Stratford sub Castle Village Website
Salisbury, Wiltshire UK

Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve where the image above was taken on 8 November, is only 17 miles south of Salisbury. The reference to the lesser black backed gull may refer to fears of Avian Flu spreading, following a report of Avian Flu at Winterbourne Stoke, Wiltshire on 6 November. Image: Jeremy Mcclements Facebook There have been several WTE sightings at Blashford Lakes and at Ibsley over the past few days. Images have been shared on the Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve and

A high resolution map of Roman roads throughout the Empire was published earlier this week: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-06140-z .   The map is open access at https://itiner-e.org/ It doesn’t really add to our knowledge locally, the lost portion of the road to the Mendips from Old Sarum (Sorbiodunum) remains lost. It is tempting to draw a straight line across the gap but as this route rises and falls across two valleys, and carts travelling it carried lead, th

The latest applications for the Salisbury - St Francis & Stratford Ward can be viewed in the Local Information - Planning applications section of the viillage website. The image above is of Victoria Lodge guesthouse. There is an application for change of use to a Dental Practice.

Join us for our meeting on Thursday 27 November 7.15 pm for 7.30 pm. Our speaker will be Roger HIrons “Plants introduced in the Victorian era and some Victorian gardening techniques”. Roger Hirons is “The Plant Doctor”. He trained at Pershore College and comes with a wealth of knowledge. He has worked in nurseries, run garden centres and has his own garden design and landscaping business. He is also a published author. New members and visitors are always welcome. Membership o

22 October 2025 - Fisherton Rec The River Park October Newsletter describes the work currently planned. Yesterday a new footpath across Fisherton Rec was nearing completion. At the moment the project's website is not available to view but a copy of the Newsletter has kindly been provided by Andy Wallis, (Salisbury River Park Project Lead) and can be downloaded below. page 1 of the PDF document - click the PDF download button above to view all 5 pages.

The Louve has now listed the jewels stolen and the crown of Empress Eugenie was lifted but damaged and left behind. Le Parisien has confirmed the Regent Diamond (before 1717, the Pitt Diamond) has NOT been stolen. Previous News Thieves broke into Paris's Louvre museum at about 09:30 local time this morning, gaining access to the Gallery of Apollo on the south side. The Louvre have not revealed which gems were stolen but the most precious items kept there were the Regent, Sat

A talk 'The Sarum Master Bible' by Dr Christopher de Hamel will take place at Salisbury Cathedral on 20 October at 7.30 pm (doors open at 7pm). There will not be a charge for the talk but tickets must be booked in advance due to limited capacity - details are on the cathedral's website. Our earlier newspost followed the fundraising campaign to enable the purchase of this rare 13th century Bible so that it might be returned to Salisbury Cathedral. The campaign was successful

Wessex Water are replacing the water meter at the Reading Room. There are no traffic lights to control traffic past the obstruction, and the pavement has limited access.

The surface on the cycle path near Ashley Road has been removed and will be replaced by a non-skid surface. News from 27 September The image above left, taken on Saturday 27 September, shows the crossing back in operation. Cyclists now have priority over motorists at this point, and do not legally have to dismount. There have been fears expressed on social media of the risks of cyclists not stopping and/or motorists being unaware of their presence/the priority change. Furthe

After repeated reports to Wiltshire Council, in October 2025 the sign was eventually replaced, having been removed from its post in January 2024. (To remove any doubt that was not a typo.) News from 7 May 2025 Image 5 January 2024 KMOC 16 March 2024 As reported on 5 January 2024 , the 'No entry except for Access' sign at the junction of Gradidge Lane and Phillips Lane had been damaged and it was hoped that it was simply a matter of fitting new brackets to re-install the sig

Forged signatures and how to detect them - John Jameson-Davis   John stepped in when our booked speaker became ill and cancelled all speaking engagements. He answered our call while on holiday in Crete! John is a Questioned Handwriting and Document Examiner. His work mainly entails the examination of questioned signatures (those which have been challenged or doubted for some reason, perhaps on a Will, a passport, a bank or credit card or other document). He is also asked to l

Contractors for Wiltshire Council have resurfaced the pavement on the west side of Stratford Road between Castle Keep and Mill Lane and...

This event has now taken place. The Friends of St Lawrence next fundraising talk will be on Friday 24 October at 7.30 pm in the Reading Room, Stratford Road SP1 3LL, opposite St Lawrence Church.   Tobias Ellwood ( pictured here when he was the MP for Bournemouth ), is a former British Army Officer, senior UK parliamentarian and now a writer and commentator on National Security & Foreign Policy issues. As a former Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and Chair of the House of C

Our October meeting is on Thursday 30 October at 7.30pm in The Reading Room, Stratford Road SP1 3LL, opposite St Lawrence Church. The...

Following further repairs to the clock's mechanism completed on 20 September, the tenor bell is once again ringing on the hour. It is...

Bob-cat work completed - see image taken on 16 September. Original Newspost 7 September Phillips Lane will be closed for 'Bobcat' works...

This view of the lunar eclipse was taken from St Lawrence Close by Henry Burnside and sent to the website to be shared with other...

This year’s summer season finished with our September café, which was well attended even though the weather was not that kind to us. We...

If we are to continue our fabulous Sunday Cafés next summer, we will need more volunteers to come forward to join our team of helpers, to...

The Guild's 2025-26 season began on Wednesday 10 September at 7.30 pm in the Reading Room, with a talk by Colin van Geffen entitled 'The...

Our first meeting of the new season is on Thursday 25 September 7.15 for 7.30pm. The speaker at that meeting will be Michael Bowyer,  his...