Stone offers two distinct areas of interest for visitors: architectural and church history, and play and sports facilities. When looking for a holiday apartment in Stone, this distinction is a useful first step: consider whether historic architecture or leisure activities will play a bigger part in your stay. The specific examples range from medieval Stone Castle to Stone Recreation Ground.

Castle Tower and Stories of Travel

Stone Castle includes a medieval square tower with three storeys, faced with dressed flint. It probably dates from the late 12th century.

Cardinal Wolsey is also associated with the castle: he is said to have stayed at Stone Castle on his way to Calais. This traditional account of his journey adds a historical connection to a well-known figure to the architectural features, without establishing that his stay there is certain.

Church Art and Architectural History

The Church of St Mary has a distinctive style of its own: it was built of flint with sandstone ornamentation. Remains of late 13th-century wall paintings can be found in the north aisle.

The Chapel of St Luke at Stone House Hospital represents a different period. Andrew Murray, City Surveyor of the City of London, built it between 1898 and 1901. Its importance lies not only in its architectural history: the chapel makes a significant contribution to the architectural and social history of the Stone House Hospital site. Along with the medieval tower and the remains of the wall paintings, it broadens the picture of Stone to include a building dating from around 1900.

Play and Sports at Stone Recreation Ground

Visitors looking for other things to do will find a clearly specified range of play and sports facilities at Stone Recreation Ground: a children’s playground, a youth zone with a basketball court, three junior football pitches, two adult football pitches, and a cricket pitch. The facilities offer both play opportunities and several sports; the football pitches are also divided between those for juniors and adults.

These details give the recreation ground a different character from the historic buildings: here, play and organised sport take centre stage, while the buildings offer architecture, church art, and traditional accounts of local history. This can help with planning your trip if you are weighing up which aspects of Stone you would like to explore, without requiring you to follow a fixed itinerary.

Choose the Right Focus for Your Stay

If historic architectural styles and church art are of particular interest, the castle, Church of St Mary, and Chapel of St Luke offer different points of interest. If play and sports facilities are more important to your plans, Stone Recreation Ground’s facilities are a useful reference point.

Discover more destinations: East Brabourne, Ivychurch, Wrotham, Hartley, Sandwich, Biddenden, Littlebourne, Hawkhurst

See the broader travel guide: Kent.