| Church Stretton | |
|
Church Stretton shown within the United Kingdom |
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| Population | 4,186 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | South Shropshire |
| Shire county | Shropshire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CHURCH STRETTON |
| Postcode district | SY6 |
| Dialling code | 01694 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Ludlow |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| List of places: UK • England • Shropshire | |
Church Stretton (or "Stretton", as it is known by locals) is a small town in Shropshire, England, famous for its spring water and stunning views over the Shropshire Hills AONB. 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[1] on the Heart of Wales Line, which runs through the valley north-south. Trains can be caught to, inter alia, Shrewsbury, Hereford, Manchester and Cardiff
People have lived in the Stretton gap for thousands of years; an Iron Age hillfort on
Caer Caradoc[2] still overlooks the town. The name "Stretton" is derived from the Old English words stræt meaning "Roman Road" and tun meaning "settlement"; a Roman
Road, Watling Street(now the A49)runs through it
The town was granted a market charter by King John in 1214 which
is still held every Thursday. Much of the town centre was destroyed by fire in 1593 and many of the present half timbered
buildings in the town centre date from the time of the rebuilding[3].
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).
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.
The local geology is complex; the area lies astride the Church Stretton Fault and
atop some of the oldest rocks in the British Isles - over 560 million mya. In 1990 another nearby fault - the Pontesford-Linley Fault - registered an earthquake with a magnitude
of 5.2 on the Richter scale[4].
The area also plays a part in the history of geology: the three major subdivsions of the Lower
Paleozoic are named for local celtic tribes - Cambrian,
Ordovician & Silurian. Also, Comley quarry is about 4km
from the town and the first site in the British Isles where trilobites were recorded.
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.
| 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 • Ellesmere • Ludlow • Market Drayton • Much Wenlock • Newport • Oswestry • Shifnal • Shrewsbury • Telford (Dawley • Madeley • Oakengates • Wellington) • Wem • Whitchurch See also: List of civil parishes in Shropshire |
| Rivers | Rea Brook • Clun • Onny • Perry • Rea • Roden • Severn • Teme • Tern • Unk • Vyrnwy |
| Topics | History • Geography (Settlements • Divisions • Shropshire Hills AONB) • Economy • Education • Politics • Sport • Transport |
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