Stony Stratford

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 52.0567
longitude= -0.8526
population=
official_name= Stony Stratford
unitary_england= Milton Keynes
lieutenancy_england= Buckinghamshire
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= Milton Keynes South West
post_town= MILTON KEYNES
postcode_district = MK11
postcode_area= MK
dial_code= 01908
os_grid_reference= SP787404

Stony Stratford (often shortened to Stony) is a constituent town of Milton Keynes and is a civil parish operating as a town council [ [http://www.stonystratford.co.uk/towncouncil.html Stony Stratford Town Council website] ] within the Borough of Milton Keynes [ [http://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/mkcouncil/home.asp 'Milton Keynes Council website'] ] , England, and within the historical county of Buckinghamshire. It is in the north west corner of Milton Keynes, bordering Northamptonshire and separated from it by the river Great Ouse. Before the designation of Milton Keynes in 1967, Stony was in Wolverton Urban District, north Buckinghamshire.

Since at least Roman times, there has been a settlement here at the ford of Watling Street over the Great Ouse. The town's market charter dates from 1194.

History

The town name 'Stratford' is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'ford on a Roman road'. The Roman road in this sense is the Watling Street that runs through the middle of the town. The ford is the crossing of the River Ouse. The prefix 'Stony' refers to the stones on the bed of the ford, differentiating the town from nearby Fenny Stratford.

There has been a market in Stony Stratford since 1194 (by charter of King Richard I).

Stony Stratford was the location where, in 1290, an Eleanor cross was built in memory of the recently deceased Eleanor of Castile. The cross was destroyed during the English Civil War.

The "Rose and Crown Inn" at Stony Stratford was reputedly where King Edward V stayed the night before he was taken to London by his uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester, who later became King Richard III.The Inn is now a private house but a plaque on the front wall gives a brief account of the event.

The town has twice become almost completely consumed by fire, the first time in 1736 and the second in 1742. The only building to escape the second fire was the tower of the chapel of ease of St Mary Magdalen.

In the stage coach era, Stony Stratford was a major resting place and exchange point with the east/west route with coaching inns to accommodate coach travellers. In the early 1800s, over 30 Mail coaches and stagecoaches a day stopped here. [ [http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/mkm/stonystratford/docs/history.html "History of Stony Stratford" at MK Heritage] ] That traffic came to an abrupt end in 1838 when the London to Birmingham Railway (now the West Coast Main Line) was opened at Wolverton. For the rest of that century, Stony was in decline until the arrival of the motor car, when again its position on the original A5 road made it an important stopping point for motorists.

The modern town

Today Stony Stratford is a busy, picturesque market town at the north-west corner of Milton Keynes. The many pubs, restaurants and specialist shops attract visitors from some distance. The highlight of the annual calendar is in early June (second Sunday) when Folk on the Green, a free (voluntary contribution) festival of folk music, folk rock and eclectic taste takes over Horsefair Green.

Cock and Bull Story

The common phrase " a " is said to have originated here. Two pubs in the centre of town, "The Cock" and "The Bull" were originally coaching inns on the main London to Chester and North Wales turnpike. Travellers gossip and rumour that was exchanged between the two, was renowned for being far-fetched and fanciful. Today, there is an annual story telling festival to celebrate these Cock and Bull stories.

Historic parish

Anciently, Stony Stratford was divided covered by two Chapelries, St Giles, attached to the parish of Calverton, and St Mary Magdalen, attached to the parish of Wolverton. A single civil parish was established "early", and from 1767 a single ecclesiastical parish covered the two. Around this time, the civil parish was also divided, into East (St Mary Magdelene) and West (St Giles) sides. [Youngs. Guide to Local Administrative Units of England: Volume 1]

Both the civil parishes became part of Wolverton Urban District in 1919. These urban parishes were wound up in 1927 and both added to the parish of Wolverton. [ [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10046853 Stony Stratford East on VoB] ]

The ecclesiastical parish of Stony Stratford was merged with another parish, Stony Stratford St Mary the Virgin (prior to 195 3 known as Wolverton St Mary), in 1968, to create the parish of Stony Stratford St Mary and St Giles.

Modern parish

The civil parish consists of the land north H3 Monks Way to the south, the city boundary to the west, the Great Ouse to the north and the A5 road to the east. The V4 Watling Street becomes Queen Eleanor Street here as it follows the original Stony Stratford bypass. Its districts are
* Stony Stratford itself (defined H1 Ridgeway to the south, the city boundary to the west, the river to the north and the V4 Queen Eleanor Street to the east)
* Galley Hill (H1 to the south, V4 to the west and the A5 to the north-east).
* Fullers Slade (H2 to the south, H1 to the north, V4 Watling Street to the west and the A5 to the east).

The modern civil parish was established in 2001.

See also

* Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway

References

External links

* [http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/mkm/stonystratford/docs/tourframe.html A tour of Stony Stratford, comparing early and modern photographs, at the Milton Keynes Heritage Association web site.]
* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/leslii/index.html Panoramic images and large selection of photographs of the town and its locality.]