Description: Shardlow, situated 8 miles south east of Derby, just off the A6, was once a considerable inland port on the river Trent. There was a settlement here at the time of Domesday, when the area belonged to the Abbey of Chester and the village was known as Serdelov. It was clustered around the crossroads where the track from Aston to Wilne crossed the route from Derby to the Trent. A horse drawn ferry was used to cross the river but this was replaced in 1760 by Cavendish Bridge (Seen here) and tolls had to be paid to cross it. The stone giving the toll charges is still displayed on the roadside approaching the modern Cavendish Bridge, a replacement for the old one that collapsed through floods in 1947. The original bridge (seen here) crossed the river a hundred yards or so upstream of the current bridge, joining the road near the old Crown Inn. A new section of road was built (near todays Shardlow Marina) which straightened the road, rejoining the old road at the old Cavendish Bridge Brewery buildings.