Stroud, Gloucestershire
For other places of the same name, see Stroud (disambiguation).Stroud is a town in the county of
Gloucestershire,
England. It is the main town in
Stroud District.
Perched on the western escarpment of the
Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the
five Stroud Valleys, the town is notable for its steep streets. Stroud is at . The Cotswold
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty surrounds the town in all directions, and the
Cotswold Way path passes by it to the west.
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Stroud town, including the railway station, and its surroundings. Taken from Rodborough Fort |
Historically, Stroud is known for its involvement in the
Industrial Revolution. It was a
cloth town;
woollen mills were powered by the small
rivers which surge through the five valleys, and supplied by Cotswold
sheep grazed on the hills above. Particularly noteworthy was the production of military uniforms in the trademark
Stroudwater Red colour. Stroud was a fairly major industrial and trading location in the nineteenth century, and so needed transport links. It first had a
canal network built: the Stroudwater Navigation and the Thames & Severn Canal, both of which struggled to survive until the early 20th century. The canals are now being restored as a leisure facility by a partnership of British Waterways and the
Cotswold Canal Trust [
1] (formerly the Stroudwater, Thames and Severn Canal Trust) with a multi-million pound
Lottery grant.
Stroud railway station (on the
Gloucester-
Swindon "Golden Valley" line) was designed by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
There is still a small textile industry (the green
baize cloth used to cover
snooker tables is made here), but today, the town functions primarily as a centre for light engineering and small-scale manufacturing, and a provider of services for the surrounding villages. A
farmers' market, launched in
1999, takes place at the Cornhill market on the first and third Saturdays of the month. It was nominated for
Farmers' Market of the Year in
2001 and won the Cotswold Life magazine award for the best farmers market in Gloucestershire in
2003,
2004 and
2005.
The town is home to two of the Gloucestershire's last remaining
state grammar schools for
secondary education:
Marling School for boys and the
Stroud High School for girls. They continued on long after the
comprehensive school became the norm, and their future was the subject of long-running controversy; they were among the first schools to "opt out" and become
grant-maintained. The two schools now share a mixed
sixth form, called the
Downfield Sixth Form. Downfield is currently part of the three-way consortium between Archway Sixth Form and Stroud College. Downfield is also very popular with a lot of the surrounding schools.
The town's other secondary schools are Archway School, a comprehensive school located in the Paganhill area, and Thomas Keble School in Eastcombe.
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High Street, Stroud's main shopping street |
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Coates Portal of Sapperton Tunnel, on the now disused Stroudwater Canal. |
As well as shops and banks, the town centre contains a cinema (which, controversially, replaced the bus station) and a
multi-storey car park next to the medical centre. There is also a
McDonalds which, when plans were unveiled in 2004, came against a lot of opposition from locals. The Subscription Rooms in the heart of the town centre provide a venue for entertainment and also house the local tourist information centre. In addition to the farmers market there is a smaller market held in The Shambles, an area adjacent to the steep High Street. On the fringes of the town is
Stratford Park, originally the park of a small stately home, now home to a leisure centre with indoor and outdoor
swimming pools.
Visitors and locals say that there is a unique and 'laid back' air to the town, which is home to a significant number of
artists,
authors and
poets. Stroud has a significant '
bohemian' community that dates back to the early part of the twentieth century, including a number of 'new age' types.
"Stroudie" (Sometimes spelt "Stroudy") is a locally used term for residents of Stroud. There is a stereotype of the
Green Party-supporting Stroudie, generally opposed to
genetically-modified produce,
oil companies (
Esso in particular) and
McDonalds, though one has now opened, after much protest.
The Green Party came to national prominence here in the early 1990s when a new large
Tesco supermarket was planned for the vicinity of Stratford Park. This would have lead to the removal of a long line of mature trees. After a long running 'battle' a compromise was eventually found. (See
Shepton Mallet for a similar recent controversy).
Stroud acts as a centre for many surrounding villages, hamlets and market towns including
Minchinhampton,
Amberley,
Slad,
Bisley,
Stonehouse,
Woodchester,
Painswick,
Chalford,
Thrupp,
Sheepscombe and
NailsworthThe town's most famous children and residents are mainly authors and artists:
*
W. V. Awdry, creator of
Thomas the Tank Engine, moved to the area
*
John Canton (1718â€"1772), physicist
*
Jilly Cooper, author, moved to the area
*
Jasper Fforde, author, husband of Katie Fforde
*
Katie Fforde, author, moved to the area
*
Damien Hirst, artist, has a studio in
Chalford*
Alan Hollinghurst, author, born in Stroud
*
Laurie Lee was born and bred in the Slad Valley, the setting of
Cider with Rosie*
Robert Charles "Jack" Russell, former Gloucestershire and England cricketer, and now artist.
*
Richard Townend, former Gloucestershire cricketer.
From 1837 to 1841, Stroud's MP was
Lord John Russell of the Whig party who was later to become
Prime Minister. Russell was one of the most important politicians of his day, responsible for passing many acts of parliament such as the Public Health Act of
1848, but he is mainly remembered as one of the chief architects of the
Reform Act 1867. This act, also known as the second reform act gave the vote to every urban male householder, not just those of considerable means. This resulted in the electorate being increased by 1.5 million voters. Lord Russell is remembered in the town by two street names - John Street and Russell Street as well as in the name of the Lord John public house.
The current
member of parliament for
Stroud is
David Drew of the
Labour & Co-op Parties. For further details see the article on the
Stroud constituency.
*
Saint-Ismier,
Isere,
France*
Stroud,
Oklahoma,
USA*
Duderstadt,
Lower Saxony,
Germany* of Stroud
*
The Cotswold Hyperguide on Stroud*
Stroud News & Journal Local newspaper site
*
The Best of Stroud Local business directory run locally for local people
*
Stroud Town Centre*
Stroud Town Council*
Stroud District Tourism Site*
Virtual Stroud A virtual tour with lots of photos
*
Organisers of the farmers' market
