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STONE
Stanes (xi and xiii cent.).
The parish of Stone has an area of 2,516 acres, of which 17 acres are covered by water, 1,405 acres are arable land, 415 permanent grass, and 90 wood. (fn. 1) It is situated immediately south-east of Kidderminster, from which it is divided by the River Stour and by one of its tributaries. There is a rifle range for volunteers on the left bank of the river. Besides the village there are three hamlets: Hoo rook in the west and partly in the foreign of Kidderminster, Dunclent half a mile north of the village, and Shenstone 1½ miles south. The village is in the north-east of the parish, and is 2 miles from each of the stations of Kidderminster and Hartlebury, and on the Kidderminster and Bromsgrove road. From this road Cursley Lane branches off near Mustow Green, and forming part of the eastern boundary of Stone runs south and joins the main road from Kidderminster to Droitwich. The last road, which passes through the west of Stone to Hartlebury, forms the southern boundary of this parish for some distance. Branches from it running in a north-easterly direction cross the parish, one called Stanklin Lane leading to the village of Stone, and the other passing through Shenstone to Chaddesley Corbett. The land rises gradually from the Stour to a height of 287 ft. above the ordnance datum in the east. Stour Hill, a little to the east of the river, is partly in this parish and partly in Hartlebury.
The parish was inclosed under an Act of 1762–3, and the award is dated 20 December 1763. (fn. 2) The soil is loamy, lying partly on the Keuper Sandstones and partly on the Bunter Pebble beds. The population is now chiefly engaged in agriculture, the most important crops being wheat, beans, barley and potatoes. Paper and yarn-mills were formerly worked at Hoobrook, but are now disused. There are two schools in the parish, one in the village of Stone, and the other, an infants' school, at Hoobrook. A third school was built at Shenstone in 1882, but never opened for want of funds, and is now used as a barn.

From: 'Parishes: Stone', A History of the County of Worcester: volume 3 (1913), pp. 210-13. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43111. Date accessed: 09 January 2007.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Named after Gertrude Cursley 1881 - 1918

Killed in the Chilwell Explosion.