Stratford sub Castle Village Website
Salisbury, Wiltshire UK

Dr Martin Radford explores the extraordinary world of Arthur Ransome in his talk "Swallows and Amazons and the Russian Revolution, in the Reading Room, Stratford Road, SP1 3LL on Wednesday 11 November at 7.30 pm. Ransome was sued by Oscar Wilde’s lover, worked as a newspaper reporter in St Petersburg during the Russian Revolution and eloped with Trotsky’s secretary, yet we know him as the much-loved author of the “Swallows and Amazons” children’s books. The talk will be follo

‘Unsung heroes - Animals at war’ Speaker Phil Whitemore I’ve been lucky enough to have listened to many of Phil Whitemore’s talks and always found them engaging and informative and his presentation to the Stratford Guild on 14th October was no exception. Man’s close bond with many types of animals has developed over thousands of years, allowing humans to make use of an animal’s highly developed characteristics of smell, strength, hearing, flight and sight. A bond of loyalty b

The newly refurbished village noticeboard was officially unveiled on the 9 September 2026 before the first meeting of the new 2026-27 Guild season, by local councillor John Wells and Elizabeth Byford, a long-standing resident and currently the oldest Guild member. Witnessing the unveiling were Steve Mayall and his original build team, the current Guild committee, and Barbara Mayall (Guild Chair in 2016 when the noticeboard was erected). The Guild hopes the noticeboard continu

'Censored' - speaker Miranda Pender Norah James Miranda told us of the intriguing tale of Norah C. James (a late member of her wider family) and the obscenity trial of 1929. Norah was born in London in 1895, into a wealthy, but disjointed family. She was left with a very negative view of marriage. She was also deeply affected by a history of mental health in her family. Before taking up writing Norah had numerous careers including as a nurse during the First World War

The Village Noticeboard is now back in use. It is used by our local Groups to advertise their events and also - subject to space being available - for posters published by local charities and not for profit organisations. Printed posters can be left in the folder kept in the porch at School House, Stratford Road. Original Newspost dated 26 July 2026 As announced in the latest Parish Magazine, the Village Noticeboard is to be refurbished. It was built and donated to Stratfo

After a summer break, our 2026-27 season will begin on Wednesday 9 September. Full details of our new programme will be published in the September edition of the Parish magazine and here on the village website. The Guild is a friendly group that meets on the 2nd Wednesday** of each month from September to June for a varied programme of talks and social events. Recent topics have included ‘The Woman who saved the Nation’, ‘Responding to Disasters’, ‘Artificial Intelligence –