Key facts
OS Grid Reference: SU133323
What3words: ///shelving.curated.cookies
Postcode: SP1
Post Town: Salisbury
Unitary Authority: Wiltshire
Parliamentary Constituency: Salisbury
Stratford-sub-Castle
On the northern edge of Salisbury sits Stratford-sub-Castle, a small, pretty village surrounded by rolling Wiltshire downs and farmland and with the River Avon flowing nearby, renowned for otter sightings! It’s a perfect blend of Wiltshire village life with great amenities on the doorstep.
It’s less than two miles – a 10-minute drive – from the cathedral city of Salisbury with its shops, bars, restaurants, heritage, culture, amenities and train station. Salisbury to London is less than 90 minutes by train.
Once a thriving medieval village, Stratford-sub-Castle now has old thatched cottages as well as Georgian period and modern family homes.
To the east are the remains of an Iron Age hillfort, where the unusual name was derived, Stratford-under-Castle, later, Stratford-sub-Castle. Stonehenge sits eight miles to the south and Old Sarum was built within the area of the hillfort and is just a five-minute drive away.
There’s a Waitrose nearby and the Salisbury rugby club, Riverside Tennis Club and Five Rivers Leisure Centre are close by.
The village has a vibrant local community with a village shop, a café called The Reading Room which sells pre-loved books, a village website, and village hall. There’s bellringing, a village show and harvest festival, a defribrillator rota, gardening clubs, wellbeing walks, volunteer taxi services, and regular events.
Salisbury Reds operates a bus route through the village.
History
The oldest building in the village is the Grade I listed Church of St Lawrence which dates from the 13th Century. A section of the churchyard has war graves from both WWI and WWII, managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The area is home to lots of historic homes – from Old Sarum View, the Grade II former post office and shop, through to the grand, imposing Manor House which dates from the mid 17th Century.
Walking and cycling
Just five or 10 minutes’ walk from the village is the Avon Valley Nature Reserve, managed by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. At the reserve there’s a 1.3-mile linear walking trail where you can spot kingfishers and other wildlife flourishing around the river. You can downloand a map of the walk here.
