| Stone | |
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Stone
Stone shown within Staffordshire |
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| Population | 14,258 (2001 census) |
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| OS grid reference | SJ902342 |
| District | Stafford |
| Shire county | Staffordshire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STONE |
| Postcode district | ST15 |
| Dialling code | 01785 |
| Police | Staffordshire |
| Fire | Staffordshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Stone |
| List of places: UK • England • Staffordshire | |
Stone is an old market town in Staffordshire, England, situated about seven miles north of Stafford, and around seven miles south of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is the second town, after Stafford itself, in the Borough of Stafford, and has long been of importance from the point of view of communications. Stone gave its name to both an urban district council and a rural district council before becoming part of the borough in 1974. In 2001 it had a population of 14,555.
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Stone was the capital of early Mercia, a powerful Anglian kingdom that later expanded over most of what is now the West Midlands. Christianity arrived via monks from Lindisfarne around the year 650, King Penda of Mercia having invited them in. The capital was later moved to Stafford, and then to Tamworth.
A copper seal from the 7th century Stone Priory, and dated from the 14th century has recently been discovered by a metal detector in Cobham, Surrey. It will be displayed at St Michael and St Wulfad's church in Stone over the Christmas period.[1]
The Common Plot (aka Mudley Pits) is a large area of open and wooded common land sited just to the north of the town of Stone. Duke of Westmorland built extensive winter fortifications and a camp here, the traces of which can still be seen, during the Winter of 1745/50. The purpose of the camp was to bring the Duke's army down from the freezing Staffordshire Moorlands and Peak District, where they had been seeking to stop a clandestine advance on London by a force of 6,000 Jacobite rebels thought to be using the old pack-horse routes over the high country in order to reach Derby. Stone was also strategic in preventing any break-away Jacobite group going across to Wales to recruit more men there, which it became after the Jacobites took Derby. But with winter coming on, the Jacobites decided to retreat back to Scotland - and so there was no confrontation in England.
The place-name's meaning is exactly what is stated, a "stone, rock", from the Old English stān (stone).
The local story is that the town was named after the pile of stones taken from the River Trent raised on the graves of the two princes, Ruffin and Wulfad, killed in AD 665 by their father, King Wulfhere of Mercia, because of their conversion to Christianity.
The Church, built over these stones in 670 lasted until the 9th century before being destroyed by invading Danes. It was replaced in 1135 by the Augustinian Stone Priory, which survived until its dissolution in the reign of Henry VIII. The building collapsed in 1749 and the present church of St. Michael's was built in 1758. All that remains of the original priory is the rib-vaulted undercroft which forms the foundations beneath Priory House, which is located on Lichfield Street opposite the Frank Jordan Community Centre.
| 1801 | 2,843 |
|---|---|
| 1831 | 7,808 |
| 1841 | 8,349 |
| 1991 | 12,646 |
| 2001 | 14,258 |
Stone lay within the hundred of Staffordshire named after nearby Pirehill.[2]
In 1251, Henry III granted Stone a market charter.
Stone Urban District was an urban district. It was based on the Stone civil parish which equates to the town of Stone. There were two amendments in parts of the Stone Rural parish in Stone Rural District were transferred in. The district was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972.
The replacement Stone Town Council forms part of Stafford Borough Council.
Stone stands in the valley of the River Trent, and was an important stopping-off point for stagecoaches on one of the roads turnpiked in the 18th century. A directory for 1851 says that Stone was a very lively town, and a great thoroughfare for coaches, carriers and travellers…. No fewer than 38 stage coaches passed through the town daily. The main coaching route was the London to Holyhead route, via Watling Street as far as Lichfield and then from Lichfield to Holyhead via the A51.
To support the coaching trade Stone was a principle stopping point with many coaching inns to refresh both horses and travellers. Notable hostelries include the Crown Hotel, Crown & Anchor, Red Lion and the Black Horse Inn.
The River Trent, which runs through the town, had been used for cargo-carrying vessels since Roman times but further inland smaller boats could only be used. Seasonal fluctuations in water depth proved insurmountable, although cargo could be carried from the sea as far south as Wilden Ferry (southeast of Derby), where the River Derwent joins the Trent and increases the quantity of water, then onwards by road. Prior to tarmac roads, journeys overland by roads were slow and delicate wares were prone to breakages over the rough terrain.
James Brindley, the canal builder, put forward the scheme to build what he called the Grand Trunk Canal to connect the two rivers, Mersey and Trent in 1766. It was backed by Josiah Wedgwood who saw that it offered an efficient way to bring raw materials to the potteries and to transport finished wares to his customers.
By 29 September 1772 (Brindley died on 27 September), 48 miles of the Grand Trunk Canal (now known as the Trent and Mersey Canal) from Wilden Ferry to Stone was navigable — the length past Burton-on-Trent being completed in 1770.
On completion of the Star Lock a grand opening was held, during this opening a cannon was fired in celebration. However disaster struck and the cannon damaged the new lock, requiring a re-build.
Stone became the Headquarters of the canal company with its office at Westbridge House, sited then below Star Lock on what is now Westbridge Park. The offices were moved later to Stoke-on-Trent.
Due to the quality of the local water beneath Stone two brewers were located here carrying on the tradition of beer making that the Augustinian monks started. Firstly, the most notable, John Joules who brewed beer from 1758, although the brewery closed on the 31st October 1974 having been taken over by Bass of Burton. The canal played a great part in the export of Beer. Joules once owned a pair of boats that delivered coal to the brewery and as late as the 1950s had the telephone number ‘Stone 1’. Joules draught beer stores and bottling plant remains an imposing building on the canal and can be clearly identified by the red cross logo of John Joules in the brickwork.
The second brewer was Bents (of Liverpool and Stone)located on what is now Mount Industrial Estate. This brewery was also taken over by Bass and closed on the 31st March 1968. Although the brewing Industry in Stone ceased following the closure of Joules and Bents following aggressive take over from the nearby Burton upon Trent Brewers in the 1960s and 1970s, in recent years it has begun anew with the opening of the "Lymestone Brewery" in 2008. This family run micro brewery is based in part of the original Bents brewery.(www.lymestonebrewery.co.uk) More recently a second microbrewery, trading under the name Joules, dropping the 'John' due to trademark reasons, has begun brewing in Shropshire. A pint of both Lymestone and Joules can be tasted at the Swan Inn.
The Star Public House was fully licensed in 1819 although the building predates the canal by some 200 years. The building has in its time been a butcher’s shop and slaughterhouse. Stabling for boat horses was available up to the 1950s and the business relied heavily on the canal for trade.
The coming of the railway was to end Stone’s era as a coaching and canal town. The North Staffordshire Railway opened its main line from Stoke on Trent through Stone to Norton Bridge on 3 April 1848; the following year a branch line from Stone to Colwich began operating.
One industry that did flourish under the railway era was the shoe industry, at its height in 1851 there were 16 shoeworks. The industry however declined after Australia the main shoe market imposed an import tax on the industry.
Stone parish church, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, is at the south end of the town located on what used to be Stone Priory. It was commenced in 1753, and finished in 1758. The present clock tower was added later in 1896.
Christ Church stands on the north side of the town, where the population is still increasing. It was erected in 1839.
The canal still dominates the town. Many canal side sites have in recent times been taken over for modern day use including ‘The Moorings’ a development of apartments based on the old Stubbs warehouse and also apartments and housing surround the old Trent Hospital, once the Workhouse. Housing developments also border the canal. Commercial traffic has now been replaced by the leisure craft that pass through Stone each year. The Canal Cruising Company today operates from the historic site of the canal maintenance and boat building operations of the Trent and Mersey Canal Company. This restored docks complex with its workshops, by Yard Lock, continues to be used for the maintenance of pleasure craft and historic boats. In 2009, a new marina is due to be developed just south of the town, below Aston Lock with moorings for pleasure craft, a farm shop and a cafe.
State Education within Stone is based on the three tier school system. Starting with a range of first and Primary Schools, two middle schools (Walton Priory Middle and Christchurch Middle) and Alleyne's High School. Independent education is served by the Catholic St Dominic's Priory School founded with the convent of the same name in the 19th century by Mother Margaret Hallahan when the school was originally known as "Blessed Imelda's Enpension School"
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has its headquarters in Stone. Yarnfield Park Training and Conference Centre just outside the town is a major training centre for the UK telecommunications industry. It is owned by BT Group and run by Accenture.
The town is home to two football clubs, namely Stone Old Alleynians F.C. of the West Midlands Regional League and Stone Dominoes F.C. of the North West Counties League. Both teams share a fully enclosed floodlit stadium at Yarnfield, named Springbank Park. Staffordshire County Cricket Club play Minor Counties Championship matches at Lichfield Road, as do the towns cricket club, Stone Cricket Club.
Stone railway station, on the West Coast Main Line, serves the town.
Between 2004 and 2008 the town was no longer serviced by trains, due to an upgrade of the main line. During this period, trains were replaced by buses operated by BakerBus between Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford stations, where passengers could interchange with the express services. Virgin Trains and Cross Country Trains still operated express services between Manchester Piccadilly and London and southern England via Birmingham New Street which pass through the town, but did not stop. After local campaigning to bring the station back into full service, in December 2008 an hourly semi-fast direct service commenced operated by London Midland, south to London Euston via Stafford and the Trent Valley line and north to Crewe via Stoke-on-Trent.[3]
Local bus services are operated by First PMT and Bakerbus. Two trunk roads go through the town, the A34 linking Birmingham to Manchester and the A51 linking Lichfield to Chester. Stone is by-passed by the M6 motorway.
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