Church Stretton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Church Stretton | |
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| Population | 4,186 |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | South Shropshire |
| Shire county | Shropshire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CHURCH STRETTON |
| Postcode district | SY6 |
| Dial code | 01694 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Ludlow |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| List of places: UK • England • Shropshire | |
Church Stretton is a town in South Shropshire, England.
"Stretton", as it is known by locals, is a small town hidden away in the Shropshire hills and famous for its spring water and stunning views. See the Shropshire Hills AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) for more about the natural geography of the area. The population is 4186, as measured by the 2001 census, and it is the only town, other than the district capital Ludlow, with a population over 3000 in the South Shropshire district. The town has a station on the Welsh Marches railway line, which runs through the valley. Trains can be caught to Shrewsbury, Hereford, Manchester and Cardiff, amongst other destinations.
People have lived in the Stretton gap for thousands of years, and an Iron Age hillfort on Caer Caradoc still overlooks the town, which is called "Stretton" from the Saxon name "town on the street" because a Roman Road, Watling Street, runs through it (now the A49).
The town is dominated by the huge Long Mynd massif, which provides the town with both its views, and the water that the town's economy is based around. The water comes from an underground glacial lake, and is extracted from boreholes at various places on the Long Mynd, and the water bottling is the town's biggest employer.
Historically, the town was noted for its textiles, but the carding mill closed at the beginning of the 20th century, leaving only the name of the valley that the mill was in (Carding Mill Valley, now the town's popular tourist area).
Other employers include a polymer laboratory on the east side of the town, and tourism which is a growth industry in the area and as a result the town is getting more media exposure than it used to (it was, for example recently mentioned in the infamous tabloid The Sun).[citation needed]
A notable feature of the town, is the large number of different churches.
Church Stretton was nicknamed Little Switzerland during its growth in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, both because of its mountainous terrain, and because the town is run like clockwork.
Church Stretton also has two schools a secondary school with 750 pupils and a primary school with 250 pupils.
Church Stretton is a major centre for the sport of archery.
The 'White House' nursing home on Sandford street was once the family home of Silvester Horne a congregationalist minister, Liberal MP for Ipswich, and father of the BBC broadcaster Kenneth Horne.
- Nearby towns and villages include
- Little Stretton - to the south
- All Stretton - to the north
- Craven Arms - town to the south
- Wall under Heywood
- Rushbury
- Longville in the Dale
- Ticklerton
- Ratlinghope
[edit] External links
- Church Stretton - Town Council website
- Church Stretton - links by User:Webbric
- Church Stretton Photos
- Photographs of Church Stretton on Shropshire Gallery
| Unitary authorities: | Telford and Wrekin |
| Boroughs/Districts: | Bridgnorth • North Shropshire • Oswestry • Shrewsbury and Atcham • South Shropshire |
| Cities/Towns: | Bishop's Castle • Bridgnorth • Broseley • Church Stretton • Cleobury Mortimer • Clun • Craven Arms • Dawley • Ellesmere • Ludlow • Madeley • Market Drayton • Much Wenlock • Newport • Oakengates • Oswestry • Shifnal • Shrewsbury • Telford • Wellington • Wem • Whitchurch See also: List of civil parishes in Shropshire |
