Listed Building record MDR10784 - Crewe and Harpur Arms, Swarkestone

This handsome inn stands at the south end of Swarkestone bridge facing towards the River Trent. The ancient bridge and causeway was at one time the only crossing of this major waterway between Burton and Nottingham, so the inn had a commanding position. It is built of warm red brick with a roof of graduated slates, probably from Swithland, Leics. The front stands right on the village street or lane that runs parallel to the river, and the inn has a garden on the river bank on the other side of the lane, from which there is a fine view of the bridge rebuilt in 1796 after the 1795 flood, and of the medieval causeway beyond. The western part of the north range appears to belong to the earliest phase of building, a three-storey building of the later 16th century. The inn was redesigned and rebuilt in the 1790s, perhaps in connection with the construction by the same Harpur-Crewe estate of the bridge. There have been many additions and alterations to the building, including the addition of a west wing about 1900. The stable must have been built soon after the inn. Across the road, Bridge Farm appears to be of a similar date but perhaps a lower position - was it perhaps a beer-house for the servants of the travellers at the inn? (1)