In 1860 a fort was built on a high piece of land, just to the north west of the village, on the site of a building called Crown Hill, presumably because of its dominating position overlooking all the surrounding area.

Crownhill is the home of the divisional police headquarters and a Catholic boys comprehensive school.

The district is very popular because it is very close to the A38 Parkway/Devon Expressway and is near to the local general hospital at Derriford without being so far from the city centre four miles south that it is isolated and inaccessible as are so many of Plymouth's satellite suburbs.

"Union Street (Last Post)", a track on the 2006 album Witness by contemporary West Country folk duo Show of Hands, features Crownhill as the home of one of the song's subjects.

The song tells a tale of love and loss amongst the pubs and clubs of Union Street at the time of the Falklands Conflict.