Stroud, Gloucestershire
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- 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.
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Physical attributes
Geography
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 Template:Coor gb. The Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty surrounds the town in all directions, and the Cotswold Way path passes by it to the west.
History
Stroudwater_Canal_Bridge.JPG
Historically, Stroud is known in connection with its investment 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 Scarlet colour. Despite being on such hilly terrain, Stroud was the object of a number of industrial projects. Being a big trading town in the nineteenth century, it needed transport links. It first had a canal network built: the Stroudwater canal, which shortly became redundant with the advent of the steam engine, which has since become almost redundant after the advent of the motor car. The canal is now being restored along its length through Stroud by the Cotswold Canal Trust following a multi-million Lottery grant. Stroud railway station (on the Gloucester-Swindon "Golden Valley" line) was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Business
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 bimonthly Farmers' Market, launched in 1999, was nominated for Farmers Market of the Year in 2001.
Education
The town is home to two of the country's last remaining grammar schools for secondary education: Marling School for boys and the Stroud High School for girls. The surrounding towns and villages, such as Stonehouse also provide a wide array of comprehensive schools and private schools.
Places of interest
The center ('centre', if you go there) of town comprises a fair number of shops, a soon-to-be-completed cinema (which, controversially, replaces the bus station), a bank and multi-storey car park, neighbouring the local medical centre. Just outside town, in nearby Stratford Park, there is a leisure centre, including both indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
Visitors and locals will tell you that there is a unique and 'laid back' air to the town, which is home to a significant number of artists, authors and poets.
Famous Stroud residents
The town's most famous sons and residents are authors. Those born in the area, or who lived there while writing, include Laurie Lee, Jilly Cooper, Jasper Fforde, Katie Fforde and the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry. The Slad Valley, a little way outside the town, was the setting for the first part of Laurie Lee's autobiographical trilogy Cider With Rosie.
Politics
The current member of parliament for Stroud is David Drew of the Labour Party. For further details see the article on the Stroud constituency.
Also, Stroud is well known for a strong Green Party following.
External links
- Stroud Town Centre (http://www.stroudtown.com/)
- Stroud Town Council (http://www.stroudtown.gov.uk/)
- Stroud District Tourism Site (http://www.visitthecotswolds.org.uk/)