All Stretton is a village and a now separate
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in Shropshire, England. Much of it is covered by a
Conservation Area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...
.
Geography

All Stretton lies about a mile to the north of the
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
of
Church Stretton
Church Stretton is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671. , on the old Shrewsbury Road (the B5477) –
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...
is 12 miles to the north. Similarly, the small village of
Little Stretton lies to the south of Church Stretton on the same road. The village lies between 580 and 600 feet
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
at the northern end of the Stretton Gap. The beginning of the
Cound Brook, a minor river that runs 25 miles across the southern Shropshire-
Severn
The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
plains, is found in the village, where the stream from the Batch valley joins the Ashbrook. To the west of All Stretton is the
Long Mynd
The Long Mynd is a heath and moorland plateau that forms part of the Shropshire Hills in Shropshire, England. The high ground, which is common land and designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, lies between the Stiperstones range t ...
, and to the east is
Caer Caradoc
Caer Caradoc (, the fort of Caradog) is a hill in the English county of Shropshire. It overlooks the town of Church Stretton and the village of All Stretton and offers panoramic views to the north towards the Wrekin, east to Wenlock Edge, a ...
.
The village does not lie in the parish of All Stretton, which is to its north, but in the civil parish of
Church Stretton
Church Stretton is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671. , which has a town council, of which All Stretton forms a parish ward. The southern part of the original parish, including the village, was transferred to the Church Stretton parish in 1934. The remaining parish of All Stretton is geographically small and has no well-defined settlements, only dispersed farms and houses, including Womerton and High Park. Its population was recorded as 120 at the 2011 census. Prior to the creation of a
unitary
Unitary may refer to:
Mathematics
* Unitary divisor
* Unitary element
* Unitary group
* Unitary matrix
* Unitary morphism
* Unitary operator
* Unitary transformation
* Unitary representation
* Unitarity (physics)
* ''E''-unitary inverse semigr ...
Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council, known between 1980 and 2009 as Shropshire County Council and prior to 1980 as Salop County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire (district), Shropshire in t ...
in 2009, the village and the parish lay in different districts (
South Shropshire
South Shropshire was a local government district in Shropshire, England, from 1974 to 2009. Its council was based in the town of Ludlow; the other towns in the district were Church Stretton, Cleobury Mortimer, Clun, Bishop's Castle and Crave ...
and
Shrewsbury and Atcham
Shrewsbury and Atcham was a local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England, between 1974 and 2009.
Shrewsbury was the only town in the borough; Atcham, although itself only a village, was included in the name as a refle ...
). Even under the new arrangements the village is in the
electoral division
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...
of Church Stretton and Craven Arms, whilst the parish is in the division of Burnell. The village lies in the constituency of
South Shropshire
South Shropshire was a local government district in Shropshire, England, from 1974 to 2009. Its council was based in the town of Ludlow; the other towns in the district were Church Stretton, Cleobury Mortimer, Clun, Bishop's Castle and Crave ...
, whilst the parish lies in
Shrewsbury and Atcham
Shrewsbury and Atcham was a local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England, between 1974 and 2009.
Shrewsbury was the only town in the borough; Atcham, although itself only a village, was included in the name as a refle ...
.
To the east of the village is the
Welsh Marches Line railway and the major
A49 road
The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrin ...
.
Regional Cycle Route 32/33 passes through the village, on its way from
Longnor to Church Stretton.
The historic
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of Botvyle lies within the Church Stretton parish and parish ward of All Stretton (). It is situated to the northeast of All Stretton, on the other side of the A49, on the lane to
Comley. It takes its name from the forest that once covered the area, the "Botwood", as does the nearby village of
Leebotwood
Leebotwood ( ) is a small village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is about south of Shrewsbury and north of Church Stretton.
Geography
The village is located on the A49 road, north of Church Stretton and ...
.
[Poulton-Smith, A (2009) ''Shropshire Place Names'' p 80]
Facilities
All Stretton is the home to the ''Yew Tree Inn''
public house
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
. The former ''Stretton Hall Hotel'', located in the centre of the village opposite the ''Yew Tree Inn'', underwent redevelopment into a
nursing home
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...
in 2008/2009; before that it had held a pub licence since 1976. There was once another pub in the village – the ''White Horse'' – but this is now a house, although a small pub sign still hangs outside. The
village hall
A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...
is used for a wide variety of local events including
amateur theatre
Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...
productions by the All Stretton Amateur Dramatics Society and cinema sittings with 'Flicks in the Sticks'. It also hosts the
Women's Institutes
The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...
meetings.
There is a small church in the village, built in 1902 and dedicated to St Michael and All Angels. It is a joint
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.
The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...
, and serves as one of three churches in the Church of England's
ecclesiastical parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of Church Stretton, along with those in All Stretton and Little Stretton. The ecclesiastical parish is part of the
Diocese of Hereford
The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral i ...
. The church stands at the northern end of the village, on a hillside rising steeply from Shrewsbury Road. The church has a Roll of Honour naming the parish dead of both World Wars, and wooden panelling that includes the door to the vestry, in memory of a former curate, John Charles Bartleet, who died on active service as an army chaplain in
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
in 1942.
The village's outdoor roadside war memorial, in the form of a stone
obelisk
An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
, was unveiled in 1920 and restored to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in 1995, when the weathered names from both World Wars were reinstated on slate plaques.
[
The village has an entrance to the Batch Valley, which leads on to the Long Mynd and adjoins the head of ]Carding Mill Valley
Church Stretton is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671. . A YHA bunkhouse
A bunkhouse is a barracks-like building that historically was used to house working cowboys on ranches, or loggers in a logging camp in North America. As most cowboys were young single men, the standard bunkhouse was a large open room with narr ...
, which provides accommodation for up to 12 people, is located in the Batch Valley. From the Batch Valley the Church Stretton Golf Club's golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...
, which is situated at around 380 yards, can be accessed by foot.
The village also boasts a traditional red telephone box
The red telephone box is a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect responsible for Liverpool Cathedral.
The telephone box is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, its associa ...
, which sits at the bottom of Castle Hill and is still functioning. The village for a long time had a post office but this closed in 2008. As of 2010, there are approximately 150 dwellings in the village.
History
There is a conservation-area designation covering much of the village. There are 6 Listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
and structures in the village.
A history group in All Stretton published a history of the village in 2006. A prominent children's book writer who regularly visited her sister Anne's house in the village, Caradoc Lodge, was Hesba Stretton (1832–1911).
Railway
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was an English railway company that built a standard gauge line between those places. It opened its main line in .
Its natural ally seemed to be the Great Western Railway. With other lines it formed a route be ...
was constructed through the area in 1852. All Stretton once had its own railway halt: All Stretton Halt railway station. The nearest railway station is now at Church Stretton
Church Stretton is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671. .
Etymology
The name "Stretton" is derived from the Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
words ''stræt'' meaning "Roman road
Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
" and ''tun'' meaning "settlement". The affix "All" derives from an early owner called Alfred, rather than from a supposed comment made by King James I of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...
. The local tale describes how he passed first through Little Stretton, then Church Stretton and finally as he came through All Stretton the king declared "They're All Strettons around here!"
See also
* Listed buildings in All Stretton
References
External links
*All Stretton History Grou
*All Stretton YHA Bunkhous
*Church Stretton Area Websit
Photos of All Stretton and surrounding area on geograph
{{authority control
Church Stretton
Civil parishes in Shropshire
Villages in Shropshire
Shrewsbury and Atcham