplied with
water from pumps attached to their houses. The public
library and reading-rooms are supported by subscription
the Shaksperian library, also supported by
private subscription, wasestablished in 1810, and is a
permanent and useful institution. The theatre is a
neat building of brick, within the precincts of Shakspeare's
garden, and is internally well arranged and
elegantly fitted up; the . exterior is decorated with a
portico, and when completed according to the original
plan, will be an ornament to the town; it is generally
open for three months in the season, and
assemblies are held occasionally, during the winter, at
the town hall. To the south of the town is a racecourse,
where races formerly took place, and were in
general well attended; but since 1786 they have been,
discontinued. A jubilee, in honour of Shakspeare, was
instituted by Garrick, in the year 1769, when the town.'
hall, which had been recently rebuilt, was dedicated to
the poet; and his statue, finely sculptured, and presented
to the town by Garrick, at the close of the
ceremony, was placed in a niche at the north end of
the building; this festival has been recently revived,
and is celebrated every third, year. The environs,
abounding with diversified scenery and objects of considerable
interest, afford many beautiful walks; and
the salubrity of the air, and its central situation in
a neighbourhood enlivened with the elegant villas
of respectable families, and the noble mansions of
the wealthy, make it eligible as a place of residence.
There isnot much trade carried on, the inhabitants
being principally employed in agriculture; the only
manufacture is that of patent Florentine silk buttons,
a branch of a larger factory at Bromsgrove, employing
from fifty to sixty persons. The Stratford canal, passing
close to the north of the town, and joining the Birmingham,
Warwick, and Oxford canals, connects them
with the Avon, which is navigable, for barges of forty
tons, to Tewkesbury, where it joins the Severn, thus
affording, a line of inland navigation to the principal
towns in the kingdom: near the bridge are some ex-
tensive wharfs for lime, timber, coal, and other articles
of merchandise. The market, which was formerly on
Thursday, is now, by charter granted in the 59th
of George III., held on Friday, and is very considerable
for corn and other grain, and for cattle. The fairs, to
which are attached courts of pie-powder, are on May
14th and the three following days, for cattle, horses, and
toysj and September 25th, for cattle and cheese; besides
these there are great cattle markets on the third Monday
in February, the Friday after the 25th of March,
the last Monday in July, the second Friday after the
25th of September, and on the second Monday in December
there is also a statute fair on the morrow
after Old Michaelmas. The corn market is held in the
area near the town hall; the poultry market in a neat
stuccoed building erected at the east end of Woodstreet,
near the spot where the ancient cross formerly
stood, and surmounted by a cupola and vane, representing
a falcon grasping a tilting spear, Shakspeare's
family crest; and the cattle market in a spacious
area formed by the intersection of the streets leading
to the London, Birmingham, Evesham, and Alcester roads.
The town received its first regular charter of incorporation
from Edward VI., which, reciting and confirming
former grants of privileges to the " Bailiff and Burgesses
of Stratford on Avon," was extended by James I.,
and subsequently by Charles II., in the sixteenth and
twenty-sixth years of his reign. Under this last charter
the government is vested in a mayor, a high steward,
recorder, two chamberlains, twelve aldermen, and twelve
burgesses, assisted by a steward of the borough court,
clerk of the peace, two Serjeants at mace, and subordinate
officers. The mayor, who is also coroner and clerk
of the market, is chosen annually, on the first Wednesday
in September, by the aldermen and burgesses in council;
the high steward, recorder, and steward of the borough
court are elected by the corporation, and hold their
offices for life; the aldermen and the chamberlains are
chosen from the common council, by the corporation.
The mayor, the late mayor, the high steward, the recorder,
and the two senior aldermen, are justices of the
peace within the borough; and, by the second charter of
Charles II., the mayor, recorder, and the senior aldermen,
are also justices of the peace for part of the parish
of Old Stratford not otherwise within the jurisdiction
of the borough, which includes Old Town, and the
ehurch and churchyard. The corporation are, by their
charter, empowered to hold quarterly courts of session
for all offences not capital, and a court of record for
the recovery of debts not exceeding £40; but they have
nearly fallen into disuse. The guildhall, in which the
courts were held, and thebusinessof the corporation is now
transacted, is an ancient building, possessing few claims
to architectural notice: it occupies the west side of a
small quadrangular area, of which the chapel of the ancient
guild of the Holy Cross forms the north side, the
vicar's and schoolmaster's houses the east, and the entrance
to the school the south side; above the hall are
rooms appropriated to the use of the free grammar
school. The town hall was rebuilt, in 1768, by the corporation,
assisted by the nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood,
on the site of the former, of which the upper
room, having been used during the civil war as a magazine,
by an accidental explosion was destroyed, and
the building greatly damaged. The present building is
a plain and substantial structure, of the Tuscan order
on piazzas; at the north angle are two small cells for
the temporary confinement of prisoners, and the rest of
the area is appropriated to the use of the market: on.
the west front are the arms of the corporation, and in
a niche at the north end of the building is the statue of
Shakspeare, presented by Garrick. The upper story
comprises a handsome banqueting-room, sixty feet long,
and thirty feet wide, decorated with paintings, among
which are a full-length portrait of Shakspeare, sitting
in an antique chair, by Wilson, and, at,the opposite end,
one of Garrick, reclining against a bust of the poet, by
Gainsborough; besides several smaller apartments, which
are also ornamented with paintings; the larger meetings
of the corporation, the mayor's feast, and the town
meetings, are held here; and the celebration of the
jubilee, concerts, and assemblies, take place in this suite of rooms.
The living is a vicarage, in the jurisdiction of the
peculiar court of the Rector of Stratford upon Avon,
rated in the king's books at £20, and in the patronage
of the Earl of Plymouth. The church, dedU
cated to the Holy Trinity, and formerly collegiate, is a
spacious and venerable cruciform structure, in the early
style of English architecture, with a square embattled
tower rising from the centre, and surmounted by a lofty
octagonal spire; the west entrance is through a richlymoulded
and deeply-recessed archway, above which is
a large window in the later style, its lower central compartment
being filled up with three richly-canopied
shrines: an avenue of lime trees, with their branches
entwined, forms a pleasing approach to the north porch;
over which is an apartment originally lighted by a window,
now covered by a tablet. The effect of the interior
is destroyed by the closing up of the east end of
the nave by the organ, excluding the transepts and the
chancel: the nave, of which the fine oak roof is richly
carved, and supported on clustered pillars and pointed
arches, is very lofty, and is lighted by a range of twelve
large clerestory windows, enriched with tracery of the
later style. In the south aisle, which is in the decorated
style, is a chapel, dedicated to St. Thomas
a Becket; and in the north aisle is a sepulchral
chapel, separated by a richly-carved stone screen, containing
several altar-tombs, with recumbent figures
of the Clopton family, finely sculptured in marble, and
painted to represent the natural complexion of the persons.
In the transept are several ancient and some
handsome modern monuments, and at the extremity
of each is a large enriched window: massive piers of
clustered columns, and lofty arches, support the tower,
but lose their effect by the exclusion of the nave on
one side, and of the chancel on the other. The chancel,
parted off by an oak screen, which has been glazed, is
much disfigured by a flat ceiling of plaster, in the room
of the original oak roof: it is lighted by a handsome
range of five windows on each side, in the later
style, and a large east window of rich tracery, in
which are placed several portions of stained glass
that have been preserved; on the south side, near the
altar, is a piscina, and near it are stone stalls of elegant
design; but the beauty of these, and of the ornamental
carvings in the church, is greatly defaced by the
thick coat of whitewash which conceals the minuter
details. On a slab at the entrance to the altar, covering
the ashes of the bard, is an inscription written by Shakspeare,
and on the north wall is his monument, in which
is his bust, representing him in the act of composing,
with a pen in the right hand, and the left arm resting
upon a scroll on a cushion; this bust, which is a wellattested
likeness, and was originally painted with strict
resemblance to the complexion, and colour of the eyes
and hair, of the poet, has, by the direction of his commentator
Malone, been painted to resemble stone, and
forms a lamentable contrast to the complexioned monuments
of the Clopton family, and others in the church.
The ancient stone font in which Shakspeare was baptized
having been removed, to make room for a modern one
of marble, was carefully preserved by the late Captain
Saunders, of Stratford, who placed it on the pedestal of
the ancient market cross, and, upon the erection of the
new market-house, removed it into his garden. The
chapel of ease, also dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is a
handsome edifice in the later style of English architecture;
it formerly belonged to the ancient guild of the
Holy Cross, and was rebuilt, by Sir Hugh Clopton, in
the reign of Henry VII. It has a square embattled tower,
and a beautiful north porch, of which the entranceis a
deeply-recessed and highly-enriched arch, surmounted
by a canopy embellished with scrolls and flowers 3 the
nave is lofty, and is lighted on each side by a range
of four windows; the chancel appears, from frequent
alteration and repair, which have been made at different
1 times without due regard to the prevailing style of the
structure, to have lost its original character; in repairing
the chapel, the walls were found to have been originally
decorated with various legendary paintings of
great antiquity. The master of the grammar school is
usually appointed chaplain, to whom the corporation pay
a stipend of £ 50 per annum. There are places of worship
for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists.
The free grammar school was founded, in 1482, by
Thomas Jolyffe, a native of the town, and one of the
brethren of the ancient guild of the Holy Cross; at the
dissolution the estate was seized by Henry VIII., but was
afterwards restored by Edward VI., for pious and charitable
uses, to the corporation, who refounded the school,
which is open to all inhabitants of the town for gratuitous
instruction in the classics, writing, and arithmetic:
the number of scholars on the foundation is about fifteen.
The income arising from the endowment is about
£130 per annum, of which £115 is paid by the corporation
to the master, who is appointed by the Earl of
Plymouth, as lord of the manor; in addition to which
he has £30 per annum for a house, the original building
being too small for residence, and the chaplainship
of the chapel of the Holy Trinity. In this school Shakspeare
received his education, but he was removed at an
early age. The -National school, in which ninety boys
and eighty girls are instructed, is supported by subscription
a Lancasterian school is supported by the Inde-
pendents j and an infant school was founded by Miss
Mason, at whose expense a neat building, capable of receiving
two hundred children, was erected. The almshouses
nearly adjoining the guildhall, and in a similar
style of building, were refounded and endowed under
the charter of Edward VI., for twelve men and twelve
women, of whom the most aged and infirm are placed
out in case of illness, where they can receive more
attention: they have an allowance of five shillings each
per week, to which, from the charities of the families of
Clopton and Lord, clothing is added every alternate
year; there are numerous other charitable bequests for
distribution among the poor. About a mile to the west
of the town, in the hamlet of Bishopton, is a mineral
spring, which, having been analysed by Dr. Perry, in
1744, was found to be of a saline quality, strongly impregnated
with sulphur, in its properties like the water
of Leamington. At Welcombe, about one mile to the
north of the town, are the remains of a military intrenchment,
formed of deep ravines meeting obliquely
in a common point: in the neighbourhood are several
tumuli, in which human bones, spear-heads, and other
military weapons, have been found: in opening one of
these, in 1795, the proprietor discovered a human skull,
transfixed with a spear, which appeared to be the gilded
head of a standard pike. On the surface of Borden
Hill, about a mile to the west, astroites, or star stones, are
found in profusion, in small columns apparently formed
of successive layers, which are easily separated; the
soil is calcareous, and in the region of limestone, to the
north-west, large specimens of testaceous fossils are
found; the star stone is found also at Shuckburgh near
Southam, and the arms of the family of that name are
three of these stones of five points, parted by a chevron.
Of the ancient monastery, or of the college that succeeded
it, the site of which was near the parish church,
not the slightest vestige is discernible. So intimately is
the name of Shakspeare associated with every recollec-
tion and description of this borough, that every circumstance
connected, however remotely with his memory, is
deemed worthy of being recorded. It is singularthat,
though a letter addressed to him has been discovered,
which was in the possession of the late Captain Saunders,
no traces of his hand-writing, nor any thing that
was ever known to have belonged to him, have ever
been fully authenticated. .In 1810, a large gold: seal
ring, which had evidently lain there many years, was
found near the churchyard, bearing the initials W.S.,
tied together with a string and tassels, according to
the fashion of his time; this, which with great
probability is supposed to have been his signet, is in the possession
of Mr. Wheler, author of the history of Stratford.
Stratford is eminently distinguished as the place
where Shakspeare was born, on the 23rd of April,
1564, and in which,- after having lived a few years in
retirement, he ended his days, on the anniversary of his
birth, in 1616, in the 52nd year of his age. Among
other eminent natives were John de Stratford, Lord
Treasurer in the reign of Edward II., and Lord Chan-
cellor in that of Edward III., who promoted him to the
see of Canterbury; Robert de Stratford, his brother,
Archdeacon of Canterbury, and afterwards Lord Chancellor,
on the translation of his brother to the primacy,
and who, together with him and the Bishop of Lichfield
and Coventry, was committed to the Tower, on a charge
of having detained the supplies for the war with France,
but was subsequently liberated and promoted to the see
of Chichester; Ralph de Stratford, Bishop of London,
who, during the great pestilence, in the year 1348, purchased
a piece of ground near Smithfield, for the inter -
ment of those who died of the contagion; John Huckell,
educated in the free grammar school, author of a poem
on the Avon, who assisted Garrick in the composition
of the Ode, and other poetical addresses, delivered at the
celebration of the jubilee, in 1769; and Francis Ainge,
a memorable instance of longevity, who was baptized
on the 23rd of August, 1629, left England in his youth
and died in North America, on the 13th of April, 1767,
having attained the extraordinary age of one hundred
and thirty-seven years.