Swarkestone Hall Pavilion has witnessed bull-baiting, a Jacobite army – and the Rolling Stones
Swarkestone Hall Pavilion in Derbyshire is an architectural mystery and a half. It has a grand presence all by itself in the middle of a country field. Sombre yet majestic, with its own walled enclosure – what in heaven’s name was it used for? It was built between 1630 and 1632, and its roles have been many and various. There is evidence for payment for its being a ‘bowle alley house’ with a bowling green – created to the tune of £111 12s 4d. A most plausible consideration is that it was a grandstand for viewing the coursing of deer, as there is a large room with a fireplace, which suggests the creation of comfort for the spectators. The walled enclosure – according to Sir Nikolaus Pevsner in his Derbyshire volume of The Buildings of England – stands in the large field known as ‘The Cuttle’, used for the vile...
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