Stratford-upon-Avon, the main town of the district of Stratford-upon-Avon, is a market town and parish in South Warwickshire with an 800 year history.  Its claim to fame is only through its favourite son of the soil, William Shakespeare.  It is south east of Birmingham and lies on the Avon River.
Stratford was a major centre for sheep slaughter and marketing and distribution of wool at the time of Shakespeare’s birth.  As a result of this, it emerged as a tanning centre in the 15th and 16th centuries.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)’s place of birth in Henley Street, Stratford is preserved to this day and is a popular visit spot for tourists.  Shakespeare’s early life was relatively easy.  His father, who held the office of the Bailiff, was also a good wool dealer of some reputation and young William was therefore able to attend Stratford Grammar School and receive a good education, a fact that brought him to the world stage, years later.  At the age of 18, young impressionable William married a woman seven years his senior.  Anne Hathaway was of good stock and her family owned an impressive farm a mile west of Stratford.  There is not much to be said about their life together but William soon found himself alone in London to take up actor-manager jobs until he could be part owner of first Blackfriars and then the Globe Theatre. 
He was an actor of great standing but he tasted new found freedom in writing and the rest is, of course, history. His plays are regarded as the finest collections to be ever written in any language of the world.  He could dexterously weave stories of romance, comedy, tragedy and history. He rose to a great position in the literary field and his shrewdness of business enabled him to earn quite a fortune. His later years saw him return to Stratford where he died aged 52.
 

Tourism aside, the town is also provides employment in the hotel & hospitality, catering, boat building, mechanical and electrical engineering, food manufacture, farming, building supplies, storage and transport and other industries.
 
The first theatre was built here in 1769 and was a temporary wooden structure. Not far from where it stood, stands the present Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company formed in 1961, today owns most of the theatres in town.

Some other prominent tourist attractions include houses belonging to Shakespeare’s daughter and the property owned by him till the time of his death.
 
The town is dotted with numerous cycle paths meandering by the riverside that are an avid tourist attraction.  Close to Stratford are the homes of his wife Anne Hathaway and his mother Mary Arden. At Snitterfield are some buildings and farms that were owned John Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s father.

The church where Shakespeare was baptized and later buried, Holy Trinity Church, is another major tourist centre.  Stratford is close to the UK's second largest city, Birmingham, and is easily accessible from junction 15 of the M40 motorway. The 7 miles (11 km).
 

Several educational  and other institutions set up to research and study Shakespeare’s works are prevalent in Stratford, including the Shakespeare Institute, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, King Edward VI School, which is among the few remaining grammar schools in all of England, and the Stratford High School which has historic relevance. 
Stratford is well connected with Birmingham and London and plans are afoot to build a new railway station, called the Stratford Parkway Railway station. Today, the house on Henley Street, where Shakespeare was born, has undergone some architectural changes.