Stratford-upon-Avon
Coordinates: 52°11′24″N 1°42′36″W / 52.19°N 1.710°W / 52.19; -1.710
Stratford-upon-Avon () is a market town in Warwickshire, England, on the River Avon, 22 miles (35 km) south east of Birmingham and 8 miles (13 km) south west of Warwick. The estimated population in 2007 was 25,505, increasing to 27,445 at the 2011 Census.
The town is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare, and receives an estimated 4.9 million visitors a year. The Royal Shakespeare Company resides in Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
History
Stratford has Anglo-Saxon origins, and developed as a market town in the medieval period. The original charters of the town were granted in 1196, making Stratford over 800 years old. The name is a combination of the Old English strǣt, meaning "street", and ford, indicating a site at which a road forded a river. The "street" was a smaller Roman road connecting the larger roads Fosse Way and Icknield Street.