For Stratford good communications have always been an important factor, originally in the context of the town's trading prosperity and more recently of tourism.
Before 1800 the two main modes of transport were by road and river. To these were added a canal in 1816, a tramway in 1826 and railway connections to the south (in 1859), the north (in 1860) and the east and west (in 1873).

The Records Office holds archive material relating to all these forms of transport. The most useful collections or items are noted below but other material may be found by consulting the subject index under TRANSPORT.

Working files of many relevant photographic images are kept in the Reading Room. They are in three folders, arranged under the general heading TRANSPORT, and are labelled Canals, Railways and Motor Transport. There is also an index to these and other images not yet included in these files.

Relevant images (photographs, prints and drawings) may be identified in other indexes, and working files containing many of these images are available in the Reading Room. For the period 1860-1917 the indexes to the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald will provide useful references under the same subject heading, TRANSPORT. More about the newspapers held at the Records Office

Books relating to all aspects of transport, including recent reports concerning traffic problems, are shelved in the library at 93.025. Those of specific interest are listed below in the appropriate section, but there may be other relevant titles in our on-line library catalogue.

Roads

A large collection of material relating to roads in south Warwickshire bears the reference ER 9.  There are manuscript or typescript catalogues for these in the search room, but they are not yet in our on-line catalogue.  The most important sub-divisions are:

ER 9/15: roads within the borough of Stratford-upon-Avon, 1713-1863
ER 9/16: papers relating to the Stratford to Edgehill Road (turnpiked in 1726), 1726-1871 (order book for this turnpike, 1763-1815, is at ER 42/6)
ER 9/17: papers relating to the Stratford to Long Compton road (turnpiked in 1730), 1757-1882
ER 9/18: papers relating to the Stratford to Chipping Campden road
ER 9/19: papers relating to the Stratford to Warwick road (turnpiked in 1754), 1806-1868
ER 9/20: papers relating to the Stratford to Wellesbourne Road (turnpiked in 1770), 1768-1871 (order books etc. for this turnpike, 1770-1862, are at DR 98/1718, ER 42/7-9).

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, roads were maintained and improved by Turnpike Trusts, which required Acts of Parliament to establish them. Local Turnpike Acts are to be found in ER 22.

The upkeep of bridges and non-turnpiked roads were parish responsibilities. For Stratford, the records of the Highway Surveyors are to be found at BRT 8/257-266 and for Old Stratford at BRT 9/277-279. In 1862 this responsibility was transferred to the County Highway Board whose records are at the Warwick County Record Office.

In 1812, Clopton Bridge became the responsibility of Bridge Commissioners. This arrangement lasted until 1879 when the Corporation took over their duties. Their records are at BRT 5.

Other material can be found in the subject index under:
TRANSPORT: Land: Roads and TRANSPORT: Land: Bridges

By 1817, at least twenty-four coaches a day passed through Stratford. The volume of traffic declined during the 1840s and 1850s, but details of coaches and local carriers can be found in the county and local directories. Trade Directories held at the Records Office

River

Until the eighteenth century, the River Avon provided a major route for the carriage of goods from Stratford and its Warwickshire hinterland down to the Severn at Tewkesbury and thence to Bristol and the continent. The river was navigable for barges as far as Stratford and from the seventeenth century there were various schemes to improve the navigation for larger shipping.

Papers relating to the earlier period of the navigation are to be found at ER 7/4 and DR 325/1759. In 1751 an Act of Parliament was obtained to regulate the tonnage charged on goods. There is a copy of this at ER 116. With the arrival of the railways, the use of the river for trade declined and the navigation fell into disrepair. The navigation was restored in the 1960s, primarily for leisure use. There are some papers concerning this at DR 305.

Other material can be found in the subject index under:
TRANSPORT: Water: Inland Waterways

See also:
Charles Hadfield, Waterways to Stratford, 1968
Jamie Davies, Shakespeare's Avon, the history of a navigation, 1996

Canals

In 1793 an Act of Parliament was obtained for the cutting of a canal from Birmingham, which finally reached Stratford in 1816. The various canal acts are to be found at ER 22/36-38 and papers relating to the construction of the canal and the administration of the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal Company are at ER 7/1. The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal Society completed the restoration of the canal in 1964. The Society's records are at DR 1145.

Other material can be found in the subject index under:
TRANSPORT: Water: Inland Waterways: Canals

See also:
Nick Billingham, The Stratford Canal, 2002
Charles Hadfield, Waterways to Stratford, 1968
Guy Johnson, Save the Stratford Canal, 1983
Stratford upon Avon Canal Society Newsletter, 1966 -onwards

Tramway

Following the opening of the Stratford canal, a horse tramway was built to connect the wharves at Stratford with Moreton-in-Marsh. This opened in 1826, with a branch to Shipston-on-Stour in 1836. Records relating to this enterprise, which remained in operation until 1881, are to be found principally in ER 8/1. For an account book, 1854-1895, see ER 145/447, and for a letter book, 1845-1847, DR 638.

Other material can be found in the subject index under:
TRANSPORT: Land: Rail: Railway Companies: Stratford to Moreton Railway

See also:
John Norris, The Stratford and Moreton Tramway, 1987

Railways

From the mid-nineteenth century railway lines reached Stratford from the south in 1859 (built by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Company), from the north in 1860 (built by the Stratford Railway Company) and from the east in 1873, built by the East and West Junction (later Stratford and Midland Junction) Railway Company. Papers relating to two of these are to be found at:

ER 8/3: OWWR company, 1845-1859
ER 8/39: Stratford-upon-Avon Railway, 1859-1883

The collection amassed by Arthur Jordan (d.2005) in the course of his research into the history of the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway is at DR1172

Other papers, and those relating to EWJR (later SMJR) can be found in the subject index under:
TRANSPORT: Land: Rail: Railway Companies: EWJR etc

See also:
John Boynton, Shakespeare's Railways, 1994
Audie Baker, The Stratford on Avon to Cheltenham Railway, 1994

Stanley C Jenkins & Roger Carpenter, The Alcester Branch, 2005
Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Stratford upon Avon to Cheltenham (Country Railway Routes), 1998
J.M. Dunn, The Stratford and Midland Junction Railway, 1952
Arthur Jordan, The Stratford upon Avon and Midland Junction Railway, 1982
R.C. Riley & Bill Simpson, A history of the Stratford upon Avon and Midland Junction Railway, 1999

Timetables for local services were regularly printed on the front page of the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald during the nineteenth century. More about the newspapers held at the Records Office