| Shipston-on-Stour | |
|---|---|
 High Street, Shipston-on-Stour. | |
  Shipston-on-Stour Location withinWarwickshire | |
| Area | 4.92 km2 (1.90 sq mi) |
| Population | 5,849 (2021 Census)[1] |
| • Density | 1,189/km2 (3,080/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SP2540 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SHIPSTON-ON-STOUR |
| Postcode district | CV36 |
| Dialling code | 01608 |
| Police | Warwickshire |
| Fire | Warwickshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Shipston-on-Stour Town Council |
| |
Shipston-on-Stour is a town andcivil parish in theStratford-on-Avon District in southernWarwickshire, England. It is located on the banks of theRiver Stour, 9 miles (15 km) south-southeast ofStratford-upon-Avon, 10 miles (16 km) north-northwest ofChipping Norton, 14 miles (22 km) south ofWarwick and 14.5 miles (23 km) west ofBanbury. In the 2021 census, Shipston-on-Stour had a population of 5,849.[2]
This area is sometimes termed theVale of Red Horse, close to theOxfordshire andGloucestershire borders.[3]
In the 8th century, thetoponym wasScepwaeisctune,[4]Old English for Sheep-wash-Town. It had asheepmarketplace for many centuries. The name evolved throughScepwestun in the 11th century,Sipestone,Sepwestun andSchipton in the 13th century andSepestonon-Sture in the 14th century.[4]
It was a township in the parish ofTredington until 1720: when they were separated by a Local Act of the 6th year ofGeorge I.[5] The town proved prosperous and generous to its church community: theChurch of England parish church ofSaint Edmund has a 15th-century tower.[6] TheGothic Revival architectG.E. Street designed the rebuilding of the rest of the church in 1855.[6] The tower had aring of five bells until 1695 when they were recast and rehung as a ring of six.[7] Since then all the bells have been recast and rehung from time to time, notably in 1754 and byJohn Taylor & Co. in 1979.[7]
Shipston is on theA3400 (formerly part of theA34) between Stratford-upon-Avon andOxford; it was from the 1600s to 1800s a staging place forstagecoaches. There are formercoaching inns, such as the Coach and Horses,[8] in the High Street, which has manylisted buildings.
From 1836, agricultural produce and manufactured goods were brought by a branch line from the horse-drawnStratford and Moreton Tramway, which had been built ten years before to linkMoreton-in-Marsh with Stratford on Avon.[5] In 1889 theGreat Western Railway upgraded the line to allow the operation of steam trains from Moreton to Shipston. Passenger services to thetown's railway station were withdrawn in 1929 and goods services ceased in 1960.[9]
The town's first library and reading room were founded in 1837.[5] Manufacture ofshag fabric for deep-pile carpets was for some decades an important business, but by 1848 the town had little manufacture or commerce even though it had more than 1800 residents.[5]Worcester Cathedral owned the manorial rights for centuries, and even in the 1840s held a court annually, at which a town constable was appointed.[5] Powers of the short-lived county debt court, established in 1847, extended over Shipston's civil registration district (established 1837). In that era the market was on Saturday and fairs in April, June, August and October. The rectory had Tidmington annexed and received net income of £700. The patrons were Worcester Cathedral andJesus College, Oxford, the former presenting (appointing the priest) to every third vacancy. The church had extra seats, a gallery, erected in 1790.[5] Baptists, the Society of Friends, and Wesleyans each had a place of worship; and at Foxcote, in the parish, was a Roman Catholic chapel.[5] ANational school was endowed with about £130 per annum; and "various small bequests" were distributed among the poor.[5]
Shipston poor law union (c.1830–1894) administered those functions in 37 parishes or places: 20 in Warwickshire, 13 in Gloucestershire, and 4 in Worcestershire; across[clarification needed] in the 1840s a population of 19,685 people.[5]
From 1894, until1974, the offices and Council meetings ofShipston-on-Stour Rural District were in Shipston.
Shipston was in anexclave of Worcestershire (as part ofOswaldslow hundred) until 1931, when it was transferred to Warwickshire.[10]
The Sports Club has football,[11] cricket, bowls, tennis[12] and angling[13] clubs. Shipston First Scout Group has Beaver (ages 6–8), Cub (ages 8–10½) and Scout (ages 10½–14) sections.[14]Shipston on Stour Rugby Football Club currently plays in theMidlands 3 West (South) league.[15] Shipston has abrass band.[16]
Shipston has a small museum located off Telegraph Street.[17] The museum was set up, and is run by local people. It is stocked with artefacts and memorabilia relating to the town and the surrounding villages.
The two schools serving the town are Shipston Primary School, andShipston High School. The town also has alibrary, operated by the county council.[18]
There is a small NHS community hospital serving the town; theEllen Badger Hospital.
TheWarwickshire Fire and Rescue Service operate a retainedfire station in Shipston-on-Stour.[19]
TheA3400 road runs through Shipston, and links it with Stratford-upon-Avon to the north-west, and toChipping Norton andOxford to the south-east. TheA429 road passes to the west, using part of the historicFosse Way, which connect Shipston withWarwick to the north, andTewkesbury to the south-west.
The nearest railway station to Shipston today isMoreton-in-Marsh railway station on theCotswold Line around 6 miles (9.7 km) to the south. Shipston once had itsown railway station at the end ofa branch line, which had its passenger services withdrawn in 1929, and goods services in 1960.
Local TV coverage is provided byBBC West Midlands andITV Central. Television signals are received from either the Lark Stoke orSutton Coldfield TV transmitters.[20][21]
Local radio stations areBBC CWR,Capital Mid-Counties,Heart West Midlands,Hits Radio Coventry & Warwickshire,Fresh (Coventry & Warwickshire), and Radio Warneford which broadcast to patients at theEllen Badger Hospital in the town.[22]
The town is served by these local newspapers,Evesham Journal andCoventry Telegraph.[23][24]
Shipton-on-Stour is acivil parish which falls within areas ofStratford-on-Avon District Council andWarwickshire County Council, each responsible for different aspects of local government. The lowest tier of local government is Shipston Town Council, aparish council, which has 13 elected councillors.[25]
Shipston is within the Parliamentary constituency ofStratford-on-Avon.
Notable people connected with Shipston include:
Robin Gibb of theBee Gees mentioned Shipston in his song "Cold Be My Days", which contains the lyrics"Cold be my days in Shipston-on-Stour": The song was recorded in 1970, but not released until 2015 for the unfinished albumSing Slowly Sisters. He stated in aBBC Radio 4 interview in May 2007 that this relates to his youthful experiences, riding horses with his brotherBarry.[29]
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