Buxton is a
spa townA spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
in
DerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It has the highest elevation of any
market townMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in England. Located close to the county boundary with
CheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
to the west and
StaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the
Peak District National ParkThe Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
". A
municipal boroughMunicipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
until 1974, Buxton was then merged with other localities including
GlossopGlossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...
, lying primarily to the north, to form the
local government districtNon-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
and borough of High Peak within the
countyA county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Derbyshire. Buxton is within the sphere of influence of
Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
due to its close proximity to the area.
Buxton is home to
Poole's CavernPoole's Cavern or Poole's Hole is a 2 million year old, natural limestone cave south of Buxton in the Peak District, in the county of Derbyshire, England...
, an extensive limestone cavern open to the public, and St Ann's Well, fed by the geothermal spring bottled and sold internationally by Buxton Mineral Water Company. Also in the town is the
Buxton Opera HouseBuxton Opera House is in The Square, Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is a 902-seat opera house that hosts the annual Buxton Festival and International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, among others, as well as pantomime at Christmas, musicals and other entertainments year-round. Hosting live...
, which hosts several music and theatre festivals each year. The Devonshire Campus of the
University of DerbyThe University of Derby is a university in the city of Derby, England. The main site is on Kedleston Road, Allestree in the north-west of Derby close to the A38 opposite Markeaton Park...
is housed in one of the town's historic buildings.
Buxton is
twinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with two other towns:
OigniesOignies is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Oignies is a former coalmining town, nowadays a light industrial town, northeast of Lens, at the junction of the D46 and the D160 roads...
in France and
Bad NauheimBad Nauheim is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. , Bad Nauheim has a population of 30,365. The town is located approximately 35 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a world-famous resort, noted for its salt...
in Germany.
Geology
Built on the boundary of the Lower
CarboniferousThe Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
limestone and the Upper Carboniferous
shaleShale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
, sandstone and
gritstoneGritstone or Grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for paper and for grindstones to sharpen blades. "Grit" is...
, the original settlement was largely of limestone construction, of which only the parish church of St Anne, built in 1625, remains. The present buildings, of locally quarried sandstone, mostly date from the late 18th century.
At the southern edge of the town the
River WyeThe River Wye is a limestone river in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. It is in length, and is one of the major tributaries of the River Derwent, which flows into the River Trent, and ultimately into the Humber and the North Sea....
has carved an extensive limestone cavern, known as
Poole's CavernPoole's Cavern or Poole's Hole is a 2 million year old, natural limestone cave south of Buxton in the Peak District, in the county of Derbyshire, England...
, whose more than 300 metres of chambers are open to the public. The cavern contains Derbyshire's largest
stalactiteA stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
. There are also unique 'poached egg'
stalagmiteA stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern. The corresponding formation on...
s. There are various stories connected with the cavern, such as that of a notorious local highwayman called Poole, who gives the cavern its name.
Daniel DefoeDaniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
called the cavern one of the wonders of the Peaks.
History
Built on the River Wye, and overlooked by
Axe Edge MoorAxe Edge Moor is the major moorland west of Buxton in the Peak District. It is mainly gritstone . Its highest point is at . This is slightly lower than Shining Tor .The moor is the source of the River Dove, River Manifold, River Dane, River Wye and River Goyt...
, Buxton has a long history as a spa town due to its geothermal spring which rises at a constant temperature of 28 °C. The source of the spring is behind Eagle Parade and piped to St Ann's Well (often mistaken for the source) opposite the
CrescentBuxton Crescent is a Grade-1 listed building in the town of Buxton, Derbyshire, England.Owing much to the Royal Crescent in Bath, but described by the Royal Institution of British Architects as "more richly decorated and altogether more complex",...
near the town centre. Each summer the wells are decorated according to the local tradition of
well dressingWell dressing is a summer custom practised in rural England in which wells, springs or other water sources are decorated with designs created from flower petals...
. The well dressing weekend has developed to become something of a town carnival, including live music and
funfairA funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
.
The
RomansThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
developed the settlement when it was known as Aquae Arnemetiae (or the spa of the goddess of the grove). Findings of coins indicate that the Romans were in Buxton throughout their occupation. The town largely grew in importance in the late 18th century when it was developed by the
Dukes of DevonshireDuke of Devonshire is a title in the peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and have been rivalled in political influence perhaps only...
, with a second resurgence a century later as the
VictorianThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
s were drawn to the reputed healing properties of the waters.
The Dukes of Devonshire have been closely involved with Buxton since 1780, when the 5th Duke used the profits from his
copperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
mines to develop the town as a spa in the style of Bath. Their ancestor
Bess of HardwickElizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (c. 1521 – 13 February 1608, known as Bess of Hardwick, was the daughter of John Hardwick, of Derbyshire and Elizabeth Leeke, daughter of Thomas Leeke and Margaret Fox...
had taken one of her four husbands, the
Earl of ShrewsburyGeorge Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal was a 16th century English statesman.-Life:...
, to "take the waters" at Buxton shortly after he became the gaoler of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1569, and they took Mary there in 1573. She called Buxton "
La Fontagne de Bogsby", but stayed at the site of the Old Hall Hotel. The area figures in the poetry of
W. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
and the novels of
Jane AustenJane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
and
Emily BronteEmily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
.
Instrumental in the popularity of Buxton was the recommendation by Dr.
Erasmus DarwinErasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
of the waters at Buxton and Matlock to
Josiah WedgwoodJosiah Wedgwood was an English potter, founder of the Wedgwood company, credited with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery. A prominent abolitionist, Wedgwood is remembered for his "Am I Not A Man And A Brother?" anti-slavery medallion. He was a member of the Darwin–Wedgwood family...
I. The Wedgwood family subsequently often journeyed to Buxton on holiday and recommended the area to their friends. Two of
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
's half-cousins,
Edward Levett DarwinCapt. Edward Levett Darwin , author under the pen-name High Elms of Gameskeeper's Manual, a guide for gamekeepers on large estates which shows keen observation of the habits of various animals....
and Reginald Darwin also decided to settle there.
The introduction of the railway to the town in 1863 considerably stimulated its growth; the population of 1,800 in 1861 had grown to over 6,000 by 1881.
Notable architecture
- The Crescent
Buxton Crescent is a Grade-1 listed building in the town of Buxton, Derbyshire, England.Owing much to the Royal Crescent in Bath, but described by the Royal Institution of British Architects as "more richly decorated and altogether more complex",...
(1780–1784) was modelled on Bath's Royal CrescentThe Royal Crescent is a residential road of 30 houses laid out in a crescent in the city of Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom and is a grade I...
by John Carr along with the neighbouring irregular octagon and colonnade of the Great Stables. The Crescent incorporates a grand assembly room with a fine painted ceiling. Nearby stands the elegant and imposing monument to Samuel Turner (1805–1878), treasurer of the Devonshire Hospital and Buxton Bath Charity, built in 1879 and accidentally lost for the latter part of the 20th century during construction work before being found and restored in 1994.
- The Devonshire Dome (1780–1789) was created from the Great Stables, converted in 1859 by Henry Currey, architect to the 7th Duke of Devonshire. It became the Devonshire Royal Hospital (now the Devonshire Campus of the University of Derby
The University of Derby is a university in the city of Derby, England. The main site is on Kedleston Road, Allestree in the north-west of Derby close to the A38 opposite Markeaton Park...
). Later phases of the conversion were by local architect Robert Rippon DukeRobert Rippon Duke was a famous architect who designed the Octagon and remodeled the Devonshire Hospital in Buxton, Derbyshire. The Octagon was first opened to the public in 1876...
including his design for what was the world's largest unsupported domeA dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
with a diameter of 44 m (144.356 ft), beating the PantheonThe Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
(43 metres (141.1 ft)) and St Peter's Basilica 42 m (137.794 ft) in Rome, and St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
(34 metres (111.5 ft)). However, this record is now routinely surpassed by space frameA space frame or space structure is a truss-like, lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports...
domes such as the Georgia DomeThe Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
(256 metres (839.9 ft)). The main building and its surrounding Victorian villas are now part of the University of DerbyThe University of Derby is a university in the city of Derby, England. The main site is on Kedleston Road, Allestree in the north-west of Derby close to the A38 opposite Markeaton Park...
. Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of DevonshirePeregrine Andrew Morny Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire, KCVO, CBE , is a British peer. He is the only surviving son of the 11th Duke of Devonshire and his wife, the former Deborah Mitford. He succeeded to the dukedom following the death of his father on 3 May 2004...
was appointed Chancellor of the university in October 2008, a five-year appointment.
- Buxton Opera House
Buxton Opera House is in The Square, Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is a 902-seat opera house that hosts the annual Buxton Festival and International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, among others, as well as pantomime at Christmas, musicals and other entertainments year-round. Hosting live...
was designed by Frank MatchamFrank Matcham was a famous English theatrical architect. He is buried in Highgate Cemetery.-Early career:...
in 1903 and is the highest opera house in the country. He was a prolific theatrical architectAn architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and also designed several LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
theatres, including the London PalladiumThe London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
, the London ColiseumThe London Coliseum is an opera house and major performing venue on St. Martin's Lane, central London. It is one of London's largest and best equipped theatres and opened in 1904, designed by theatrical architect Frank Matcham , for impresario Oswald Stoll...
and the Hackney EmpireThe Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney, built in 1901 as a music hall.-History:Hackney Empire is a grade II* listed building...
. It is attached to the Pavilion Gardens, Octagonal Hall (built in 1875) and the smaller Pavilion Arts Centre (see below). The Pavilion Gardens, designed by Edward MilnerEdward Milner was an English landscape architect.-Early life and career:Edward Milner was born in Darley, Derbyshire, the eldest child of Henry Milner and Mary née Scales. Henry Milner was employed at Chatsworth by William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, as a gardener and porter...
, contain 93,000 m² of gardens and ponds and were opened in 1871. Opposite is an original Penfold octagonal post box.
- Buxton railway station was designed by Joseph Paxton
Sir Joseph Paxton was an English gardener and architect, best known for designing The Crystal Palace.-Early life:...
, who also designed the layout of the Park Road circular estate. He is perhaps more famous for his design of the Crystal PalaceThe Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
in London.
- The Pavilion Gardens, by Jeffry Wyattville
Sir Jeffry Wyattville was an English architect and garden designer. His original surname was Wyatt, and his name is sometimes also written as Jeffrey and his surname as Wyatville; he changed his name in 1824.He was trained by his uncles Samuel Wyatt and James Wyatt, who were both leading architects...
.
- The Natural Baths, by Henry Currey, sit on the site of the original Roman baths. The building was opened in 1854 and re-developed as an arcade in 1987, featuring a barrel vaulted stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
canopy — the largest stained glass window in Britain — designed by Brian Clarke.
- The Pump Room, also by Currey, was built in 1884 opposite the Crescent. Visitors could 'take the waters' until 1981. Between 1981 and 1995 the building housed the unique Micrarium Exhibition. The building is being refurbished as part of the National Lottery
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
-funded Buxton Crescent and Thermal Spa re-development. Beside it, added in 1940, stands St Ann’s Well.
- The 122-room Palace Hotel, built in 1868, is a prominent feature of the Buxton skyline, situated on the hill above the railway station. It was also designed by Currey.
- The Old Hall Hotel is one of the oldest buildings in Buxton. It was owned by the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, George Talbot. He and his wife, Bess of Hardwick, were the "gaolers" of Mary, Queen of Scots. She came to Buxton several times to take the waters, the last of which was in 1584. The present building dates from 1670 and has a five-bay front with a Tuscan
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
doorway.
- The town is overlooked by two highly visible landmarks. Atop Grinlow Hill, 1,441 feet (439 m) above sea level, is Grinlow Tower (locally also called "Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as Grinlow Tower, is a Victorian Folly near the spa town of Buxton in the Derbyshire Peak District.It is said to have been built by Solomon Mycock in the 1890s, paid for by public subscription to provide work for the locally unemployed with assistance of the seventh...
"), a two-storey granite, crooked, crenelated folly built in 1834 by Solomon Mycock to provide work for the town's unemployed and later restored in 1996 after a lengthy closure to the public. In the other direction, on Corbar Hill, 1,433 feet (437 m) above sea level, stands Corbar Cross, a tall, simple, wooden cross. Originally given to the Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
by the Duke of Devonshire in 1950 to commemorate Holy Year, it was replaced in the 1980s but cut down in 2010 during the visit of Pope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
to the UK as a protest against a long history of child abuse at the Catholic St Williams School, Market WeightonMarket Weighton is a small town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is one of the main market towns in the East Yorkshire Wolds and lies midway between Hull and York, about from either one...
, YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. The Buxton ecumenical group Churches Together organised several benefactors to replace the cross in May 2011.
Culture
Cultural events in Buxton include the annual
Buxton FestivalThe Buxton Festival is an annual summer festival of opera, music, and a literary series, held in Buxton, Derbyshire in England since it began in July 1979.-History:...
and the
International Gilbert and Sullivan FestivalThe International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival is held every summer at the Opera House in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. The three-week Festival of Gilbert and Sullivan performances and fringe events attracts thousands of visitors, including performers, supporters, and G&S enthusiasts from all...
, among other festivals and performances held in the Opera House and other venues. The
Buxton Museum & Art GalleryBuxton Museum and Art Gallery focuses its collection on history, geology and archaeology.The museum is located at Terrace Road, Buxton, England. The museum opens every day but Mondays...
offers year-round exhibitions.
The
Buxton FestivalThe Buxton Festival is an annual summer festival of opera, music, and a literary series, held in Buxton, Derbyshire in England since it began in July 1979.-History:...
, founded in 1979, runs for about three weeks in July at various venues including the Opera House. The programme includes literary events in the mornings, concerts and recitals in the afternoon, and operas, many of them rarely-performed, in the evenings. There has been a noticeable increase in the quality of the operatic programme in recent years, after decades when, according to critic
Rupert ChristiansenRupert Christiansen is an English writer, journalist and critic, grandson of Arthur Christiansen and son of Kay and Michael Christiansen . Born in London, he was educated at Millfield and King's College, Cambridge, where he took a double first in English...
, the festival featured "work of such mediocre quality that I just longed for someone to put it out of its misery." Running alongside it is the
Buxton Festival Fringe, which is known as a warm-up for the Edinburgh Fringe. The Buxton fringe features drama, music, dance, comedy, music, poetry, art exhibitions and films in various venues around the town. In 2009 there were over 500 events from over 140 entrants.
The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, founded in 1994, runs for over three weeks from the end of July through most of August. It is an adjudicated competition, held in the Opera House, comprising over a dozen amateur G&S troupes, while professional performances are given on the weekends. There are dozens of fringe events in the adjoining Pavilion Arts Centre and elsewhere, during the daytime and as an alternative to the evening operas in the Opera House. The week-long
Four Four Time music festival is held every February and features a variety of
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
,
popPop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
,
folkFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, blues,
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and
world musicWorld music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
.
The Opera House has a year-long programme of drama, concerts, comedy and other events. In September 2010, following a £2.5 million reconstruction, the former Paxton Suite in the Pavilion Gardens was re-opened as a performance venue called the Pavilion Arts Centre. The centre, located behind the Opera House, includes a 369-seat auditorium. The stage area can be converted into a separate 93-seat studio theatre.
The
Buxton Museum & Art GalleryBuxton Museum and Art Gallery focuses its collection on history, geology and archaeology.The museum is located at Terrace Road, Buxton, England. The museum opens every day but Mondays...
has a permanent collection of local artefacts, geological and archaeological samples (including the
William Boyd DawkinsProfessor Sir William Boyd Dawkins, FRS, KBE was a British geologist and archaeologist. He was a member of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, Curator of the Manchester Museum and Professor of Geology at Owens College, Manchester. He is noted for his research on fossils and the antiquity of man...
collection) and 19th and 20th century paintings, including works by Brangwyn, Chagall, Chahine and their contemporaries. There are also regular exhibitions by local and regional artists and various other events. The Pavilion Gardens hosts regular arts, crafts,
antiquesAn antique is an old collectible item. It is collected or desirable because of its age , beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features...
and
jewelleryJewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
fairs.
Economy
Buxton has a mixed economy including tourism, retail, quarrying, scientific research, light industry and mineral water bottling. The University of Derby is a significant employer.
The town is surrounded by the Peak District National Park and offers a range of cultural events; tourism is a major industry, with more than a million visitors to Buxton each year. Buxton is the main centre for overnight accommodation within the Peak District, with over 64% of the Park's visitor bed space.
A number of
limestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
quarriesQuarries - The "Royal Quarries" — not found in Scripture — is the namegiven to the vast caverns stretching far underneath the northern hill, Bezetha, on which Jerusalem is built. Out of these mammoth caverns stones, a hard limestone, have been quarried in ancient times for the buildings in the...
are located close to Buxton, including the "Tunstead Superquarry", the largest producer of high-purity industrial limestone in Europe, which employs 400 people. The quarrying sector also provides employment in limestone processing and distribution. Other industrial employers include the Health & Safety Laboratory, which engages in health and safety research and incident investigations and maintains over 350 staff locally.
The Buxton Mineral Water Company (owned by
NestleNestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
) and Buxton Spring Ltd extract and bottle mineral waters in Buxton.
Sport and civic organisations
In the high land above the town there are two small
speedwayMotorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
stadia. The High Edge Raceway was the original home of the speedway team
Buxton High Edge HitmenThe Buxton Hitmen are a speedway team in the British National League . The 2010 team achieved a unique treble winning the League, Knock-Out Cup and National Trophy.-Honours:*Conference KO Cup 2002...
in the mid-1990s before the team moved to the custom-built track immediately to the north of the original circuit. The original track in the High Edge Raceway was amongst the shortest and trickiest tracks in the UK. The custom-built track is of a more conventional shape and length. Buxton have been regular competitors in the
Conference LeagueThe Conference League was the third and lowest division of motorcycle speedway racing in the United Kingdom governed by the Speedway Control Board , in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association . The other leagues being the Elite League and Premier League. The League consisted of...
.
Buxton has a football club (
Buxton F.C.Buxton Football Club are an English football club based in Buxton, Derbyshire. They were established in 1877 and joined the Combination League in 1891. They then joined the Manchester League in 1899 and won the championship in 1932. They reached the 3rd round of the FA Cup in the 1951-52 season....
, who play at the Silverlands), a cricket club (
Buxton Cricket Club), a
rugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club (
Buxton Rugby Club) and a hockey club (Buxton Hockey Club). In addition four Hope Valley League football clubs are based in Buxton: Buxton Christians and Queens Reserves play at the Fairfield Centre with Blazing Rag and Buxton Town playing at the Kents Bank Recreation Ground.
There are two 18-hole golf courses in Buxton. In the eastern suburb of Fairfield is the Buxton & High Peak club. Founded in 1887 it is the oldest in Derbyshire. On the western edge of the town is the Cavendish Club (1925), designed by the renowned course architect Dr.
Alister MacKenzieDr. Alister MacKenzie was an internationally renowned, British golf course architect whose course designs, on three different continents, are consistently ranked among the finest golf courses in the world...
.
The hillside around Solomon's Temple is a popular local
boulderingBouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...
venue with many small outcrops giving problems mainly in the lower grades. These are described in the 2003 guidebook
High over Buxton: A Boulderer's Guide. Hoffman Quarry at
Harpur HillHarpur Hill is a small village on the outskirts of Buxton, Derbyshire. It has a primary school, a park, a pub, a working men's club and a Methodist Church, and contains parts of the University of Derby. It also has 3 football pitches which are homes to Harpur Club & Harpur Hill FC, A person that...
, sitting prominently above Buxton, is a local venue for
sport climbingSport climbing is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock, and possibly bolts, for protection,...
.
Youth groups include Buxton Squadron
Air CadetsAir Cadets may refer to:* Members of the British Air Training Corps or Combined Cadet Force* Members of the Australian Air Force Cadets* Members of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets* Members of the New Zealand Air Training Corps, New Zealand Cadet Forces...
, Derbyshire
Army Cadet ForceThe Army Cadet Force is a British youth organisation that offers progressive training in a multitude of the subjects from military training to adventurous training and first aid, at the same time as promoting achievement, discipline, and good citizenship, to boys and girls aged 12 to 18 and 9...
and also the Sea Cadet Corps, in addition to units from the Scouts & Guide Association.
Climate
At 1,000 feet (307 m) above sea level, Buxton is the highest
market townMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Alston, CumbriaAlston is a small town in Cumbria, England on the River South Tyne. It is one of the highest elevation towns in the country, at about 1,000 feet above sea level.-Geography:...
also makes this claim (but lacks a
regular market). Due to this relatively high elevation Buxton, tends to be cooler than surrounding towns, with daytime temperature typically being around 2c lower than Manchester, for instance. A Met Office weather station has collected climate date for the town since 1908, with digitized data from 1959 available online. In June 1975 the town was hit by a freak snowstorm stopping play during a game of Cricket.
Public transport
Buxton railway station is served by the ex
L&NWRThe London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
and
LMSThe London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
line via Whaley Bridge. It has frequent trains to
StockportStockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
and the nearby city of
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. The journey from Buxton to
Manchester PiccadillyManchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
takes just under an hour. Buxton had two stations, but the
Midland RailwayThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
station was closed on 6 March 1967, later becoming the site for the Spring Gardens shopping centre. The trackbed of the
Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction RailwayThe Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway ran from a junction with the Midland Railway at Ambergate to Rowsley north of Matlock and thence to Buxton....
has in part been utilised as a walk and cycleway called the
Monsal TrailThe Monsal Trail is a cycle, horse riding and walking trail in the Derbyshire Peak District.-Route description:It follows a section of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway, built by the Midland Railway in 1863 to link Manchester with London...
.
Peak RailPeak Rail is a preserved railway in Derbyshire, England, which operates a steam service for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales....
, a heritage railway group, have restored the section from Rowsley to Matlock, with the long-term objective of trying to re-open back to Buxton.
The town's buses offer affordable travel into the Peak District National Park. Other buses run to the nearby towns of
Whaley BridgeWhaley Bridge is a small town and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England, situated on the River Goyt. Whaley Bridge is approximately south of Manchester, north of Buxton , east of Macclesfield and west of Sheffield, and had a population of 6,226 at the 2001 census. This...
,
Chapel en le FrithChapel-en-le-Frith is a small town in Derbyshire, England, on the edge of the Peak District near the border with Cheshire, from Manchester. Dubbed "The Capital of the Peak District", the settlement was established by the Normans in the 12th century, originally as a hunting lodge within the Forest...
,
New MillsNew Mills is a town in Derbyshire, England approximately south-east of Stockport and from Manchester. It is sited at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Sett, on the border of Cheshire. The town stands above the Torrs, a deep gorge, cut through Woodhead Hill Sandstone of the Carboniferous period...
and
GlossopGlossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...
, and the
Trent BartonTrent Barton is one of the very small number of significant independent bus operators in the United Kingdom. It was formed as the result of merging Derbyshire's Trent Buses with Nottinghamshire's Barton Transport....
'Transpeak' coach service offers an hourly link southwards to
TaddingtonTaddington is a village in Derbyshire, England. It lies over 1100 feet above sea level, on the former A6 road between Buxton and Bakewell, in the Derbyshire Dales district. To the east, the A6 runs through Taddington Dale, while Taddington Moor lies to the west.Taddington grew around farming and...
, Matlock,
DerbyDerby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
and
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and northwards to Stockport and Manchester. There is also a Trent Barton bus directly from Manchester Airport to Buxton. Other buses provide roughly two-hourly services linking Buxton with
MacclesfieldMacclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
,
Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
and
SheffieldSheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. A list of them can be viewed on the
List of bus routes in Buxton page. There are also taxi services based in the town.
Famous Buxtonians
- Vera Brittain
Vera Mary Brittain was a British writer, feminist and pacifist, best remembered as the author of the best-selling 1933 memoir Testament of Youth, recounting her experiences during World War I and the beginning of her journey towards pacifism.-Life:Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Brittain was the...
(1893–1970): author of Testament of YouthTestament of Youth is the first installment, covering 1900–1925, in the memoir of Vera Brittain . It was published in 1933. Brittain's memoir continues with Testament of Experience, published in 1957, and encompassing the years 1925–1950...
and mother of Shirley Williams
- Tim Brooke-Taylor
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...
: comedy actor and one of the GoodiesThe Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
- Lloyd Cole
Lloyd Cole is an English singer and songwriter, known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989, and for his subsequent solo work.-Early life:...
: musician and songwriter, frontman of Lloyd Cole and the CommotionsLloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK...
- Henry Guppy
Henry Guppy CBE was Librarian of the John Rylands Library in Manchester from 1899 until his death in 1948....
(1861–1948): librarian
- John Pilkington Hudson
John Pilkington Hudson was an English horticultural scientist who did pioneer work on long-distance transportability of what became known as the kiwifruit...
(1910–2007), horticultural scientist and bomb disposal expert, born in Buxton
- Bruno Langley
Bruno Langley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Todd Grimshaw in Coronation Street and Adam Mitchell in Doctor Who.- Early life :...
: actor in Coronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
- Elizabeth Spriggs
-Early life and career:Born in Buxton, Derbyshire as Elizabeth Jean Williams, Spriggs had an unhappy childhood and grew up entirely without affection, particularly from her distant, domineering father, a master builder and farmer. She studied at the Royal College of Music and taught speech and...
(1929–2008): actress
- Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson was an English film writer and director. He was educated at Cambridge University where he became the president of both the Liberal Club and the Cambridge Union Society....
(1905–1986): director of many DisneyWalt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
films including Mary PoppinsMary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
- Dave Lee Travis
Dave Lee Travis , also known professionally as DLT and the Hairy Cornflake, is a British radio presenter, best known for his career on BBC Radio 1.-Early life:...
: former BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ
- Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...
: former Manchester United midfielder; owns a house in Buxton
Further reading
- W. Bemrose. Guide to Buxton and Neighbourhood, Bemrose & Sons (London, 1869).
- Black's Guide to Buxton and the Peak country of Derbyshire, A. and C. Black, 1898
- Aitken, Tom. One Hundred & One Beautiful Towns in Great Britain, Rizzoli, 2008
External links