8-1Stratford

What was the town of Stratford upon Avon like? Stratford upon Avon was a small town in Warwickshire England. It had a population of 1500 to 2000 people, which was of a decent size for the time. It was mainly made up of farmers and some craftsmen and artisans. Nevertheless, the town’s main product was ale. The entire town was developed around what is now called Wood Street and Bridge Street, and around it was supposed to be open space for a market. Right outside the town is the beautiful Holy Trinity church. The town had a market according to //__Shakespare's Strattford__//__. Web.14 Apr 2009. http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/13/13__, where merchants and farmers in a five miles radius would come to trade goods. These days would be busy days for the town. Many of the streets were named after the products that would be sold there. The town was also very well situated because it was at a river crossing separating different goods from the north and south. These could all be traded at the Stratford market. The town had a council of fourteen that watched over everything such as making sure the bridge was in good repair and taking care of nuisances. This also allowed them to start a small grammar school where Shakespeare would eventually go. There was also a court church, which was smaller and dealt more minor issues like drunkenness and not going to church. There were many epidemics during these times and the town leaders tried to create laws to make the town cleaner, such as creating muckhills and forcing people to dispose of dead carcasses somewhere out of town and not on the street. Unfortunately, diseases broke out on a regular basis and only one out of three children would typically survive to adulthood. There were also many other scares in those times, such as food shortages and fires. Fires were particularly bad from 1595 to 1597 in Stratford upon Avon and they were blamed on the shanty houses of the poor and bad development. According to __Hinds, Kathryn. //The Countryside//. new York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2008. Print,__ many towns played sports on Sundays. They even had a sport that was like soccer but involved more people. It was often played on the street. Overall, the town of Stratford upon Avon sounds like an interesting but scary place. The town seemed fun, but with all of the epidemics I don’t know how good life would b e.  De Sousa 10 Works Cited __Adams, Simon //Elizabeth// //1 The Outcast Who became England’s Queen//. Washington DC: Marshall Editions, 2005__ __Boyce, Charles. //Shakespeare the Essential Reference//. New York: Charles Boyce and Rountable Press, 1990. Print__ __Elain, Kathy //Elizabethan England A Hostory of Fashion and Costume//. New York: Bailey Publishing Associates, 2005. Print__ __"Guy Fawkes a Biography." Web.8 Apr 2009. []__ __Hinds, Kathryn. //The Countryside//. new York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2008. Print__ __Marrin, Albert. //The Sea King Sir Francis Drake and his times//. New York: Pixel Press, 1995. Print__ //__Shakespare's Strattford__//__. Web.14 Apr 2009. []__, //__Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada__//__," Web.19 Apr 2009. []__
 * Alex D **

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