Stratford-sub-Castle
Stratford-sub-Castle
Human settlement in England
Stratford-sub-Castle in Wiltshire, England, was anciently a separate village[1] and civil parish, but is now in Salisbury. At approximately 170 ft above sea level, it is dominated to the east by the remains of an Iron Age hillfort, within the boundaries of which a Norman castle was built. This now-ruined castle led to the village taking the name Stratford-under-Castle,[1] later changing to Stratford sub Castle. Stratford lies south-west of the abandoned medieval settlement of Old Sarum which was also built within the area of the hillfort.
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The oldest building in the area is the Church of St Lawrence, which dates from the 13th century and is a Grade I listed building.[2] The west tower was restored by Thomas Pitt in 1711. A section of the churchyard contains war graves from World War I and World War II that are looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.[3] Before his conversion to Roman Catholicism, the hymnist Edward Caswall served as a curate.
In 1951 the civil parish had a population of 256.[4] On 1 April 1954 the parish was abolished: the village and the site of Old Sarum were brought within the city, and the rest was merged with Laverstock.[1][4]
Stratford-sub-Castle cannot expand to the east or the west, being bounded by Old Sarum on one side and the River Avon on the other: it has thus become a linear settlement. There is a primary school; the nearest secondary school to the village is South Wilts Grammar School, a five-minute walk away from the southern boundary of Stratford sub Castle, on Stratford Road.