#234 Crown & Anchor, Stone, Staffs : 1991 to 2016

The town of Stone (between Stoke and Stafford) is a notable location on the Trent and Mersey Canal. Approximately at the mid-point of the waterway it was once home to the company that owned the canal and was the place where many of the original plans were formulated. 

However, more importantly, it is a town with a good number of pubs, so it is always a poipular stopping place for us. The Crown & Anchor isn't canalside, but it is only a short walk from the cut. Our first visit was on the evening of Friday 26th July 1991 during the journey that took Emma Jane from Adlington (on the Leeds & Liverpol Canal) to, ultimately, Cowley Peachey (on the Grand Union Canal).

I don't remember much about it and with plenty of other pubs to choose from, we didn't return until the evening of Tuesday 29th August 2000.

This was a completely unscheduled visit as we'd passed through Stone that afternoon and were moored at Barlaston. Unbeknownst to us the Plume of Feathers at Barlaston was closed and we needed an alternative! One of the good things about canal trips is that, although it may have taken 3+ hours to get somewhere, it's only a 10 - 15 minute taxi ride back...so we chose Stone as a safe bet. As I recall the pub was largely unchanged.

Our next visit was on the evening of Monday 22nd August 2005.

Subtle changes from 1991 are visible (if you look carefully enough) but to all intents and purposes it is stil the same as before.

It was quite a number of years before we ventured back to the Crown & Anchor, this time there were many changes.

This visit was on the evening of Sunday 27th March 2016 as part of our Easter trip to Stoke. The pub had been completely refurbished inside (as a more dining led pub) and some minor changes outside. The one main external change is the removal of the distictive  hanging sign from the gable end of the pub.

#024 Radford Bank, Weeping Cross, Stafford : 1991 to 2011

My first experience of this pub was in 1991 on our journey from Wigan to Lapworth. In those days it was called The Trumpet and was a proper pub although I don't really remember too much about it.

 This photo was taken at lunchtime on Sunday 28th July 1991. All I really remember about the visit was that, when we left, the boat wouldn't start and I thought we were going to be stranded there. Mysteriously, though, the engine finally sprang into life and we didn't have any more problems with it on that trip!

It wasn't until 2003 that we made a return visit only to find that it was now called The Radford Bank Inn and that it had become a carvery pub. In many ways this wasn't a problem, except that it was a lunchtime visit and we only wanted a sandwich which they were unable/unwilling to serve.

Photo taken Monday 25th August 2003.

Our next visit was this year and the picture was taken on Sunday 4th September. The place is now called, simply, Radford Bank and is part of the Crown Carvery chain.

Since 2003 it has obviously had a lot of money spent on it to bring it up to standard. As this was a Sunday and one of the few nice days of our holiday the place was packed. This time we were prepared and were happy to eat a carvery which was reasonably good and good value for money. I'm not a great fan of carveries as the food tends to be quite good at best, but they do seem to be very, very popular!!

After finishing our meal in a very crowded downstairs area I discovered a very pleasant bar upstairs (at road level). It was well decorated, clean, modern and you could almost imagine that you were in a proper pub!