page_title: Church Stretton
section_title: Late 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Church Stretton / History / Late 20th century
caption_attribution_description: English: St Laurence's, Church Stretton 279034 seen on a sunny day!
context_page_description: Church Stretton is a market town in Shropshire, England, 13 miles south of Shrewsbury and 15 miles north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671.
  The town was nicknamed Little Switzerland in the late Victorian and Edwardian period for its landscape, and became a health resort. The local geology includes some of the oldest rocks in England and a notable fault is named after the town.
  Today, Church Stretton is a busy market town in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
context_section_description: A small market hall stood on the High Street but was demolished in July 1963 and the site has become a town square, and is still used to hold markets on. The first market hall – a timber-framed construction – was built in 1617; this was replaced by the second market hall (called the Town Hall) in 1839, which was a stone and red-brick construction. Today the Silvester Horne Institute (extended and refurbished in 2011) is the town's main meeting place for societies, polling, public meetings and exhibitions. Additionally there is the Mayfair Community Centre on Easthope Road and the St Laurence's Parish Hall on Church Street.
  In recent years volunteer members of the Community Group have transformed Church Stretton into the Town of Flags: thanks to local grants they have purchased over 120 flags – English, Union and foreign – and these are regularly flown in the town centre on special occasions throughout the year.
caption: St Laurence's Church, a largely Norman structure, but with Saxon origins
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