Stratford-upon-Avon began as an Anglo-Saxon market town on the River Avon with its first charter dated 1196. Located in between the Cotwolds to the south and Birmingham to the NW it was a thriving community long before the birth of its most famous resident - William Shakespeare. These days Stratford is visited by three million travelers a year wanting to see where the Bard of Avon lived and died. The details of Shakespeare's life and work are widely disputed but it is a fact that he is buried here in the Holy Trinity Church.