2. Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and
civil parish in south Warwickshire, England.
It lies on the River Avon, 22 miles (35 km)
south east of Birmingham and 8 miles
(13 km) south west of Warwick. It is the
largest and most populous town of the
District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses
the term "on" to indicate that it covers a
much larger area than the town itself. Four
electoral wards make up the urban town of
Stratford; Alveston, Avenue and New
Town, Mount Pleasant and Guild and
Hathaway. The estimated total population
for those wards in 2007 was 25,505.
The town is a popular tourist destination
owing to its status as birthplace of the
playwright and poet William
Shakespeare, receiving about three million
visitors a year from all over the world. The
Royal Shakespeare Company resides in
Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre, one
of Britain's most important cultural
venues.
3. History
• Stratford has Anglo-Saxon origins, and
grew up as a market town in medieval
times. The original charters of the
town were granted in 1196, making
Stratford officially over 800 years old.
The name is a fusion of the Old English
strǣt, meaning "street", and
ford, meaning that a Roman road
forded the River Avon at the site of the
town.
• In 1769 the actor David Garrick staged
a major Shakespeare Jubilee which
saw the construction of a large
rotunda and the influx of many visitors
for the three day event. This
contributed to the growing
phenomenon of Bardolatry which
made Stratford a tourist destination.
4. Climate
• Stratford experiences a temperature maritime climate, as is usual for the British Isles, meaning extreme
heat, or extreme cold are rare, sunshine is on the low side, and rainfall is spread evenly throughout the
year.
• The record high temperature is 35.7 °C (96.3 °F), set in August 1990, compared to the typical summer
maximum of 22 °C (72 °F). The record low temperature is −21.0 °C (−5.8 °F), recorded in January 1982.
With an average of 62[4] frosts a year, Stratford is a relatively frosty location. For comparison, nearby
Wellesbourne averages 53 frosts a year, and further afield, Malvern, just 33.
• Inland summer cloud development, July 2010, Stratford is denoted by the yellow dot.
• Rainfall, at around 620 mm is typical for low lying areas of central and eastern England. Over 1 mm of
rain was recorded on 115.7 days per year,[4] according to the 1971–2000 observation period.
5. Tourism
• The regular large influx of tourists and sightseers is
recognised by most of the town's business operators
as being the major source of prosperity.
