Swarkestone
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Swarkestone is a village in Derbyshire, England.
Swarkestone has a very old village church, a full cricket pitch, the Crewe and Harpur pub, a canal with locks, moorings and a canalside tea-rooms.
The ancient bridge at Swarkestone crosses the River Trent about six miles south of Derby and was for about three hundred years the Midlands main crossing of the Trent. The bridge is in total just under a mile long and has seventeen arches. It was built in the thirteenth century to cross the river and its surrounding marshes. It is the longest stone bridge in England and holds Grade I listed building status.
Unfortunately the bridge is rather undersized for modern traffic, and is scarcely two-lane for cars at several points. Though there is a weight limit of 7.5 tonnes, the walls of the bridge often take damage from traffic. At the southern side of the bridge is Stanton-by-bridge.
In the Battle of Swarkestone bridge during the English Civil War (1643) it was defended by the Royalists against the Parliamentarians, but the outnumbered Cavaliers lost the day.
In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie turned his advancing army back to Culloden making it the furthest southern point made on his armies advance towards London
Nearby is the Jacobean Grandstand and walled area, formerly connected with Harpur hall, where they used to bait bulls.
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