STRATFORD ON AVON, (Warwickshire) 72 cm. 97 mm. from London, in the road to it from Henley in Arden, bel. above 300 years
before the conquest, to the Bp. of Worcester, together with a park. K. Rich. I. granted it a Mt. on Th. and K. John a Fair
on Trinity-eve, and 2 days after. William de Bloys, Bp. of Worcester, procured it another Fair May 26, and Walter de
Cantilupe another on Sept. 14, and 2 days after. Another Bp. viz. Giffard, procured it a Fair, in the R. of Hen. III. upon
Holy-Th. and the day before and after. Another of the Bps. in the R. of Ed. II. obtained a charter for its Mt. on Th. and
added another Fair at the latter end of June. In the R. of Edw. VI. Nich. Heath, Bp. of Worcester, passed this manor, when
it was let at 60 l. a year, by the name of Old-Stratford, to John Dudley, E. of Warwic, afterwards D. of Northumberland;
upon whose attainder, Q. Mary granted it first to his Dss. and then to the Savoy-hos. near London. K. Edw. VI. made this
T. a corp. consisting of a bailiff and burgesses, who were to bear the name of ald. and to have a common seal, &c. It is
now governed by a mayor, recorder, high-steward, 12 ald. of whom two are justices, and 12 capital burgesses. Trinity-Ch.
here is thought to be almost as old as the Norman conquest, but parts of it have been at several times rebuilt. Here was
formerly a collegiate-Ch. which was granted by Ed. VI. to the D. of Northumberland, abovementioned; upon whose attainder
it came to the crown, and there continued a long time; for we find, that in the 18th of Eliz. she granted a lease of it to
Rich. Coningsby, for 21 years. It came afterwards to the Combes family, and about 1700 was purchased by the Keyts of
Ebrington in Glocestershire, the ancestors of Sir Will. Keyt, Bt. Here is a fr. grammar sc. and an almsh. and a fair stone
bridge over the Avon, with a long causey at the W. end of it, walled on both sides; which bridge and causey were erected,
in the R. of Hen. VII. by Hugh Clopton, once Ld.-mayor of London, who built here a chapel of ease; whereas before there
being only a timber-bridge, and no causey, the passage was very dangerous on the overflowing of the r. which to this T. is
navigable by barges. The said Mr. Clopton built himself a house here by the chapel, which Edw. VI. gave to Mr. Reeve and
Mr. Cotton of London, and their heirs, to hold of the manor of E. Greenwich. It is remarkable, that this T. gave birth and
burial to the famous poet, Will. Shakespear. The chief trade here is corn and malt, of which it makes abundance. Shottry-
Meadow, near this place, is noted for horse-races. The Fairs now are Holy-Th. May 1, and Sept. 8.