Stratford-on-Slaney (), also known as Stratford or Stratford-upon-Slaney, is a small village on the

River Slaney The River Slaney () is a large river in the southeast of Ireland. It rises on Lugnaquilla Mountain in the western Wicklow Mountains and flows west and then south through counties Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford for 117.5 km (73 mi), be ...

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.

History

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

Earl of Aldborough

Edward Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough Edward Augustus Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough, FRS (1736 – 2 January 1801) of Belan house, styled The Honourable from 1763 to 1777 and Viscount Amiens in the latter year, was an Irish peer, Whig politician, and member of the Noble Hous ...

, 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. 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. There were twelve streets with 108 houses, four squares, Winetavern Street, Church Road and the Octagon. The

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

and the deadly fever of 1847 had a very negative impact on the town. 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". 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.

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. 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 Baltinglass, historically known as Baltinglas (), is a town in south-west County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Carlow and County Kildare, on the N81 road. Etymology The town's Irish name, ''Be ...

. At that time the town had 2,833 inhabitants. In 1837 Orr and Co. bought the factory from the Stratford family. Early in the nineteenth century, when Stratford on Slaney was at its busiest, Orr Smith & Co. employed more than a 1,000 people and turned out about 2,000 finished pieces per week. 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. The Orrs were a prosperous cotton manufacturing and printing firm that, in Stratford on Slaney, added

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

weaving and printing in the early 1790s. They sold their works to John Swainson a Preston cotton merchant circa 1837, and the Orrs continued their business in Scotland.

Development

Due to the climate in the South, which was moist and provided an ideal setting for cotton cultivation, Stratford saw potential for the creation of textile businesses in that region. With the development of the residential, public, and industry systems, Stratford worked to create a model industrial town. At its peak, Stratford on Slaney had three churches and fourteen taverns, and its population was close to three thousand.The town had four squares, Winetavern Street, Church Road, and the Octagon in addition to twelve streets with 108 dwellings each. There were a minimum of thirteen bars. The double crescent plan of Stratford on Slaney's town plan is its most notable feature. The town's layout was inspired by the town of Bath as it served as a model for Stratford on Slaney as they built an model industrial town on a smaller scale. In 1787, the town's first construction consisted of four streets that were arranged at right angles with an octagonal square in the middle. The octagonal square was connected to a crescent of homes by a street as the town continued to grow. Additionally, Stratford-on-Slaney and the circle were introduced. Six streets were added to the town in 1789 as it continued to grow. However, in the mid nineteenth century Stratford on Slaney began to decline. The industrial town failed despite Stratford and his family making a sizable investment. The distinctive crescent and octagonal shape of Stratford on Slaney demonstrates Edward Stratford's vision and desire for his experimental town as well as his aspirations as a budding architect.

Modern day

Today, the town of Stratford on Slaney is considered a large village settlement. These are bigger rural communities with a fair amount of physical and social infrastructure already in place. It is crucial to promote and facilitate growth in a sustainable way in order to ensure their continuing existence in the future. The development design has a careful job of making sure the design remains appropriate to the rural village and in a way that is respectful.

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. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

that had existed for 175 years, having opened on 6 March 1833, was closed by An Post in March 2008.

Samuel Lewis' description

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

People

* Baron Henniker of Stratford-upon-Slaney * Edward Jeffares, cricketer

References

External links

''Stratford-upon-Slaney'' in Lewis Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)
{{County Wicklow Stratford family Towns and villages in County Wicklow Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland