Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/614

 590 STRATFOKD reign of Henry VII., and widened in 1814; by a bridge of nine arches, built of brick in 1826 ; and by a foot-bridge erected in 1867, at a cost of 500, on thp. site of a foot- bridge originally erected in 1599, and rebuilt in 1812. The streets are wide and regular, crossing each other generally at right angles, and, says J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps, "with the exception of a few diffused buildings, scarcely one of which is in its original condition, there is no resemblance between the present town and the Shakespearean borough " (compare article SHAKESPEARE, vol. xxi. pp. 741 sq.}. The church of the Holy Trinity occupies the site of a Saxon monastery, which existed before 691, when the bishop of Worcester received it in exchange from Ethelred, king of Mercia. It is a fine cruciform structure, partly Early English and partly Perpendicular, with a central tower and lofty octagonal spire. It was greatly improved in the reign of Edward III. by John de Stratford, who rebuilt the south aisle. He also in 1332 founded a chantry for priests, and in 1351 Ralph de Stratford built for John's chantry priests "a house of square stone," which came to be known as the college, and in connexion with which the church became collegiate. The present beautiful choir was built by Dean Balshall (1465-91), and in the reign of Henry VII. the north and south transepts were erected. The mural monu- ment of Shakespeare, who is buried in the chancel, is of special interest from its effigy of the poet, undoubtedly an authentic representation, though somewhat altered and damaged by time. The foundation of the chapel of the guild of the Holy Cross was laid by Robert de Stratford. The guild, to which both sexes were admitted, was in exist- ence early in the 13th century, and it was incorporated by a charter from Edward III. in 1322. It was dissolved in 1547. The house in which Shakespeare was born still stands, although its external appearance is much altered, and an apartment is by immemorial tradition pointed out as his birth-room. In 1597 Shakespeare purchased New Place for his residence (see vol. xxi. p. 765). Shakespeare's house was pulled down by Sir John Clopton in 1702, and the large new mansion erected on its site was pulled down by Sir Francis Gastrell in 1759. Chiefly through the exer- tions of J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps, the site of New Place was purchased by public subscription, and in 1876 handed over to the trustees of the birthplace. The old theatre, which had occupied part of the ground, was taken down in 1872, and in 1877 a new memorial theatre was erected at a cost of 30,000. The other principal buildings of the town are the town-hall, originally erected in 1633, almost entirely rebuilt in 1767-68, after having been severely injured by an explosion, and greatly altered in 1863 at a cost of 2000 ; the market-house (1820); the corn exchange (1850) ; the children's hospital (1871); and the new hospital (1884). The Edward VI. grammar school, where Shakespeare re- ceived his education, was founded in 1553. The town is chiefly dependent on the agriculture of the neighbourhood. The population of the borough in 1871 was 7183, and in 1881 (area extended in 1879 to 3865 acres) it was 8054. There is no authentic mention of Stratford earlier than the 7th century. It received a charter for a market in the reign of Richard I., but was not incorporated till the reign of Edward VI. The charter of Charles II., granted in his 26th year, remained the governing charter of the town till the passing of the Municipal Act in 1835. The town suffered from a severe epidemic in 1564, from inundations in 1588, and from fire in 1598. See S. L. Lee, Stratford-on-Avon, 1884; J. 0. Halliwell-Phillipps, Outlines of the Life of Shakspeare, sixth edition (with a history of New Place), 1886 ; and the article SHAKESPEARE. STRATFORD, a town of Canada, capital of Perth county, Ontario, lies on the river Avon (a tributary of the Thames which discharges into Lake St Clair), about 45 miles by rail south-east of Goderich, at the junction of the Goderich and Buffalo division with the main line of the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1849 it was a village of only 200 inhabitants; but between 1871 and 1881 its popu- lation rose from 4313 to 8239. It has a town-hall, ex- tensive repairing shops, and several manufactures. STRATFORD DE REDCLIFFE, STRATFORD CANNING, VISCOUNT (1786-18SO), diplomatist, was the first cousin of George Canning the statesman, and the youngest son of Stratford Canning, who, having been disinherited for marrying beneath his rank, settled in London as a mer- chant in Clement's Lane, where young Canning was born 4th November 1786. Shortly afterwards the father died, and the family removed to Wanstead, the boy attending the village school and afterwards a school at Hackney until 1794, when he went to Eton. Ultimately he became captain of the school, and he also manifested his literary predilections by publishing, in conjunction with Wellesley and others, a collection of essays entitled The Miniature. In 1805 he was elected scholar of King's College, Cambridge, and, while still attending the univer- sity, became in 1807 precis writer to his cousin, who had been appointed foreign minister. At the close of the year he went to Copenhagen as one of the secretaries of a special diplomatic mission, and after his return he was appointed in June 1808 first secretary at Constantinople. On the removal of his chief Mr Adair to Vienna in July 1810, Canning remained minister plenipotentiary, making use of the opportunity to give indications of that over- mastering purpose and bold yet subtle diplomacy which were to have such an important influence on the history of the Eastern question. In 1812 he succeeded in effecting the treaty of Bucharest between Russia and Turkey, which was signed on the 12th May, shortly before the arrival of his successor. This was properly the inaugura- tion of that English influence in Turkey which did not cease until within recent years. The treaty was also of immense immediate advantage by freeing the Russian army to act against Napoleon, and on his return to Eng- land Canning was rewarded by a pension of 1200 a year. He remained in London, occupying himself with litera- ture, and contributing some articles to the Quarterly Review, then newly founded, until in May 1814 he was appointed by Lord Castlereagh minister plenipotentiary to Switzerland, where he succeeded in effecting the federa- tion of the cantons as a neutral state. He returned to England in 1817, and in August 1820 was sent as pleni- potentiary to the United States, to arrange certain out- standing differences between the States and England ; but, although a convention was signed 13th March 1824, this was rejected by the American senate, and matters for several years remained, so far as any actual arrangement was concerned, in statu quo. In October 1825 Canning was sent on a second commission to Constantinople, chiefly to promote the independence of Greece, but after long and complicated negotiations the attack, without the knowledge of the ambassadors, on the Turkish fleet by the allies under Sir E. Codrington at Navarino, 20th October 1827, caused a conference then being held to be suddenly broken up, and rendered necessary the with- drawal of the ambassadors from Constantinople. They, however, again met at Poros towards the close of the following year, and ultimately Turkey was compelled, by the treaty of Adrianople, 14th August 1829, following a short war with Russia, to loose her grasp on Greece, and consent to the arrangement of a frontier limit. On his return to England Canning was made G.C.B. In 1828 he had been elected to the House of Commons for Old Sarum, and he sat for different boroughs until 1841, when he again accepted the office of ambassador to Turkey. During the next twelve years he gradually suc- ceeded in winning the confidence of the sultan, as well as awakening his wholesome awe, by convincing him, not