[1] Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets.

Stroud acts as a commercial centre for surrounding villages and market towns including Amberley, Bisley, Bussage, Chalford, Dursley, Eastcombe, Eastington, King's Stanley, Leonard Stanley, Minchinhampton, Nailsworth, Oakridge, Painswick, Randwick, Selsley, Sheepscombe, Slad, Stonehouse, Brimscombe & Thrupp, Whiteshill and Woodchester.

[2][better source needed] In March 2021 The Sunday Times named Stroud the best place to live in the UK, citing the town's abundance of green spaces, independent spirit, and high quality of schools.

[5] It was a cloth town: woollen mills were powered by the small rivers which flow through the five valleys, and supplied from Cotswold sheep which grazed on the hills above.

[13] Though there is much evidence of early historic settlement and transport, Stroud parish was originally part of Bisley, and only began to emerge as a distinct unit in the 13th century, taking its name from the marshy ground at the confluence of the Slad Brook and the River Frome called "La Strode", and was first recorded in 1221.

[14] Historic buildings and places of interest in the area include the neolithic long barrows at Uley, Selsley Common and Nympsfield to the west; Roman era remains at Frocester, West Hill near Uley, and Woodchester; the medieval buildings at Beverston Castle; and the outstanding Tudor houses at Newark Park and Owlpen Manor.

Excavations in 1883 found an opening to the north-east, from which there was access to a simple square chamber of one cell containing disarticulated human remains.

[18] The Iron Age tribesmen of Gloucestershire made their final stand against the massive Roman invasion on Minchinhampton Common.

were discovered in the grounds of the house at Brown's Hill, one mile north of Stroud, suggesting the existence of a Roman villa.

Remains of another Roman villa have been found in the parish of Painswick, on a farm called Highfield, about 1⁄2 mile (800 metres) northwest of the town.

[citation needed] The excavation at a site at Ebley Road in Stonehouse has revealed evidence of some of the earliest Roman activity known in the Stroud Valleys.

A large rectangular enclosure dating back to the 1st century AD was found and more than a dozen human skeletons were unearthed at the end of 2010.

Jasper Conran called Stroud "the Covent Garden of the Cotswolds";[35] the Daily Telegraph has referred to it as "the artistic equivalent of bookish Hay-on-Wye";[36] while the London Evening Standard likened the town to "Notting Hill with wellies".

The festival has been expanded to cover art and literature, as well as a diverse range of unsigned bands who lack a contract with a record label.

[clarification needed] With a number of outdoor stages, and the majority of the venues in town taking part, over 400 performers can be seen free of charge over the course of the weekend.

The Trust has produced a DVD, Rivers of Cloth, using archive film and interviews which was due to be released in early 2011 and a photographic survey of surviving woollen mills was undertaken for a book, Wool and Water, published in 2012.

In addition to the main displays there is a modern extension which includes a purpose-built art gallery showing a varied programme of exhibitions.

[48][49] In the late 1970s Stroud Campaign Against The Ringroad prevented Gloucestershire County Council's attempt to introduce new traffic plans.

After a short occupation a compromise was reached in the demolition of buildings in Cornhill with many being saved, including one identified as a medieval house.

[50] In 1989 Stroud District Council tried to fell at midnight thirteen trees in Stratford Park near the road, which attracted national and international attention.

Campaigners occupied the trees for the next six weeks while, with the help of Friends of the Earth, introducing the County Surveyor to 'traffic calming' which he agreed to adopt instead of changing the road alignment.

During the next five years County Surveyors' figures showed a fifty per cent decrease in accidents along this part of Stratford Road.

[54] The Uplands Post Office branch in Stroud was one of 26 in the county to shut as part of a nationwide programme to cut losses.

[55] In September 2010 the BNP scrapped plans to move their national media centre to Stroud after protests by local residents.

[56] In February 2012 NHS managers agreed to halt plans for Stroud General Hospital to be run by a social enterprise after local residents mounted a legal challenge in the High Court.

[63] The Old Town Hall is one of the oldest existing buildings in Stroud: originally referred to as the market house, it was built in 1596 and is still in occasional use today.

As Stroud time was roughly 9 minutes behind GMT and people kept missing the train, a railway clock was put up in 1858 at the bottom of High Street.

Novelists Sue Limb, Jilly Cooper and Katie Fforde, children's authors Jamila Gavin, John Dougherty Cindy Jefferies and Clive Dale, poet Jenny Joseph, and The Guardian's food critic Matthew Fort have followed in the footsteps of the Rev.

[citation needed] Since 1982 Stroud Athletic Club has organised an annual half marathon which takes place in October.

In 2006 and 2007 club members made up two-thirds of the County team that finished in silver and bronze places respectively in the National Open Water Championships.