Shipston-on-Stour

Infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Shipston-on-Stour
latitude= 52.060
longitude= -1.623
civil_parish= Shipston-on-Stour
population = 4,456 (2001 Census)
shire_district= Stratford-on-Avon
shire_county= Warwickshire
region= West Midlands
constituency_westminster= Stratford-on-Avon
post_town= SHIPSTON-ON-STOUR
postcode_district = CV36
postcode_area= CV
dial_code= 01608
os_grid_reference= SP258403
static_

static_image_caption= Shipston High Street

Shipston-on-Stour is a town and civil parish within the Stratford-on-Avon district of the southern part of Warwickshire, England. It is close to the borders with Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. The 2001 census recorded a population of 4,456 in the town.

The town is located on the River Stour in a rural part of southern Warwickshire, roughly 10 miles (16 km) south of Stratford-upon-Avon. It is in the northern part of the Cotswolds, and is a focal point for the surrounding rural area.

It is located on the A3400 road (formerly the A34) between Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford and was once an important stopping place for stagecoaches. Many former coaching inns remain in the town in the area of the High Street. Etymologically, Shipston is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Scepwaeisctune meaning Sheep-wash-Town, it having once been an important sheep market Fact|date=September 2008.

Following a fall in the demand for local wool, the local economy was in part sustainedFact|date=September 2008 by the opening, in 1836, of a branch line running from the horse-drawn Stratford and Moreton Tramway, built ten years before and linking Moreton-in-Marsh with Stratford. In 1889 the line was upgraded to allow the operation of steam trains from Moreton to Shipston. Passenger services to the town were withdrawn in 1929 and the line closed completely in 1960.

Shipston lay within an outlying part of the historic county of Worcestershire, where it formed part of the Oswaldslow Hundred. In 1931 it was merged with Warwickshire. Until 1974 it was the centre of the Shipston-on-Stour Rural District. The town's church of St. Edmund was largely rebuilt in 1855, although retaining its 15th century tower. It lies within the Diocese of Coventry [ [http://www.coventry.anglican.org/home/parishes/#S Parishes listing] ] .

Notable people born in Shipston include the actor Richard Morant and the 19th century archaeologist Francis Haverfield.The town was notably commemorated by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees in the song 'Cold be my Days' on his 1970 solo album 'Sing Slowly Sisters'. To wit "Cold be my days in Shipston-on-Stour". He stated in a BBC Radio 4 interview in May 2007 that this relates to his youthful experiences, riding horses with his brother Barry.Fact|date=September 2008

ports

The Sports Club hosts football [ [http://www.shipstonexcelsior.co.uk/ Football club web site] ] , hockey, cricket, bowls, and tennis [ [http://www.shipstontennis.org.uk/Club%20Facilities.htm Tennis Club's web site] ] teams.

The Shipston on Stour Rugby Football Club currently play in Midlands 4 West (South).

References

*"Warwickshire Towns & Villages", by Geoff Allen (2000) ISBN 1-85058-642-X

External links

* [http://www.shipstononline.org/ Shipston-on-Stour Town Council]