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Stratford has Anglo-Saxon origins, and grew up as a market town in medieval times. Due to its associations with Shakespeare, Stratford is a popular tourist attraction and receives over two million visitors a year from all over the world. Apart from tourism, other industries in the town include aluminium ware and boat building.
Stratford is close to the UK's second city of Birmingham and is easily accessible from junction 15 of the M40 motorway. The town has good train links from Birmingham ( Snow Hill) and has train services to London ( Paddington).
The influx of tourists into Stratford has caused large amounts of tension with residents in recent years, who have complained about numerous tour busses clogging local roads in the town.
The town is located on the River Avon, on the banks of which stands the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, home of the Royal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a theatre company located in Stratford-upon-Avon, London, and Newcastle. It was founded by Peter Hall in 1960. Key productions The Wars of the Roses adaptation of the Henry VI plays, directed by Sir Peter Hall ( 1963- 64). The RSC also runs two smaller theatres, the Swan , which is modelled on an Elizabethan theatre, and The Other Place , a black box theatreThe black-box theatre is a relatively recent innovation, consisting of a simple, somewhat unadorned performance space, usually a large square room with black walls and a flat floor. Such spaces are easily built and maintained, and are usually home to play (which is currently closed). Other tourist attractions within the town include Shakespeare's birthplace and two contemporary buildings, Hall's Croft (the one-time home of Shakespeare's daughter, Susannah) and New PlaceNew Place is the name given to William Shakespeare's final place of residence in Stratford-upon-Avon during his retirement. The house rested on Chapel Street. It was built in 1483 by Hugh Clopton, a wealthy merchant and future Lord Mayor of London. Shakes, which stands on the site of an earlier house originally owned by the playwright himself. Also within the town is Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was baptised and is buried. Just outside the town are two other properties associated with Shakespeare: Anne Hathaway's CottageAnne Hathaway's cottage was the home of William Shakespeare's wife. It is located in the village of Shottery, just to the west of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and is a major tourist attraction for that town. External link http://www. shakespeare., the former home of Shakespeare's wife, and Mary Arden's House , the former home of his mother. The latter has recently been re-identified as a different house from the one originally thought to be liked to Mary Arden.
Non-Shakespearean attractions include The Falstaffs Experience (a 'creepy' museum that tells you the History of the area with theatrical settings - located in Sheep Street right in the heart of the town), a Teddy BearTeddy bear Barryman's original cartoon A Teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear for children. It is an enduring, traditional form of stuffed animal, often serving the purpose of comforting upset young children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become expe Museum, a Butterfly Farm and the Black Swan (locally known as the 'Dirty Duck'), a pub frequented by actors fresh from the stage, and the Bancroft Gardens.