Stone

Sister cities

• Bagnacavallo

History

There is a Bronze Age ring ditch at Pirehill suggesting occupation in prehistoric times. Stone lies within the territory of the Iron Age Celtic tribe 'the Cornovii' (people of the horn; perhaps a horned god or topographical feature), mentioned by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD in his Geography. To the north-west of Stone lies one of their hill forts, which overlooks the Trent and perhaps the salt production in the region. The early history of Stone is unclear and is clouded by the 12th century medieval romance concerning the murder of the Saxon princes Wulfad and Rufin by their father, Wulfhere of Mercia, who reputedly had his base near Darleston (Wulfherecester). The murder of Wulfad in the 7th century and his subsequent entombment under a cairn of stones is the traditional story (described as "historically valueless" by Thacker 1985: 6). The church built over the stones marking the graves of Wulfad and Rufin 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. Stone lay within the Pirehill hundred of Staffordshire named after nearby Pire Hill. In 1251 Henry III granted Stone a market charter. The Common Plot (also known as Mudley Pits) is a large area of open and wooded common land, sited just to the north of the town of Stone. It was reserved as an area of common land for the inhabitants of the town when the previous strip-farmed…