Barcheston is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Stratford district

Stratford-on-Avon (district)

Stratford-on-Avon is a local government district of southern Warwickshire in England.The district is named "Stratford-on-Avon" to distinguish it from its main town of Stratford-upon-Avon where the district council is based, although this name often causes confusion .The district is mostly rural and...

 of Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is on the east bank of the River Stour

River Stour, Warwickshire

The River Stour is a river in Warwickshire, England. It is a tributary of the Avon, which it joins at Stratford-upon-Avon. The source of the River Stour is in Traitors Ford; it joins the Avon at Clifford Chambers....

, opposite Shipston-on-Stour

Shipston-on-Stour

Shipston-on-Stour is a town and civil parish on the River Stour about south of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. It is in the northern part of the Cotswolds, close to the boundaries with Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire....

. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 134.

The first English tapestry

Tapestry

Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...

 factory was the Sheldon Looms, established here in Warwickshire by William Sheldon about the middle of the 16th century. The tapestries produced here compare well with the finest contemporary Flemish

Flemish people

The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...

 weavings. Some of these consisted of large tapestry maps of English counties.

See also: Mortlake Tapestry Works

Mortlake Tapestry Works

Mortlake Tapestry Works were established alongside the River Thames at Mortlake, then outside, but near west London in 1619 by Sir Francis Crane.-Royal Patronage:...

External links