Church Stretton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Church Stretton
Image:dot4gb.svg
Statistics
Population: 4,186
Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference: SO453937
Administration
District: South Shropshire
Shire county: Shropshire
Region: West Midlands
Constituent country: England
Sovereign state: United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county: Shropshire
Historic county: Shropshire
Services
Police force: West Mercia
Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}}
Ambulance: West Midlands
Post office and telephone
Post town: CHURCH STRETTON
Postal district: SY6
Dialling code: 01694
Politics
UK Parliament: Ludlow
European Parliament: West Midlands

Church Stretton is a town in South Shropshire, England.

"Stretton", as it's known by locals, is a small town hidden away in the Shropshire hills and famous for its spring water and stunning views. 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 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).

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.

Nearby towns and villages include
Christian Communities in Church Stretton


Ceremonial county of Shropshire
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

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/h/u/Church_Stretton_dba0.html"