The Crown

A popular pub name across some six centuries it fell out of favour for a brief period under Cromwell’s reign but rapidly returned with the Restoration in 1660. The erstwhile Crown Inn, No.22 Chapel Street, Stonehouse, however is not quite that old. Time was when the Three Towns had four Crowns between them, as well as the Crown & Sceptre, Crown & Anchor, two New Crowns and two Rose & Crowns. Today the word survives only in the Crown & Column, behind Devonport Column, although a few of the others still stand, but are either no longer pubs or now operate under another name.

Curiously enough the Crown, a victim of enemy bombing in World War II, was known in the middle of the nineteenth century as the Freemason’s Arms, while there was another Crown at No.1 Chapel Street. The change appears to have come around 1890 when the premises were re-launched as “the Crown Wine and Spirit Vaults, with New American Bowling Saloon”, all under the proprietorship of J Stephens.

Licensees

1830 - John Parsons
1850 - Jemima Beale
1862 - G Elworthy
1865 - Stephen Sloggett
1873 - James Cook
1877 - John MaCambridge
1880 - E Harris
1882 - T Webber
1885 - F Romie
1888 - James Holland
1890 - J Stephens
1898 - George Ewens
1901 - J Grigg
1911 - Lena Lamble Leslie
1920 - Robert Middlemiss
1922 - Robert Heath
1925 - Harry Lake
1926 - John Thomas Rutter
1926 - John Northcote
1938 - William Edwards
1939 - Orlando Eathorne Bennett
1941 - John Northcote