Stratford-upon-Avon. Birthplace of Shakespeare. For many years after the death of Shakespeare in 1616, Stratford, originally where a Roman road crossed the river, remained a small Warwickshire market town and route centre. It was known for its fair in September and for its fine late 15th-cent. bridge. It suffered considerably from fires in 1594, 1595, and 1614. The event which put it on the map was Garrick's Shakespeare Jubilee of 1769 which, though nearly washed away by rain, attracted great attention. Present places of pilgrimage include the birthplace in Henley Street, the grammar school, Anne Hathaway's cottage at Shottery, and Holy Trinity church, where Shakespeare is buried and commemorated in an unimaginative monument. New Place, which he purchased in 1597, was subsequently pulled down, and a museum has now been erected on the site. The first Memorial theatre, completed in 1879, was destroyed by fire in 1926 and replaced by the present building in 1932.

J. A. Cannon

Stratford upon Avon Town in Warwickshire, central England. Stratford upon Avon is the birthplace of William Shakespeare and home of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Industries: tourism, engineering, boatbuilding, textiles. Pop. (1992) 22,800.

Stratford-upon-Avon a town in Warwickshire, on the River Avon, famous as the birth and burial place of William Shakespeare, which is also the site of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.