Shipston-on-Stour
Encyclopedia
Shipston-on-Stour is a town and civil parish on the River Stour
about 10 miles (16.1 km) south of Stratford-upon-Avon
in Warwickshire
. It is in the northern part of the Cotswolds
, close to the boundaries with Oxfordshire
and Gloucestershire
.
In the 8th century the Toponym
was Scepwaeisctune, Old English
for Sheep-wash-Town, as it was once an important sheep market
. The name evolved through Scepwestun in the 11th century, Sipestone, Sepwestun and Schipton in the 13th century and Sepestonon-Sture in the 14th century.
The Church of England parish church
of Saint Edmund
has a 15th century tower. The Gothic Revival architect
G.E. Street
rebuilt the rest of the church in 1855. The tower had a ring
of five bells until 1695 when they were recast and rehung as a ring of six. Since then all the bells have been recast and rehung from time to time, notably in 1754 and by John Taylor & Co. in 1979.
Shipston is on the A3400 road
(formerly the A34) between Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford
and was once an important staging place for stagecoach
es. Many former coaching inn
s, such as the Coach and Horses, remain in the area of the High Street.
Following a fall in the demand for local wool
, the local economy was in part sustained 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 Passenger services to the town were withdrawn in 1929 and the line closed completely in 1960.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 was in an exclave
of Worcestershire
, in which it was part of the Oswaldslow Hundred
. In 1931 it was transferred to Warwickshire. Until the 1974 local government reorganisation
it was the seat of the Shipston-on-Stour Rural District
.
Notable people born in Shipston include the actor Richard Morant
and the 19th century archaeologist Francis Haverfield.
The town was 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
.
Shipston Town Band is based in the town.
The Shipston on Stour Rugby Football Club currently plays in Midlands 3 West (South)
.
River Stour, Warwickshire
The River Stour is a river in Warwickshire, England. It is a tributary of the Avon, which it joins at Stratford-upon-Avon. The source of the River Stour is in Traitors Ford; it joins the Avon at Clifford Chambers....
about 10 miles (16.1 km) south of Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. It is in the northern part of the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, close to the boundaries with Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
.
In the 8th century the Toponym
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
was Scepwaeisctune, Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
for Sheep-wash-Town, as it was once an important sheep market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
. The name evolved through Scepwestun in the 11th century, Sipestone, Sepwestun and Schipton in the 13th century and Sepestonon-Sture in the 14th century.
The Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Saint Edmund
Edmund the Martyr
St Edmund the Martyr was a king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.D'Evelyn, Charlotte, and Mill, Anna J., , 1956. Reprinted 1967...
has a 15th century tower. The Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
G.E. Street
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
rebuilt the rest of the church in 1855. The tower had a ring
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....
of five bells until 1695 when they were recast and rehung as a ring of six. Since then all the bells have been recast and rehung from time to time, notably in 1754 and by John Taylor & Co. in 1979.
Shipston is on the A3400 road
A3400 road
The A3400 is a road in the Midlands of England, running from Hockley Heath to a junction with the A44 near Chipping Norton. At its northern end it joins up with the A34, of which it was originally one section. At its southern end it joins the A44, passing through Woodstock and joining the A34 at...
(formerly the A34) between Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and was once an important staging place for stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
es. Many former coaching inn
Coaching inn
In Europe, from approximately the mid-17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...
s, such as the Coach and Horses, remain in the area of the High Street.
Following a fall in the demand for local wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
, the local economy was in part sustained by the opening in 1836 of a branch line running from the horse-drawn Stratford and Moreton Tramway
Stratford and Moreton Tramway
The Stratford and Moreton Tramway was a 16-mile long horse-drawn wagonway from the canal basin at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire to Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire, with a branch to Shipston-on-Stour....
, built ten years before and linking Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh is a town and civil parish in northeastern Gloucestershire, England. The town is at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road and the A44. The parish and environs are relatively flat and low-lying compared with the surrounding Cotswold Hills...
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 was in an exclave
Enclave and exclave
In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory.An exclave, on the other hand, is a territory legally or politically attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous.These are two...
of Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, in which it was part of the Oswaldslow Hundred
Oswaldslow (hundred)
The Oswaldslow was a hundred in the English county of Worcestershire, which was named in a supposed charter of 964 by King Edgar the Peaceful . It was actually a triple hundred, composed of three smaller hundreds...
. In 1931 it was transferred to Warwickshire. Until the 1974 local government reorganisation
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
it was the seat of the Shipston-on-Stour Rural District
Shipston-on-Stour Rural District
Shipston on Stour was a rural district in England from 1894 to 1974. The district covered an area around Shipston-on-Stour. Originally it was a detached part of Worcestershire, but in 1931 it was transferred to the jurisdiction of Warwickshire, and was expanded by the abolition of Brailes Rural...
.
Notable people born in Shipston include the actor Richard Morant
Richard Morant
Richard Morant was an English actor.Morant was born in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. He was a nephew of actors Bill and Linden Travers, and a cousin of actress Penelope Wilton...
and the 19th century archaeologist Francis Haverfield.
The town was commemorated by Robin Gibb
Robin Gibb
Robin Hugh Gibb, CBE is a British singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the Bee Gees, co-founded with his twin brother Maurice , and elder brother Barry....
of the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
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
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
interview in May 2007 that this relates to his youthful experiences, riding horses with his brother Barry
Barry Gibb
Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...
.
Shipston Town Band is based in the town.
Sports
The Sports Club hosts football, cricket, bowls, and tennis teams.The Shipston on Stour Rugby Football Club currently plays in Midlands 3 West (South)
Midlands 3 West (South)
English Rugby Union Midland Division - Midlands 3 West is a level 8 English Rugby Union League.Midlands 3 West is made up of teams from around the West Midlands of England who play home and away matches throughout a winter season...
.