Come
and see us in sunny Stony!
Stony
Stratford is a small market town in north Buckinghamshire. It
lies on the old Roman Watling Street with the River Great Ouse
flowing around the north and western perimeters. In Roman
times and later it had strategic importance as a ford across
the river and it is partly from this it became to be known,
the name "Stratford"
being specific to Roman roads. It has a rich history, its
position on such a main highway ensuring that it has been
visited by many travellers including Royalty.
Stony
Stratford rose to national eminence during the 18th century as
one of the country's most important coaching towns, on the
main London to Liverpool route. The High Street still contains
a wealth of coaching inns that thrived in this period,
including The Cock and The Bull; in these inns travellers vied
with each other in the telling of outrageous stories, from
which the phrase 'Cock
and Bull story' derives.
Only in recent
years, with the advent of the M1 motorway and the building of
Milton Keynes, has the Watling Street lost its status, the
town now easily by-passed.
Stony Stratford, however, still repays the visitor with much
of interest including a number of historical surprises.
Click
here to see road map to Stony
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