Stratfordon Avon

Stratford-on-Avon, a municipal borough and market town of Warwickshire, 88 miles W. of Warwick and 94 N.W. of London. It is beautifully situated on the Avon, which is here crossed by two bridges, one of them being of stone with fourteen pointed arches. There is a fine cruciform church, part of which dates from the early part of the 14th century, and which contains the tomb and bust of Shakespeare, who was born and died here. Other important buildings are the Free Grammar School, the Town Hall, the Guildhall, the Shakespeare Theatre, the Shakespeare Fountain, the Library, and the Picture Gallery. The town is a well-known place of pilgrimage to lovers of Shakespeare, and though the house in which he died has been destroyed, that in which he was born still exists, and is now a museum of Shakespearean relics. The town suffered much during the Civil War.