Swarkestone

The ancient village of Swarkestone originated at a crossing point of the River Trent. This small village has also been, quite literally, a turning point in history. The Swarkestone Bridge, with its seven arches and three-quarter-mile long causeway, is the longest stone bridge in England and holds Grade I listed building status. In 1745, during the second Jacobite Rebellion, Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army reached Derby and made arrangements for the capture of the strategically important Swarkestone Bridge. It was the only bridge on the River Trent between Burton and Nottingham. Had they managed to cross it at this point, they would have faced no other natural barriers on their 120-mile march to London. As it transpired, the army retreated and fled north. If the march had continued, it would probably have been successful and the whole course of British history could have changed. In memory of this important event, a cairn has been erected at Swarkestone Bridge to mark the southern most point reached by Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army.

The tiny Parish Church of St James was so heavily restored between 1874 and 1876 that little now remains of the original church, apart form the southwest tower and the Harpur Chapel. The chapel contains tomb chests of Richard Harpur (1573), who was one of Queen Elizabeth’s judges, and Sir John Harpur, who died in 1627. Close to the parish church are the scanty remains of old Harpur Hall (the precursor of Calke Abbey) which includes a Jacobean grandstand (now a Landmark Trust property) to a bowling green or bull-baiting ring. Most of the Hall remains date to about 1630.

Excavations in the village of Swarkestone, at Lowes Farm, led to the discovery that the district was occupied in the Bronze Age and also in Saxon times. Iron Age remains were found here when the A50 was constructed.