Old Stratford is a village and wider

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 the south of the English county of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. The population of the civil parish (including Passenham) at the 2011 Census was 1,935. The 'Stratford' part of the village name is

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

in origin and means ' ford on a

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 ...

'. The Roman road in this sense is the

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

that runs through the middle of the village.

Location

The village lies immediately north of where the Watling Street crossed the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse ( ) is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the ...

; just south of this crossing point is the town of

Stony Stratford Stony Stratford is a market town in Buckinghamshire and a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located on Watling Street, historically the Roman road from London to Chester. It is also a civil parish with a town council in the Cit ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

. (The ford was replaced by a causeway and stone bridge many years ago). The Ouse forms the boundary of the

with that of Stony Stratford and also that between

and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. The village is located adjacent to the junction of the A5 (northwards towards Towcester and southwards towards Milton Keynes), the A422 (westwards towards

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

) and the A508 (northwards towards

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

History

The Buckingham Arm of the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

passed through the village but has been disused since 1964. There remains a "Wharf Lane" and signs of the path of the old canal through the village towards Buckingham.

Facilities

The village has a few local facilities (two motor dealers, a Chinese takeaway, a fried chicken takeway and a corner shop), and relies on Stony Stratford and Milton Keynes for a broader range of shops as well as for its medical, financial and other professional needs. There is a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

part of West Northamptonshire Council local education authority. The nearest secondary school is in Deanshanger.

Administration

The village has a parish council,Old Stratford Parish Council
/ref> which also administers the nearby village of Passenham. The village is governed by

West Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and was created in 2021. It contains the county town of Northampton, as wel ...

council. Prior to local government changes in 2021 it was administered by South Northamptonshire District Council, based in

Towcester Towcester ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative centre of the South Northamptonshire district. Towcester is on ...

and also

Northamptonshire County Council Northamptonshire County Council was the county council for Northamptonshire in England from 1889 to 2021. It was originally created in 1889, reformed in 1974, and abolished in 2021. The headquarters of the council was County Hall, Northampton, ...

The "Stony Stratford" Hoard

The Stony Stratford Hoard was probably found in 1789, near Passenham in the parish of Old Stratford, across the River Ouse from

. It is not known where it originally came from or how it got there. Even the location of the find-spot is somewhat speculative, since the only recorded information is "Windmill Field".

References

External links

The 'Old Stratford Remembered Group'
{{authority control Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District Civil parishes in Northamptonshire