Crown Meadow is part of the Stone Meadows Local Nature Reserve. It is a conservation area that is made up of three separate meadows next to the river Trent as it flows past Stone.
This location is part of a conservation project to protect the town's water meadow.
The board located near the car park faces the meadow. It gives information and photographs of some of the wildflowers that can be found growing in Crown Meadow such as, speedwell, cuckoo flower, ragged robin and meadowsweet to name just a few.
The board also includes a map of the area and information about the history and geography of the meadow.
"Crown Meadow
Crown Meadow is already a well-known and well-used wildlife site at the heart of Stone. In partnership with Stone Town Council we are aiming to make a number of enhancements to the meadow which will increase its wildlife value. Over recent years, wildflower seed has been sown on the main field, which is managed as a hay meadow. We hope to restore the flora of a traditional flood plain meadow to the site to make it more pleasant and wildlife-friendly. Stone Town Council has recently added an attractive new information sign at the main entrance." Source: (
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"The Crown Meadow as we know it today has a fascinating history. Mr William Bowers, who was a town historian in the early part of the twentieth century, wrote in his notes that he had been told that Crown Meadow was the site of one of the tented camps used by the navigators building the Stone stretch of the Trent & Mersey Canal in the 1770s, but he had not found any documentary evidence to substantiate this. Logically it would have been the ideal site –close to the town for food and drink, right by the workings and by the River Trent for disposal of waste from the latrines!
The Meadow was originally known as “Antelope Field” as it originally formed part of the land belonging to the “Antelope Inn” which stood at the bottom of the High Street. Like most of the land and buildings in the town centre Earl Granville owned it.
On 19th April 1881 the Earl sold off a large part of his land in Stone at an auction held at the Crown Hotel. The Earl was selling off the land to reinvest the money in his industrial interest that included the steel works at Shelton Bar. The meadow was lot 35 and was described as “Antelope Meadow” and was leased by Mr Francis Nicklin, the proprietor of the Crown Hotel.
The Crown itself was also included in the sale and this and the meadow were sold to James Glover & Sons, Brewers of Longton. Both of the properties passed to John Joule & Sons when they purchased Glovers Brewery in 1889.
The Crown used the meadow to exercise the horses that were used to pull the mail coaches etc and for the horses in their livery stables.
The meadow was also used for the horses that were used to pull the town’s steam fire engine that was known as “Edith Mabel”. When the fire alarm was sounded the firemen had to light the boiler of the engine and then go of to catch the horses in Crown Meadow. Apparently the horses knew the signal and when the heard the fire bell sound they would be eagerly waiting at the gate ready to do their duty.
The Crown Meadow was also the site of one of the cockpits in Stone. A notice dated 28th February 1751 states:
“Cock Fighting”
This is to give notice that there is to be a Main of Cocks between the Gentlemen of Derbyshire and Staffordshire
At the Crown Inn, Stone for ten Guineas a Battle, and Sixty the Main.
To weigh 27 cocks on each side and ten for Bye Battles
Upon Wednesday, the 20th March next and the two following days.
It is interesting to note that a the bowl of an old clay pipe in the form of a cock’s claw was found on the Meadow in 1926 and this is now part of the Town Council’s collection of artefacts.
The Meadow also featured in the Town Wakes. An account of the Wakes written in 1909 and referring to the Wakes 60 year’s earlier states:
“Hurdle Racing and handicap running was in the Crown Meadow. Old Billy Brown, the Pet of the town, was a great mover there. I heard them say he breasted the tape 21 times out of 21 races. Then you know we had a grand time in the cockpit in the Crown Meadow. I have seen as man as 20 men fighting at a time in it. They used to fall out, and everything would be kept up till the wakes, and then all disputes would be settled in the cockpit. The district constable used to stand and look on. He could do nothing.”
The Meadow remained the property of Joules Brewery and infact they used part of it along by the canal as a waste tip. It remained in their ownership until the Town Council purchased it (it was referred to at the time as “the green lung between Walton and Stone”.)
However the Brewery retained a small part of the Meadow by the rear of The Star Inn, the idea being that if they developed the pub they could put a bridge across the Scotch Brook and put a carpark on the meadow side. However the idea was abandoned at the Town Council were able to buy another part of the land.
As we have seen the Meadow was used in the past for recreation and in 2001 it was used to host a jousting tournament to mark the 750th Anniversary of the Granting of the Town’s Market Charter.
Part of the land has been scrapped to form a water meadow which has been planted with wild flowers and recently a survey has been undertaken to list of wild flowers in the meadow
Although perhaps a small area of land between Stone and Walton Crown Meadow has played an interesting role in the history of Stone." Source: (
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