Stroud is not only a town but a civil parish as well. It is the main town for the Stroud District. It is located on the western embankment of Cotswold Hills where the Five Vallys meet. The town is best known for the steepness of its streets and cafe culture. Completely surrounding the town is the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Cotswold Way Path goes by the town to the west. The parishes of Rodborough and Caincross are very close and while not officially part of Stroud they are grouped with it by locals. Stroud is actually the center of many small surrounding villages and towns.

During the Industrial Revolution Stroud became well known. The wool industry had made it a well known cloth town and it was supplied by the small rivers that flowed through the five valleys with wool from the sheep in Cotswold. At one time Stroud was one of the biggest producers of military uniforms. In the 17th century, fleeing persecution of Catholics in France, the Huguenot community and late the Jewish in the 19th century gave the town population boosts.

In the 19th century Stroud also became a large industrial and trading point and required more transportation options. First there was the canal network with the Stroudwater Navigation and the Tames and Severn Canal that eventually lost their use and began a struggle for survival. There are current plans to rebuild the canals thanks to the Lottery grant. The Stroud District Council and Cotswold Canals Trust plant to make the canals into tourist attractions.

Stroud parish was first part of Bisley and started to build into its own town in the 13th century. The name comes from the marshy ground and was first noted in 1221. In 1279 the church was built and the date of foundation is said to be in 1304 when Bisley declared gave the town the rights of a parish.

From 1837-1841, the MP of Stroud was Lord John Russell who was a member of the wig party and went on to become the Prime Minister.

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The Stroud Tourist Board gives comparable information to this page. If you require more information about Stroud, you may be able to obtain it from the Stroud Tourist Board.