Little Stretton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Church Stretton, in the Shropshire district, in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. In 1961 the parish had a population of 80.[1] Little Stretton became a civil parish in 1899 being formed from Church Stretton, on 1 April 1966 the parish was abolished and merged with Church Stretton.[2]
It is located in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty between the Long Mynd and Ragleth Hill. Lying on the B5477 south of the market town of Church Stretton; similarly, the small village of All Stretton lies to the north of Church Stretton on the same road. A milestone in the centre of the village on the B5477, which is called Ludlow Road at this point, indicates that Ludlow is 14 miles (23 km) away, to the south. The centre of Church Stretton is 1.3 miles (2.1 km) away via the B5477.
To the southwest are the hamlets of Minton and Hamperley, which are part of Church Stretton parish and are included within the parish ward of Little Stretton.[3] The modern-day parish of Church Stretton is sometimes referred to as "Church Stretton and Little Stretton".[4]
There is a small church in the village, built in 1903 - "All Saints". It is a Church of England church and is one of three in the ecclesiastical parish of Church Stretton, along with the churches in All Stretton and Church Stretton.[7] The parish is part of the Diocese of Hereford. It is a very unusual church (for England in the present era) for its construction is timber with a thatched roof replacing the original corrugated iron roof.[8]
Pubs
As of 2012, there are approximately 110 dwellings in the village. Little Stretton today has two public houses: the Green Dragon and the Ragleth Inn (historically the "Sun Inn"), both of which serve a wide range of local real ales.[9]
Brockhurst Castle
Half a mile to the north are the earthwork remains of the 12th-century Brockhurst Castle. It is situated on private land with no public access.
Notable people
Novelist and short story writer Beatrice Harraden (1864-1936) spent summer holidays lodging at the Green Dragon, inspiring her short story At the Green Dragon (published 1894).[10]
Oliver Sandys (1892-1964), widow of Caradoc Evans and a novelist in her own right, lived at the Ancient House, across the road from the church, from the 1950s. A later novel, Quaint Place (1952) was set in this area.[11]
The horologist Charles Jendon was a well-known figure in the village for many years; his knowledge of long-case clocks was well known to many specialists in the field.[citation needed]
The music critic Ephriam Monk, who championed the early work of Lionel Crill, who himself was a pioneer in the use of the theremin in classical music, lived in the village between 1952 and 1959.
Gallery
Ragleth Inn in the village
Ludlow Road where it crosses the small brook Ashes Hollow - the beige milestone, facing the other way, can be seen
^Dickins, Gordon (1987). An Illustrated Literary Guide to Shropshire. Shropshire Libraries. pp. 35, 100. ISBN978-0-903802-37-6.
^Dickins, Gordon (1987). An Illustrated Literary Guide to Shropshire. pp. 62, 100.
^'An Interview with Peter Reading by Robert Potts' Oxford Poetry"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
