Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level.[1][nb 1] It lies close to Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, on the edge of the Peak District National Park.[1] In 1974, the municipal borough merged with other nearby boroughs, including Glossop, to form the local government district and borough of High Peak.

Buxton
Buxton town centre
Buxton is located in Derbyshire
Buxton
Buxton
Location within Derbyshire
Population20,048 (2021)
OS grid referenceSK059735
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBUXTON
Postcode districtSK17
Dialling code01298
PoliceDerbyshire
FireDerbyshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Derbyshire
53°15′32″N 1°54′40″W / 53.259°N 1.911°W / 53.259; -1.911

The town population was 22,115 at the 2011 Census. Sights include Poole's Cavern, a limestone cavern; St Ann's Well, fed by a geothermal spring bottled by Buxton Mineral Water Company; and many historic buildings, including John Carr's restored Buxton Crescent, Henry Currey's Buxton Baths and Frank Matcham's Buxton Opera House. The Devonshire Campus of the University of Derby occupies historic premises. Buxton is twinned with Oignies in France and Bad Nauheim in Germany.[2]

History

edit

The origins of the name are unclear. It may derive from the Old English for Buck Stone or for Rocking Stone.[3] The town grew in importance in the late 18th century, when it was developed by the Dukes of Devonshire, with a resurgence a century later as Victorians were drawn to the reputed healing properties of its waters.[4]

Stone Age beginnings

edit

The first inhabitants of Buxton made homes at Lismore Fields some 6,000 years ago. This Stone Age settlement, a Scheduled Monument, was rediscovered in 1984, with remains of a Mesolithic timber roundhouse and Neolithic longhouses.[5]

Roman settlement

edit

The Romans developed a settlement known as Aquae Arnemetiae ("Baths of the grove goddess").[1] Coins found show the Romans were in Buxton throughout their occupation of Britain.[6]

Batham Gate ("road to the bath town") is a Roman road from Templebrough Roman fort in South Yorkshire to Navio Roman Fort and on to Buxton.

Middle Ages

edit

The name Buckestones was first recorded in the 12th century as part of the Peverel family's estate. From 1153 the town was within the Duchy of Lancaster's Crown estate, close to the Royal Forest of the Peak on the Fairfield side of the River Wye. Monastic farms were set up in Fairfield in the 13th century and in the 14th; its royal ownership was reflected in the name of Kyngesbucstones.

By 1460, Buxton's spring had been pronounced a holy one dedicated to St Anne, who was canonised in 1382. A chapel had appeared there by 1498.[7]

Spa town boom

edit
 
People filling bottles with water at St Ann's Well
 
Buxton Wells, from a 1610 map

Built on the River Wye, and overlooked by Axe Edge Moor, Buxton became a spa town for its geothermal spring,[8] which gushes at a steady 28 °C.

The spring waters are piped to St Ann's Well, a shrine since medieval times at the foot of The Slopes, opposite the Crescent and near the town centre.[9] The well was called one of the Seven Wonders of the Peak by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes in his 1636 book De Mirabilibus Pecci: Being The Wonders of the Peak in Darby-shire.[10]

The Dukes of Devonshire became involved in 1780, when the William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire used profits from his copper mines to develop it as a spa in the style of Bath. Their ancestor Bess of Hardwick had brought one of her four husbands, the Earl of Shrewsbury, to "take the waters" at Buxton in 1569, shortly after he became the gaoler of Mary, Queen of Scots, and took Mary there in 1573.[11] She called Buxton "La Fontagne de Bogsby". She stayed at the site of the Old Hall Hotel, where Earl of Shrewsbury had built a lodging for visitors.[12] According to John Jones of Derby, author of Buxtone's Bathes Benefyte (1572), the visitors to Shrewsbury's "goodly house" enjoyed a game of table bowls known as trou madame.[13]

 
Buxton in 1965 with shoppers and tourists filling Spring Gardens

The area features in the works of W. H. Auden, Jane Austen and Emily Brontë.[8] Buxton's profile was boosted by a recommendation from Erasmus Darwin of the waters there and at Matlock, addressed to Josiah Wedgwood I. The Wedgwood family often visited Buxton and commended the area to their friends.[citation needed] Two of Charles Darwin's half-cousins, Edward Levett Darwin and Reginald Darwin, settled there.[14] The arrival of the railway in 1863 stimulated growth: the population of 1,800 in 1861 exceeded 6,000 by 1881.[15]

20th century

edit

Buxton held a base for British and Canadian troops in the First World War. Granville Military Hospital was set up at the Buxton Hydropathic Hotel, with the Palace Hotel annexed. The author Vera Brittain trained as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse at the Devonshire Hospital in 1915. The Royal Engineers based in Buxton used the Pavilion Gardens' lakes for training to build pontoon bridges.[7][16][17] Prisoner of war camps at Ladmanlow and Peak Dale were established in 1917 to supply workers for the local limestone quarries.[18]

RAF Harpur Hill became an underground bomb-storage facility during World War II and the country's largest munitions dump. It was also the base for the Peak District section of the RAF Mountain Rescue Service.[19] Prisoner of war camps for Italians and Germans were set up on Lismore Road, off Macclesfield Road and at Dove Holes.[20][21][22]

After a decline as a spa resort in the earlier 20th century, Buxton had a resurgence in the 1950s and 1970s. The Playhouse Theatre kept a repertory company and pop concerts were held at the Octagon (including the Beatles in 1963).[23] The Opera House re-opened in 1979 with the launch of the Buxton Festival, and the town was being used as a base for exploring the Peak District.[24]

Geography and geology

edit

Although outside the National Park boundary, Buxton is in the western part of the Peak District, between the Lower Carboniferous limestone of the White Peak to the east and the Upper Carboniferous shale, sandstone and gritstone of the Dark Peak to the west.[25] The early settlement (of which only the parish church of St Anne, built in 1625, remains) was largely made of limestone,[citation needed] while the present buildings of locally quarried sandstone, mostly date from the late 18th century.[citation needed]

At the south edge of the town, the River Wye has carved an extensive limestone cavern known as Poole's Cavern. More than 330 yards (300 metres) of its chambers are open to the public. It contains Derbyshire's largest stalactite and some unique "poached egg" stalagmites. Its name recalls a local highwayman.[26]

Climate

edit

Buxton has an oceanic climate with short, mild summers and long, cool winters. At about 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level,[27] Buxton is the highest market town in England.[nb 1] Buxton's elevation makes it cooler and wetter than surrounding towns, with a daytime temperature typically about 2 °C lower than Manchester.

A Met Office weather station has collected climate data for the town since 1867, with digitised data from 1959 available online.[28] In June 1975, the town suffered a freak snowstorm that stopped play during a cricket match.[29]

Climate data for Buxton, elevation: 299 m (981 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1874–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.0
(55.4)
15.3
(59.5)
21.6
(70.9)
23.9
(75.0)
27.2
(81.0)
29.6
(85.3)
35.9
(96.6)
32.7
(90.9)
25.9
(78.6)
25.0
(77.0)
16.7
(62.1)
13.7
(56.7)
32.7
(90.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 5.5
(41.9)
5.9
(42.6)
8.2
(46.8)
11.2
(52.2)
14.5
(58.1)
17.2
(63.0)
19.1
(66.4)
18.7
(65.7)
15.9
(60.6)
11.8
(53.2)
8.2
(46.8)
5.9
(42.6)
11.8
(53.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.2
(37.8)
3.3
(37.9)
5.0
(41.0)
7.4
(45.3)
10.3
(50.5)
13.2
(55.8)
15.1
(59.2)
14.8
(58.6)
12.4
(54.3)
9.0
(48.2)
5.8
(42.4)
3.6
(38.5)
8.6
(47.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 0.9
(33.6)
0.7
(33.3)
1.8
(35.2)
3.5
(38.3)
6.1
(43.0)
9.1
(48.4)
11.1
(52.0)
10.9
(51.6)
8.8
(47.8)
6.1
(43.0)
3.4
(38.1)
1.2
(34.2)
5.3
(41.5)
Record low °C (°F) −17.2
(1.0)
−15.0
(5.0)
−16.7
(1.9)
−8.0
(17.6)
−4.4
(24.1)
−0.4
(31.3)
−0.6
(30.9)
0.6
(33.1)
−1.7
(28.9)
−6.6
(20.1)
−9.3
(15.3)
−14.0
(6.8)
−17.2
(1.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 127.4
(5.02)
116.1
(4.57)
100.0
(3.94)
86.5
(3.41)
82.0
(3.23)
92.6
(3.65)
100.8
(3.97)
101.5
(4.00)
105.7
(4.16)
141.8
(5.58)
136.3
(5.37)
153.3
(6.04)
1,344
(52.94)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 16.5 15.0 13.4 12.2 11.6 12.7 13.2 14.1 13.1 15.8 17.2 17.4 172.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours 41.1 67.6 104.5 151.3 185.2 170.8 182.9 169.3 126.8 90.3 52.4 40.3 1,382.5
Source 1: Met Office[30]
Source 2: KNMI[31] Meteo Climat[32]

Notable architecture

edit
 
Buxton Town Hall (on the right)

The many visitors to Buxton for its thermal waters, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries, led to several new buildings to provide hospitality facilities.

The Old Hall Hotel is one of the town's oldest buildings. It was owned by George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, who with his wife, Bess of Hardwick, acted as the "gaolers" of Mary, Queen of Scots, who came to Buxton several times to take the waters, her final visit being in 1584.[33] The present building dates from 1670, and has a five-bay front with a Tuscan doorway.[34]

 
Buxton Crescent and St Ann's Well

The Grade I listed Crescent was built in 1780–1784 for the 5th Duke of Devonshire, as part of his effort to turn Buxton into a fashionable spa town. Modelled on Bath's Royal Crescent, it was designed by architect John Carr, together with the neighbouring irregular octagon and colonnade of the Great Stables. These were completed in 1789, but in 1859 were largely converted to a charity hospital for the "sick poor" by Henry Currey, architect to the 7th Duke of Devonshire's. Currey had previously worked on St Thomas' Hospital in London. It became known as the Devonshire Royal Hospital in 1934. Later phases of conversion after 1881 were by local architect Robert Rippon Duke, including his design for The Devonshire Dome as the world's largest unsupported dome, with a diameter of 144 feet (44 m) – larger than the Pantheon at 141 feet (43 m), St. Peter's Basilica at 138 feet (42 m) in Rome, and St Paul's Cathedral at 112 feet (34 m). The record was surpassed only by space frame domes such as the Georgia Dome (840 feet (260 m)). The building and its surrounding Victorian villas are now part of the University of Derby.

 
Nocturnal view of the restored Buxton Thermal Baths, and Brian Clarke's modern stained glass canopy over the Cavendish Arcade

Currey also designed the Grade II listed Buxton Baths, comprising the Natural Mineral Baths to the west of The Crescent and Buxton Thermal Baths to the east, which opened in 1854 on the site of the original Roman baths, together with the 1884 Pump Room opposite. The Thermal Baths, closed in 1963 and at risk of demolition, were restored and converted into a shopping arcade by conservation architects Derek Latham and Company. Architectural artist Brian Clarke contributed to the refurbishment;[35][36] his scheme, designed in 1984 and completed in 1987, was for a landmark modern artwork,[37] a barrel-vaulted modern stained glass ceiling to enclose the former baths[38] — at the time the largest stained glass window in the British Isles — creating an atrial space for what became the Cavendish Arcade.[39][37][40] Visitors could "take the waters" at The Pump Room until 1981. Between 1981 and 1995 the building housed the Buxton Micrarium Exhibition, an interactive display with 50 remote-controlled microscopes.[41] The building was refurbished as part of the National Lottery-funded Buxton Crescent and Thermal Spa re-development. Beside it, added in 1940, is St Ann's Well. In October 2020 Ensana reopened the Crescent as a 5-star spa hotel, after a 17-year refurbishment.[42]

Nearby stands the 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.[43]

When the railways arrived in Buxton in 1863, Buxton railway station had been designed by Joseph Paxton, previously gardener and architect to William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire. Paxton also contributed the layout of the Park Road circular estate. He is perhaps known best for his design of the Crystal Palace in London. Buxton Town Hall, designed by William Pollard, was completed in 1889.[44]

 
Corbar Hill and the Dome

Other architecture

edit

Buxton Opera House, designed by Frank Matcham in 1903, is the highest opera-house site in the country. Matcham, a theatre architect, was responsible for several London theatres, including the London Palladium, the London Coliseum and the Hackney Empire. Opposite is an original Penfold octagonal post box. The opera house is attached to the Pavilion Gardens, Octagonal Hall (built in 1875) and the smaller Pavilion Arts Centre (previously The Hippodrome and the Playhouse Theatre.[45]). Buxton Pavilion Gardens, designed by Edward Milner, contain 93,000 m2 of gardens and ponds and were opened in 1871. These form a Grade II* listed public park of Special Historic Interest. Milner's design was a development of Joseph Paxton's landscape for the Serpentine Walks in the 1830s.[46]

 
Palace Hotel

The 122-room Palace Hotel, also designed by Currey and built in 1868, is a prominent feature of the Buxton skyline on the hill above the railway station.[47]

 
Corbar Cross[48][nb 2]

The town is overlooked by Grin Low hill, 1,441 feet (439 m) above sea level, and by Grinlow Tower (locally also called Solomon's Temple), a two-storey granite, crooked, crenelated folly built in 1834 by Solomon Mycock to provide work for local unemployed, and restored in 1996 after lengthy closure. In the other direction, on Corbar Hill, 1,433 feet (437 m) above sea level, is the tall wooden Corbar Cross. Originally given to the Catholic Church by the Duke of Devonshire in 1950 to mark Holy Year, it was replaced in the 1980s. In 2010, during a visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the UK, it was cut down as a protest against a long history of child abuse at the Catholic St Williams School in Market Weighton, Yorkshire.[49] The Buxton ecumenical group Churches Together brought in several benefactors to replace the cross with a smaller one in May 2011.[48]

Many pubs and inns in Buxton are listed buildings reflecting the historic character of the town,[50] although many buildings have been demolished. Lost buildings of Buxton include grand spa hotels, the Midland Railway station, the Picture House cinema and Cavendish Girls' Grammar School.

Culture

edit
 
Buxton Opera House

Cultural events include the annual Buxton Festival, festivals and performances at the Buxton Opera House, and shows running at other venues alongside them. Buxton Museum and Art Gallery offers year-round exhibitions.

Buxton Festival

edit

Buxton Festival, founded in 1979, is an opera and arts event held in July at the Opera House and other venues.[51] It includes some literary events in the mornings, concerts and recitals in the afternoon, and operas, many rarely performed, in the evenings.[52] The quality of the opera programme has improved in recent years, after decades when, according to critic Rupert Christiansen, the festival featured "work of such mediocre quality that I just longed for someone to put it out of its misery."[53][54] Running alongside is the Buxton Festival Fringe, known as a warm-up for the Edinburgh Fringe. The Buxton Fringe features drama, music, dance, comedy, poetry, art exhibitions and films around the town.[55] In 2018, 181 entrants signed up and comedy and theatre categories were at their largest.[56]

Other festivals

edit

The week-long Four Four Time music festival in February brings a variety of rock, pop, folk, blues, jazz and world music.[57] The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, a three-week theatre event from the end of July through the first half of August, was held in Buxton from 1994 to 2013; it moved to Harrogate in 2014[58] but returned to Buxton in 2023.[59][60]

The Opera House offers a year-long programme of drama, concerts, comedy and other events.[61] In September 2010, the Paxton Suite in the Pavilion Gardens reopened as the Pavilion Arts Centre after a £2.5 million reconstruction. Located behind the Opera House, it includes a 369-seat auditorium. The stage area can be converted into a separate 93-seat studio theatre.[62][63]

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery holds local artefacts, geological and archaeological samples (including the William Boyd Dawkins collection) and 19th and 20th-century paintings, with work by Brangwyn, Chagall, Chahine and their contemporaries. There are also displays by local and regional artists and other events.[64] The Pavilion Gardens hold regular arts, crafts, antiques and jewellery fairs.[65]

Buxton's Well Dressing Festival in the week up to the second Saturday in July has been running in its current form since 1840, to mark the provision of fresh water to the high point of the town's marketplace. As well as the dressing of the wells, it includes a carnival procession and a funfair on the marketplace.[66] Well dressing is an ancient custom unique to the Peak District and Derbyshire and thought to date back to Roman and Celtic times, when communities would dress wells to give thanks for supplies of fresh water.

Economy

edit

Buxton's economy covers tourism, retail, quarrying, scientific research, light industry and mineral water bottling. The University of Derby is a noted employer.[67] Surrounded by the Peak District National Park, it offers a range of cultural events; tourism is a major industry, with over a million visitors to Buxton each year. Buxton is the main centre for overnight accommodation in the Peak District, with over 64 per cent of the park's visitor bed space.[68]

The Buxton Mineral Water Company, owned by Nestlé, extracts and bottles mineral waters.[69] The Buxton Advertiser appears weekly. Potters of Buxton is the town's oldest department store, founded in 1860.[70]

Quarrying

edit

The Buxton lime industry has shaped the town's development and landscape since its 17th-century beginnings. Buxton Lime Firms (BLF) was formed by 13 quarry owners in 1891. BLF became part of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in 1926 and Buxton was the headquarters for I.C.I. Lime Division until the 1970s.[71] Several limestone quarries lie close,[72] including the "Tunstead Superquarry", the largest producer of high-purity industrial limestone in Europe, employing 400.[73] The quarrying sector also provides jobs in limestone processing and distribution.[74][75] Other industrial employers include the Health & Safety Laboratory, which engages in health and safety research and incident investigations and maintains over 350 staff locally.[68][76][77]

Education

edit

The town hosts a University of Derby campus at the site of the former Devonshire Royal Hospital, as well as the Buxton & Leek College formed by the August 2012 merger of the university with Leek College.

Secondary schools include Buxton Community School, at the former College Road site of Buxton College, and St. Thomas More Catholic School.[78] Others include Buxton Junior School,[79] St Anne's Catholic Primary,[80] the greatest: Harper Hill School with excellent teachers,[81] Buxton Infant School,[82] John Duncan School, Fairfield Infant & Nursery, Burbage Primary, Dove Holes CE Primary, Fairfield Endowed Junior, Peak Dale Primary, Leek College, Old Sams Farm Independent School, Hollinsclough CE Primary, Flash CE Primary, Earl Sterndale CE Primary, Peak Forest CE Primary and Combs Infant School.[83]

Sport and civic organisations

edit
 
Buxton Raceway

Above the town are two small speedway stadiums. Buxton Raceway (formerly High Edge Raceway), off the A53 Buxton to Leek road, is a motor sports circuit set up in 1974, hosting banger and stock car racing, as well as drifting events.[84] It was home to the speedway team Buxton High Edge Hitmen in the mid-1990s before the team moved to a custom-built track to the north of the original one. The original track at High Edge Raceway[85] was among the longest and trickiest in the UK. The new track is more conventional, and has been improved a few times. Buxton have been competitors in the Conference League.[86][87] Buxton Raceway was due to hold a floodlit 2019 BriSCA Formula 2 World Final.[88]

Buxton's football club, Buxton F.C., plays at Silverlands and Buxton Cricket Club at the Park Road ground.[89] Other team clubs are Buxton Rugby Union[90] and Buxton Hockey Club.[91] There are also four Hope Valley League football clubs: Buxton Town, Peak Dale and Buxton Christians play at the Fairfield Centre and Blazing Rag at the Kents Bank Recreation Ground.[citation needed]

Buxton has two 18-hole golf courses. Cavendish Golf Club ranked among the top 100 in England. It was designed by the renowned Alister MacKenzie and dates from 1925.[92] At Fairfield is Buxton & High Peak Golf Club. Founded in 1887 on the site of Buxton Racecourse, it is the oldest in Derbyshire.[93]

 
View of Buxton from Solomon's Temple

The hillside round Solomon's Temple is a popular local bouldering 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.[94] Hoffman Quarry at Harpur Hill, sitting prominently above Buxton, is a local venue for sport climbing.[95]

Youth groups include the Kaleidoscope Youth Theatre at the Pavilion Arts Centre,[96] Buxton Squadron Air Cadets,[97] Derbyshire Army Cadet Force and the Sea Cadet Corps, in addition to units of the Scouts & Guide Association.[citation needed]

Buxton has three Masonic Lodges and a Royal Arch Chapter, which meets at the Masonic Hall, George Street. Phoenix Lodge of Saint Ann No. 1235 was consecrated in 1865, Buxton Lodge No. 1688 in 1877, and High Peak Lodge No. 1952 in 1881. The Royal Arch Chapter is attached to Phoenix Lodge of Saint Ann, and bears the same name and number, it being consecrated in 1872.[98]

Media

edit

Regional TV news comes from Salford-based BBC North West and ITV Granada. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill and the local relay transmitters.[99][100]

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Derby on 96.0FM and Greatest Hits Radio Derbyshire (High Peak) (formerly High Peak Radio) on 106.4FM.

The Buxton Advertiser is the town’s weekly local newspaper.[101]

Transport

edit

Railway

edit

Buxton railway station has a generally half-hourly service to Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly along the Buxton line; trains are operated by Northern. The journey to Manchester takes just under an hour.[102]

History

edit
 
Station exterior in 1965. The present station is on the left and the former Midland Railway station is in the centre of the picture

Buxton had three railway stations. Two were aligned to the LNWR: Buxton and Higher Buxton; the latter was next to Clifton Road and closed in 1951. The third was Buxton (Midland), situated next to the LNWR terminus. The Midland Railway station, closed on 6 March 1967, became the site for the Spring Gardens shopping centre. The trackbed of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway has, in part, been used as a walking and cycling path called the Monsal Trail.

Heritage

edit

Peak Rail, a preserved railway group, has restored the section from Rowsley South to Matlock; it has long-term ambitions to reopen it through to Buxton.[103]

Buses

edit

The town is served by bus routes that cross the Peak District National Park, including to the nearby towns of Whaley Bridge, Chapel-en-le-Frith, New Mills, Glossop and Ashbourne.

The High Peak Transpeak service offers an hourly link southwards to Taddington, Bakewell, Matlock, Belper and Derby. The Skyline 199 route operates every half hour during the day to Manchester Airport, along the A6 through New Mills and Stockport.

Other services link Buxton with Macclesfield, Leek, Stoke-on-Trent, Sheffield, Chesterfield and Meadowhall.[104]

The nearest airports are Manchester Airport (22 miles away), Liverpool John Lennon Airport (48 miles) and East Midlands Airport (52 miles).

Demographics

edit

In the 2011 census, Buxton's population was 98.3% white, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% black and 0.8% mixed/multiple.[105]

Famous Buxtonians

edit

Public service

edit
 
Charles Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, Vanity Fair, 1903
 
Herbert Eisner

Politics

edit

The Arts

edit
 
Vera Brittain
 
Lloyd Cole, 2010

Sport

edit
 
Mick Andrews, 1976

Literature

edit

A series of four recent novels by Sarah WardIn Bitter Chill (2015), A Deadly Thaw (2017), A Patient Fury (2018) and The Shrouded Path (2019) – feature the fictional town of Bampton, which the author states "is partly based on Buxton with its Georgian architecture, Bakewell, a well-heeled market town... and Cromford with its canal and fantastic industrial heritage."[132]

Bill Bryson recounts his visit to Buxton in his 2015 book The Road to Little Dribbling.[133]

Vera Brittain grew up in Buxton and in her memoir Testament of Youth, she is critical of the town's snobbery.[134]

Buxton is mentioned in James Joyce's Ulysses at the beginning of chapter 10. Father Conmee, a Jesuit priest, encounters the wife of David Sheehy MP and in their exchange says that he "would go to Buxton, probably, for the waters".[135]

The Victorian diarist Anne Lister recounts her visit to Buxton during August 1816 in her journal.[136]

Buxton's St Ann's Well and Poole's Cavern were listed as two of the Seven Wonders of the Peak, in Thomas Hobbes's 17th-century book De Mirabilibus Pecci: Being the Wonders of the Peak in Darby-shire, commonly called The Devil's Arse of Peak.[137]

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regular market.
  2. ^ This is a photo of the cross before it was cut down in 2010. It has since been restored.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Buxton – in pictures". BBC Radio Derby. March 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  2. ^ "towntwinning.org.uk". ww38.towntwinning.org.uk. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Key to English Place Names". Institute for Name Studies, University of Nottingham. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  4. ^ Robertson, William Henry (1859). A Guide To The Use Of The Buxton Waters. HardPress. ISBN 9781318591060.
  5. ^ "Lismore Fields Buxton Spa History Ancient Settlement Civilisation". lismore-fields. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  6. ^ "About Buxton". History of Buxton. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b Leach, John (1987). The Book of Buxton. Baracuda Books Limited. pp. 35–43, 124–125. ISBN 0-86023-286-7.
  8. ^ a b Dunn, Paul (17 April 2010). "Great British Weekend: Buxton". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  9. ^ Historic England. "The Slopes, Buxton (1001456)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  10. ^ "De Mirabilibus Pecci: Being the Wonders of the Peak in Darby-shire". www.wondersofthepeak.org.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  11. ^ Lovell, Mary S. (2005). Bess of Hardwick. London: Little, Brown. pp. 238–239. ISBN 0-316-72482-3.
  12. ^ Scott, Jade (2024). Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots. London: Michael O'Mara Books. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-78929-646-4.
  13. ^ Leader, John Daniel (1880). Mary Queen Of Scots In Captivity: A Narrative Of Events From January, 1569 To December, 1584. Sheffield: Leader & Sons. pp. 303, 305.
  14. ^ Darwin, Charles; Burkhardt, Frederick; Smith, Sydney (1985). The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-25587-2.
  15. ^ Blakemore, Michael; Mosley, David (2003). Railways of the Peak District. Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 1-902827-09-0.
  16. ^ "Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital Buxton 1915–1919". Buxton Museum and Art Gallery. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  17. ^ "BBC – World War One At Home, Buxton Pavilion Gardens, Derbyshire: Bridge Building Practice". BBC. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  18. ^ Roberts, Alan & David (2020). Breaking Stones – Two World War One Prisoner of War Camps. Roberts Publications.
  19. ^ "R.A.F. Maintenance Unit 28 – Harpur Hill". Buxton Civic Association. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  20. ^ "WW2 People's War – Buxton in Wartime – Memories of a War Baby (part 3)". BBC. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  21. ^ "WW2 People's War – Buxton in the second World War (1939–45)". BBC. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  22. ^ "WW2 People's War – Memories of when the bombs passed over". BBC. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  23. ^ "The Beatles Bible – Live: Pavilion Gardens Ballroom, Buxton". The Beatles Bible. 6 April 1963. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  24. ^ Langham, Mike (2001). Buxton: A Peoples' History. Lancaster: Carnegie Publishing Ltd. pp. 217–219. ISBN 1859360866.
  25. ^ "Buxton". Peak District Online. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  26. ^ Oldham, T. (2002). "History of Poole's Cavern". Showcaves.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008.
  27. ^ elevationmap.net. "Town Hall Buxton Sk17 Uk on the Elevation Map. Topographic Map of Town Hall Buxton Sk17 Uk". elevationmap.net. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017.
  28. ^ Hilton, Michael. "The Buxton Meteorological Station: A Brief History". BuxtonWeather.com. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  29. ^ Francis, Tony (22 June 2005). "June Snow". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017.
  30. ^ "Buxton 1991–2020 averages". Met Office. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  31. ^ "Buxton extreme values". KNMI. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  32. ^ "STATION BUXTON". Meteo Climat. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  33. ^ Templeman, David (2016). Mary, Queen of Scots: The Captive Queen in England. Exeter: Primedia eLaunch LLC. p. 105.
  34. ^ "Things to do in Buxton" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  35. ^ Harrod, Tanya (2015). The real thing: essays on making in the modern world. London: Hyphen Press. pp. 134–137.
  36. ^ Lyttleton, Celia (1984). "In the Wake of William Morris & Co". Ritz Magazine: Art Inside. No. 5.
  37. ^ a b Hills, Ann (April 1987). "Buxton's New Landmark". Building Refurbishment.
  38. ^ "Listed Building – Cavendish Shopping Arcade – Derbyshire Historic Environment Record". her.derbyshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  39. ^ "Modern glass work for listed Buxton site: largest secular window in Britain". Design Week. 2 (37): 6. 1987. ISSN 0950-3676.
  40. ^ Historic England. "Natural Mineral Baths (Grade II) (1257914)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  41. ^ "The Micrarium Story". www.micrariumenterprises.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008.
  42. ^ "Georgian hotel opens in Buxton 17 years after work begins". BBC. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  43. ^ "Historic agreement paves way for Crescent development". High Peak Borough Council. 2 April 2012. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014.
  44. ^ Historic England. "Town Hall (Grade II) (1259171)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  45. ^ "Heritage Open Days to raise curtain on history of Buxton stage". Buxton Advertiser. 3 September 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  46. ^ Historic England. "Pavilion Gardens, Buxton (Grade II*) (1000675)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  47. ^ "Palace Hotel Buxton | Britannia Hotels". www.britanniahotels.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013.
  48. ^ a b "Corbar cross rises again". Buxton Advertiser. 20 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011.
  49. ^ "Symbol of Suffering". Buxton Advertiser. 23 September 2010. Archived from the original on 25 September 2010.
  50. ^ "BUXTON CONSERVATION AREAS Character Appraisal" (PDF). High Peak Borough Council. April 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  51. ^ "Diary". Buxton Festival. September 2010. Archived from Buxton Festival 2010 Programme the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2024. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  52. ^ "Buxton Festival". Buxton Opera House. Archived from Buxton Festival%5d the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2024. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  53. ^ Christiansen, Rupert (July 2010). "The Buxton Festival: aiming for peak performance". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017.
  54. ^ Canning, Hugh (July 2008). "Buxton Festival". The Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011.
  55. ^ "About Us". Buxton Festival Fringe. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  56. ^ "Party to celebrate bumper Buxton Festival Fringe!". Buxton Festival Fringe. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  57. ^ "Four-Four Time". Buxton Opera House. September 2010. Archived from the original on 21 August 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  58. ^ Chalmers, Graham (5 June 2014). "Harrogate wins topsy-turvy battle over G&S Festival". Wetherby News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  59. ^ Orme, Steve (19 January 2023). "Gilbert and Sullivan Festival returns to Buxton". British Theatre Guide.
  60. ^ Cooper, Louise (10 October 2022). "Gilbert and Sullivan Festival returning exclusively to Buxton from next year". Buxton Advertiser.
  61. ^ Whats On Archived 21 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Buxton Opera House, September 2010.
  62. ^ "The Pavilion Arts Centre" Archived 15 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Pavilion Gardens website, September 2010.
  63. ^ Woolman, Natalie (7 September 2010). "Buxton Opera House to open new Pavilion arts venue". The Stage. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011.
  64. ^ "Buxton Museum and Art Gallery" Archived 20 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Derbyshire County Council
  65. ^ "Fairs & Events" Archived 9 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Pavilion Gardens website.
  66. ^ "Buxton Well Dressing Festival". Buxton Well Dressing Festival website. Archived from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  67. ^ "University contributes 500 jobs and £32 million a year to Buxton economy". University of Derby. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  68. ^ a b High Peak Profile Archived 26 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine, High Peak Borough Council, September 2010.
  69. ^ "Buxton Water" Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, official website, March 2012.
  70. ^ "About Us". www.pottersofbuxton.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015.
  71. ^ "BLF Buxton Lime Firms". www.derbyshireheritage.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  72. ^ Quarries visible as large white areas in satellite image, Google Maps, September 2010.
  73. ^ Superquarries: Tunstead Archived 6 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine, British Geological Survey website, September 2010.
  74. ^ "Buxton Lime" Archived 23 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Tarmac company website, September 2010
  75. ^ Hailstone, Laura (1 July 2008). "Lomas Distribution consolidates sites with new depot". Commercialmotor.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  76. ^ About HSL Archived 30 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine, HSL Website, September 2010.
  77. ^ Health & Safety Laboratory Archived 1 September 2011 at archive.today, Northern Defence Industries Website.
  78. ^ "St. Thomas More Catholic School" Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 4 February 2014.
  79. ^ "Buxton Junior School" Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 4 February 2014.
  80. ^ "St. Anne's Catholic Primary School" Archived 25 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 4 February 2014.
  81. ^ "Harpur Hill Primary School" Archived 17 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 6 July 2017.
  82. ^ "Buxton Infant School" Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 4 February 2014.
  83. ^ "Schools and Colleges Near Buxton, Derbyshire" Archived 8 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 4 February 2014.
  84. ^ "Buxton Raceway". Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  85. ^ "About Us" Archived 28 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Buxton Raceway website.
  86. ^ "Speedway in Derbyshire", Archived 18 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine You and Yesterday, accessed on 16 December 2007.
  87. ^ Hubbert, Neil (2 August 2007). "Victory for the Hitmen". Buxton Advertiser. Archived from the original on 25 October 2007.
  88. ^ "BriSCA F2 World Championship 2019". buxtonraceway.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  89. ^ "Buxton Cricket Club". 19 November 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2008.
  90. ^ Buxton Rugby Club Archived 8 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 10 December 2011.
  91. ^ "Home page". Buxton Hockey Club. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  92. ^ "Cavendish Golf Club – Award-winning golf club in Buxton, Derbyshire". Cavendish Golf Club. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008.
  93. ^ "Home". Buxton and High Peak Golf Club. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008.
  94. ^ Warren, Daniel; Warren, Graham (2003). High over Buxton: A Boulderer's Guide. Raven Rock Books. ISBN 0-9530352-1-2.
  95. ^ Gibson, Gary (2004). From Horseshoe to Harpur Hill. BMC. ISBN 0-903908-72-7.
  96. ^ "Kaleidoscope" Archived 8 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Buxton Opera House, accessed 12 May 2011.
  97. ^ "home". 2517sqn.org.uk.
  98. ^ United Grand Lodge of England (2006) Directory of Lodges and Chapters London.
  99. ^ "Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. May 2004. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  100. ^ "Freeview Light on the Buxton (Derbyshire, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. May 2004. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  101. ^ "Buxton Advertiser". British Newspapers Online. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  102. ^ "Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern". Northern Railway. May 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  103. ^ "A history of the Midland Railway route through the Peak". Peak Rail. 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  104. ^ "Buxton Bus Services". Bus Times. 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  105. ^ "United Kingdom: East of England (Local Authority Districts and Wards) – Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de.
  106. ^ Milner, Marc. "Murray, Leonard Warren". Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  107. ^ van der Vat, Dan (8 February 2008). "Obituary, John Hudson". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  108. ^ "Telegraph obituary: Herbert Eisner". 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  109. ^ Bates, Tom (23 June 2007). "Flying Scotsman Steams Into Derbyshire!". About Derbyshire. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  110. ^ a b c Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs[usurped] retrieved January 2018.
  111. ^ TheyWorkForYou website, Tom Levitt MP Archived 15 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018.
  112. ^ TheyWorkForYou website, profile Archived 15 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018.
  113. ^ Brittain, Vera (1933). Testament of Youth. London: Fontana paperback (1979). p. 27.
  114. ^ "Vera Brittain author of "Testament of Youth" lived here 1907–1915". openplaques.org. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  115. ^ Curtis Brown website, literary and talent agency Archived 15 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018.
  116. ^ "Angela Flanders, perfumer – obituary". Daily Telegraph. 22 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  117. ^ Research page, University of Manchester Archived 21 December 2015 at Wikiwix retrieved January 2018.
  118. ^ "Lloyd Cole". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  119. ^ Evans, Lloyd (22 March 2003). "A writer's life: Dan Rhodes". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  120. ^ "Obituaries in 1941". Wisden. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  121. ^ George Bailey, Olympics at Sports-Reference.com Archived 15 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018.
  122. ^ The Wanderer–Just who was Frank Soo, The Football Pink Archived 21 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018.
  123. ^ Amazing Story of the Ghost Runner[permanent dead link], Derby Telegraph, 11 December 2011, Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  124. ^ MickAndrews.net website Archived 23 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018
  125. ^ Player profile Football_england.com archive retrieved January 2018.
  126. ^ "Carl Mason" Archived 4 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Player biographies, The PGA European Tour, accessed 1 July 2012
  127. ^ Player profile on Lorraine Winstanley from Dartsdatabase Archived 15 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018.
  128. ^ Player profile on Dean Winstanley from Dartsdatabase Archived 18 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018.
  129. ^ SoccerBase Database Archived 27 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018.
  130. ^ "Swimming – Women's 200m Individual Medley results". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  131. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Swimming – Women's 200m Breaststroke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  132. ^ Faber publications. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  133. ^ Bryson, Bill (2015). The Road to Little Dribbling. Penguin. p. 345. ISBN 9780552779838.
  134. ^ "World War One At Home, Buxton, Derbyshire: Where Vera Brittain Trained as a Nurse". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  135. ^ "Ulysses, about 1.55 in". www.rte.ie. 10 June 2022.
  136. ^ Lister, Anne (16 August 1816). "Journal Entry SH:7/ML/E/26/2/004". WYAS.
  137. ^ "De Mirabilibus Pecci: Being the Wonders of the Peak in Darby-shire". www.wondersofthepeak.org.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2020.

Further reading

edit
  • Bemrose, W. (1869). Guide to Buxton and Neighbourhood. London: Bemrose & Sons.
  • Black's Guide to Buxton and the Peak country of Derbyshire. A. and C. Black. 1898.
  • Aitken, Tom (2008). One Hundred & One Beautiful Towns in Great Britain. Rizzoli.
  • Gifford-Bennet, Robert Ottiwell (2009) [1892]. Buxton and its Medicinal Waters. London: John Heywood.
  • Langham, Mike (2001). Buxton: A People's History. Carnegie Publishing.
edit