Take the two-mile trail to learn the riverside story

Published: 13:50, 14 May 2018

Roger Davis, trustee of the Stratford Heritage Buildings Trust, was joined by Cox's Yard waitress Enelina Pich as the new Riverside Heritage Trail leaflet was launched on the banks of the Avon last week. Photo: Mark Williamson (C14/5/18/9986)

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON Historic Buildings Trust launched a new Riverside Heritage Trail last Thursday — made possible by money raised by National Lottery players.

The trail is the final element of the Old Toll House project, which in addition to restoring the landmark building, aims to tell its story and that of the wider industrial heritage of the riverside area.

Although now a leafy tourist destination, the riverside was once a hive of commercial and industrial activity.

The use of the river for commercial traffic and the development of the Stratford Canal and the Stratford to Moreton Tramway in the early 19th century meant that the area around the Bancroft in particular was the site of numerous wharves and warehouses.

And it was not until the opening of the Art Deco Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1932 that all of the wharves and warehouses were swept away and replaced by the present day gardens.

The trail has been written by Chris Rice, a freelance curator, historic buildings expert and heritage project manager on behalf of Stratford Historic Buildings Trust.

Stratford-upon-Avon Chris Smith