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Stratford-on-Slaney (Irish: Áth na Sráide, meaning 'ford of the street'), also known as Stratford or Stratford-upon-Slaney, is a small village on the River Slaney in west County Wicklow in Ireland. It was built by the Earl of Aldborough from 1774. According to the latest census, conducted in 2016, the village had a population of 241.[1]

Stratford-on-Slaney Áth na Sráide
Village
Signage on the approach to the village
Stratford-on-Slaney Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°59′18″N 6°40′06″W
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Wicklow
Elevation	183 m (600 ft)
Population  (2016)[1]
• Urban	241
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid Reference	S890937

History

Stratford-on-Slaney is a small village but has a notable industrial history, having played a role in the Irish cotton and linen industries in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Earl of Aldborough

Edward Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough, built this settlement from 1774, and gave it his family name, Stratford. It is built on the summit of a hill above the river Slaney. When Aldborough was in need of money in 1787 he attempted to sell to a merchant or manufacturer but didn't go through with it. During this time Stratford was known as a large town and had approximately 40 stone houses which were mainly occupied by Protestants. Aldborough clearly showed that he felt it was important for homes to be kept in good condition with no scraps left on streets and at doors, these homes were ideally to be owned by tradesmen and commendable manufacturers.[2] A lot of houses and buildings were left unfinished at this time including 26 one-storeyed houses, a school, and a church. Cotton and calico printing works were established in Stratford-on-Slaney in 1792. There were at least thirteen public houses.[3] There were twelve streets with 108 houses, four squares, Winetavern Street, Church Road and the Octagon.[2]

The famine and the deadly fever of 1847 had a very negative impact on the town.[3] A large proportion of the migrant workers returned to Paisley in Scotland and Hillsborough in County Down. The mill was sold in 1852 for the last time and "by the mid 1960s, Stratford stood bare, with the exception of a dozen or so houses and the ruins of what once was one man's dream".[3]

The Aldborough family were so deeply rooted in the development of Stratford-on-Slaney as a town and also as a manufacturing centre, meaning the founders were important people to focus on when looking at Stratford-on-Slaney.[4]

Orr family

Stratford-on-Slaney was sold by the Aldbourgh's to Mr. Orr, who owned a company called Smith Orrs’ & Sons. This company had an address in Dublin at 8 Merchants Quay, operating from there between 1782 and 1795.[5]

According to Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of 1837, Stratford-upon-Slaney was at that time a market town in the barony of Upper Talbotstown 2¼ miles north north east of Baltinglass. At that time the town had 2,833 inhabitants. In 1837 Orr and Co. bought the factory from the Stratford family. It employed about 1,000 people and turned out about 2,000 finished pieces per week.[3] The factory had a canal that brought water directly to the wheel and it was seen as the best wheel in Ireland, the factory was fitted quite ideally for manufacturing of cotton.[6]

By the end of the 1790s the Orrs were well established within the on the Irish cotton and calico industries. They sold their works toJohn Swainson a Preston cotton merchant circa 1837, and the Orrs continued their business in Scotland.[7]

Other sites

The Forge, Dispensary and Barracks along with most of the houses built by Stratford are gone. However, what remains is a village full of flowers which has won many Tidy Towns Awards including a Highly Commended Award in the Tidy Towns Competition in 2014.[8]

The post office that had existed for 175 years, having opened on 6 March 1833,[9] was closed by An Post in March 2008.[10]

Samuel Lewis' description

According to Samuel Lewis' 1837 Topographical Directory of Ireland Stratford was

a market-town and a parochial district, in the barony of Upper Talbotstown, county of Wicklow, and province of Leinster, 2 ¼ miles (N. N. E.) from Baltinglass (to which it has a penny post), near the road to Wexford, through Tullow; containing 2833 inhabitants, of which number, 952 are in the town. This town, which is of recent date, owes its origin to Edward, late Earl of Aldborough, who, towards the close of the last century, conferred upon it his family name, "Stratford," and distinguished it from other places of that name by the adjunct which describes its situation on the Slaney. A battle was fought here during the 1798 Rebellion. It is built on the summit of a considerable hill rising from the bank of the river, and is regularly laid out in streets and squares, and commands most extensive views, including the windings of the river. Adjoining the town, on the bank of the river, are extensive cotton and calico printing works, established in 1792, by Messrs. Orr and Co., the present proprietors; they employ from 800 to 1000 persons: the machinery is worked by water power, and the average number of pieces printed and finished weekly is about 2000. The market is on Tuesday and Saturday, and by the patent the town is entitled to two annual fairs, which have never yet been held.

People

• Baron Henniker of Stratford-upon-Slaney[11]
• Edward Jeffares, cricketer[12]

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Prosperous, County Kildare

References

External links

• Stratford-upon-Slaney in Lewis Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)

На других языках

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- [en] Stratford-on-Slaney

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[ru] Стратфорд-на-Слейни

Стра́тфорд-на-Сле́йни (англ. Stratford-on-Slaney; ирл. Átha na Sráide, «крепость улицы») — деревня в Ирландии, находится в графстве Уиклоу (провинция Ленстер).

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