Swarkestone Old Hall, Derbyshire

J. W. (19th century). Oil painting on panel, Swarkestone Old Hall, Derbyshire by J.W. (19th century). The Old Hall, a cream coloured building is set in trees beside a river, to the left of it are a collection of buildings and a church. Swakestone Old Hall is where the Harpurs lived before they moved to Calke Abbey after the Civil War. “There is a small gabled house close to the river, perhaps an appendage of the great house, perhaps built to replace it. The massive walls surrounding the farm, and some of its outbuildings, contain the empty fireplaces and windows of this once great mansion….The church was largely rebuilt in 1876. The Harpur chapel contains a number of monuments, notably the two alabaster tombs to Richard Harpur and his wife (1577) and Sir John and is wife (1627).” Shell Guide to Derbyshire by Henry Thorold, London 1972, p.115. Calke Abbey, Derbyshire (Accredited Museum)