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Stony Stratford (sometimes shortened to Stony) is a town in the Unitary Authority of Milton Keynes, England. It is located on the border with Northamptonshire, just north of and joined to Milton Keynes itself. Prior to boundary changes in the 1990s the town was in Buckinghamshire.
The town name 'Stratford' is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'ford on a Roman road'. The Roman road in this sense is the Watling Street that runs through the middle of the town. The prefix 'Stony' refers to the stones on the bed of the ford, differentiating the town from nearby Fenny Stratford.
Stony Stratford was the location where, in 1290, an Eleanor cross was built in memory of the recently deceased Eleanor of Castile. The cross was destroyed during the English Civil War.
There has been a market in Stony Stratford since 1460.
Stony Stratford was reputedly the last place that King Edward V was seen alive in public. It was here that his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester met him to become his legal guardian before taking him to London.
The town has twice become almost completely consumed by fire, the first time in 1736 and the second in 1742. The only building to escape the second fire was the parish church of St Mary Magdalen.
The common phrase A cock and bull story originates here. The two pubs in the centre of town are The Cock and The Bull and the gossip that used to pass between the two was renowned to get out of hand.
Today Stony Stratford is a busy market town on the periphery of Milton Keynes, and is considered by many to be quite picturesque.
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