Commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, 91 miles north-west of London, 22 miles south-east of Birmingham and 8 miles south-west of Warwick. The estimated population in 2007 was 25,505, increasing to 27,445 at the 2011 census. As of 2018, the population that resides in the Stratford-on-Avon district has a population figure of 130,098.

Situated in south-central Warwickshire, the town is the southernmost point of the Arden area on the edge of the Cotswolds. Stratford was originally inhabited by Britons before Anglo-Saxons and remained a village before the lord of the manor, John of Coutances, set out plans to develop it into a town in 1196.