About

Stretton-on-Dunsmore is an old Warwickshire village with a population of approximately 1200. It is located just off the A45 (London Road) and the B4455 (Fosse Way, an old Roman road) on Dunsmore Heath. The village is equidistant from Coventry, Rugby and Leamington Spa and neighbours the villages of Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Princethorpe, Frankton, Bourton-on-Dunsmore and Wolston. The name of the village is believed to be Anglo-Saxon “straet tun on dun mor”, literally meaning “village on the road on the hill on the heath”.

By the 15th century Stretton had grown from the original hamlet into an established Village with its own Church and Manor House.

It is quite certain that there has been a church in the Village for 800 years. The current church, All Saints, being consecrated in 1837. The 1841 census shows that in addition to the many farmers there were numerous craftsmen including three wheelwrights, three blacksmiths, several carpenters, two bricklayers, a plumber, a cooper, three shoemakers, four tailors, two dressmakers, a cattle dealer, one excise officer and a surgeon.

At one time Stretton-on-Dunsmore was served by many Public Houses; The Oak, The Black Dog, The Shoulder of Mutton, The Dun Cow, The Red Lion, The Frog Inn, The White Lion, The George, The Wheatsheaf and The Cold Comfort Inn. These serviced the thriving trade moving along the the Fosse Way and also the London Road. Today only one pub remains – The Oak & Black Dog.

In March 1915 King George V reviewed troops of the 29th Division at Knightlow Hill, where today the monument stands on the traffic island at the intersection of the London Road and Fosse Way. Shortly afterwards the Division served at Gallipoli as well as at the Western Front in France and Belgium.

During the second world war the village housed both British and American military personnel who were based in temporary Nissen huts before being posted in Europe. After the war these buildings became home to many families who’s houses in Coventry had been destroyed by the bombing.

Stretton-on-Dunsmore today has a thriving community and is well served by a general store/Post Office, a modern doctors surgery, an outstanding primary school, a friendly pub and a spacious village hall. It contains numerous social organisations, local tradesmen and small businesses, is close to good road and rail networks and is accessible by a local bus service running from Coventry to Rugby.