Church Stretton

Church Stretton is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town lies entirely in the Shropshire Hills AONB, on the A49 roadapproximately 13 miles (21 km) south of Shrewsbury, the county town, and 15 miles (24 km) north of Ludlow. The population of the wider parish (including the adjacent settlements of All Stretton and Little Stretton) was recorded in 2011 as 4,671.

The town was nicknamed Little Switzerland in the late-Victorian andEdwardian period, due to its landscape and development as a health resort. The local geology is complex and incorporates some of th e oldest rocks in England - a notable fault is named after the town. Today, Church Stretton continues to be a busy market town, as well as being a destination for visitors to the surrounding natural landscape, with the Long Myndsituated immediately to the west of the town and the Stretton Hills to the east.

Church Stretton viewed from the Ragleth

History

 

The market on High Street, which has been held in the town since 1214; in the background is the tower of St Laurence's Church


 

People have lived in the Stretton Gap (or Dale) for thousands of years; an Iron Age hillfort on Caer Caradoc overlooks the town. The name "Stretton" is derived from the Old English words stræt meaning "Roman Road" and tun meaning "settlement"; a Roman road, Watling St runs through the Stretton Gap, though the town (and adjacent settlements) were not historically located on this road – during the "Dark Ages" the settlements grew a short distance away from the old thoroughfare, for defensive purposes. Today the modern A49 road, which was constructed on its current alignment through the Stretton Gap in the late 1930s, runs along a similar course to the Roman Road. The Roman Road was historically known as Botte Street.

The settlements of Little Stretton, Church Stretton and All Stretton (until the late 19th century regarded as separate townships) formed the manor of Stretton or Stretton-en-le-Dale. The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded 35 households and a mill in the manor. Church Stretton became the largest of the settlements, with the manor's parish church and market located there, and being where Bristol Road had a junction with the road to Much Wenlock and the Burway - a route over the Long Mynd. At the time of the Domesday Book, the manor came under the hundred of Culvestan, a Saxon hundred that was amalgamated during the reign of Henry I — the Strettons then came within the upper division of the hundred of Munslow.

The town was first granted a market charter by King John in 1214, for a weekly market on Wednesdays, but by 1253 the market day had changed to Tuesdays. In 1337 a new charter was granted by Edward III and it authorised a weekly market to be held on Thursdays. The market is still held every Thursday, in the square on the High Street, which has been the town's market place since the 13th century. Much of the town was destroyed by fire in 1593 and many of the presenthalf timbered buildings in the town centre date from the time of the rebuilding.

The High Street was for many centuries known instead as the Bristol Road, being the road from Shrewsbury to Bristol. It was once a much wider street within the town, with the churchyard of St Laurence bordering directly onto the street. Over time buildings were erected on the street, in a similar fashion to other English market towns, such as in Ludlow. The High Street, which is a narrow street, is effectively only the eastern side of the original Bristol Road thoroughfare through the town. It was made more open when the old market hall was demolished to form the present town square.

Economy

A stile and footpath with view of the Long Mynd; tourism based on the surrounding natural landscape has been important for the town's economy since the late 19th century

The mineral water extraction and bottling plant on Shrewsbury Road (known locally as the 'Pop Works'), has been operating since 1883 and since 2004 has provided Princes with mineral water. It is a notable local employer as is the polymer laboratories off Essex Road, currently owned by Agilent Technologies (until 2009 by Varian). There is a designated light industrial area situated between the A49 and the railway line, known as Crossways, with a number of local businesses operating, many of which are of the motoring trade, including a BP petrol station.

The town benefits from tourism, which is a growth industry in the area, as well as attracting local trade. A recent survey showed that the town has some fifty retail outlets, 44 of which are independently owned, with a high diversity of shop types. The offer in the town centre includes two butchers, several outdoor activities shops, a baker, a delicatessen, several clothes and shoe shops, three banks, and two supermarkets (Co-op and Spar). There is a large antiques market, situated in a former malthouse on the corner of Sandford Avenue and Easthope Road. There are four pubs,^a as well as a number of cafes and small restaurants. In June 2011 the town was officially declared to be a "Fairtrade Town" with 34 businesses selling fair trade products. A small art gallery exists in the former hotel on the corner of Shrewsbury Road and Sandford Avenue. The town also has a number of professional services, such as solicitors, accountants and estate agents, confirming its status as a local centre of business.

The town continues to benefit from its reputation as a spa town, giving it a desirable status as a place to live, especially for retirement. House prices are above the county average and have seen similar increases in recent times as other spa towns in the UK.

The 2001 census recorded the parish's employment rate at 54.2% whilst unemployment was at 1.9% (both are percentages of residents aged 16–74), and 18.7% of all residents were retired. The largest sector of employment was "wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles" with 16.7% of all employment in that sector.







 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Stretton 

Classifieds in Church Stretton