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Buxton

Although not actually situated within the National Park itself, the elegant Georgian town of Buxton is the largest habitation that lies within what is widely know as, “The Peak District”, where it is possibly one of the best centres to base a short, or even long term stay within the area. Referred to as the heart of the Peak District, Buxton, like Bakewell, is right on the divide between the Dark Peak and White Peak areas of the National Park. A large part of the White Peak lies between the two towns. The reason why Buxton was excluded from the National Park becomes obvious as you approach it from the south on the A6. As you drop off the limestone plateau, enormous quarry faces open up on your right at Tunstead. Buxton in fact is almost ringed by gigantic quarries, so the Park boundary was drawn neatly around it. At 1,000 feet above sea level, Buxton is also England’s second-highest market town (only Alston in Cumbria is higher), and provides a wealth of things to do.

Both the Peak District and the Peak District National Park are filled with much of historical interest, some of which dates back several thousand years. For its gracious architecture, the town of Buxton wears the crown, and can be attributed mainly to the 5th Duke of Devonshire, who hoped to establish a northern spa town that would rival, and possibly surpass, the attractions of Bath. In both locations it was the Romans who first exploited the healing waters of apparently inexhaustible hot springs as a commercial enterprise. They arrived in AD70, and called the place Aquae Arnemetiae that translates as “The Spa of the Goddess of the Grove”. It is one of only two places in Britain which had the Roman prefix aquae (meaning “waters”) - the other being Aquae Sulis, or Bath. The waters still bubble up at Buxton, always maintaining a constant temperature of 82°F (28°C).  Buxton water is reputed to be particularly pure and especially effective at relieving the symptoms of rheumatism. Countless rheumatism sufferers are on record attesting that Buxton water has helped to soothe their symptoms but it wasn’t until the Tudor period that the reputation of the spa waters was enhanced when Mary, Queen of Scotland, under the custodianship of the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, was given leave to take the waters for her numerous ailments. The Hall, now the Old Hall Hotel was specially built to house her visits between 1573 and 1584. The people of Buxton also say that it makes the best cup of tea possible, and collect bottles of it to take home. Experts have calculated that the water that bubbles up nowadays fell as rainfall over 5,000 years ago.

In the 18th century, the 5th Duke of Devonshire was inspired to build The Crescent and Great Stables to ensure that visitors would flock here. Between 1780 and 1811 he was also responsible for the development of the Square, Hall Bank and St John’s Church. Built to the designs of John Carr of York, The Crescent was the first ‘resort’ hotel in Britain and was at the heart of Buxton’s aspirations to become a fashionable spa town. The building is similar to the architecture found in Bath and, after suffering from neglect, is being converted into a 5-star luxury spa hotel. Next to The Crescent, the Thermal Baths are now the Cavendish Arcade, and the former town house of Bess of Hardwick and her husband the Earl of Shrewsbury, The Hall, is now the Old Hall Hotel. Turner’s Memorial stands opposite, and commemorates Samuel Turner, treasurer to the Devonshire Hospital. It was built by Robert Rippon Duke in 1879, a very good friend of Turner. During 1959, a local motorist crashed into the memorial, the choice was made to demolish it at the time. When the area received its pedestrian modernization some years later however, it was repaired and reinstated to its former glory, being part of Buxton’s important heritage.

–When the railway first arrived in 1863 it brought even greater numbers of visitors to Buxton  to holiday and take the waters. New baths, a Pump Room, churches and hotels were built to accommodate them. The Great Stables were converted into the Royal Devonshire Hospital and had its magnificent slate roof added in 1881. The Pavilion and Gardens were laid out and in 1903 the Opera House was opened to much acclaim.

The attractive Buxton Opera House was designed by the renowned theatre architect, Frank Matcham. Gertrude Lawrence, Gracie Fields and Hermione Gingold all played here and on one memorable occasion, the famous Hollywood screen stars Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford were in the audience to watch the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. However, in 1932 it became a cinema and, apart from an annual pantomime and a handful of amateur performances, showed films only. In the late 1970s it was restored to its former Edwardian grandeur and was officially opened by Princess Alice in 1979. Today it is one of Britain’s leading provincial theatres, practically bursting at the seams with around 450 performances each year including dance, comedy, children’s shows, drama, music, pantomime, opera and even shows on ice!

St John the Baptist Church was built in Greek style, with pediment, in 1811 by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville. That same year Wyatville laid out The Slopes, the area below the Market Place in Upper Buxton. The grand Town Hall was built between 1887 and 1889 and dominates the Market Place. Further down Terrace Road is the Buxton Museum, which reveals the long and varied history of the town and its surrounding area. As well as housing an important local archaeology collection, the museum also has a fine collection of Ashford Marble, Blue John ornaments, paintings, prints, pottery and glassware.

It is not known for certain whether well dressing took place in Buxton before 1840. There are stories that Henry VIII put a stop to the practice, but it has certainly been a part of Buxton’s cultural calendar since the Duke of Devonshire provided the townsfolk with their first public water supply at Market Place Fountain. From then on, High Buxton Well (as the fountain came to be called) and St Anne’s Well were decorated sporadically. In 1923 the Town Council set about organising a well-dressing festival and carnival that continues to this day. Every year on the second Wednesday in July, this delightful tradition is enacted.

St Anne’s Church, built in 1625, reflects the building work here before Buxton’s 18th century heyday when limestone was the most common construction material, rather than the mellow sandstone that dominates today.

Buxton is surrounded by some of the most glorious of the Peak District countryside. These moorlands also provide one of the town’s specialties - heather honey. Several varieties of heather grow on the moors: there is ling, or common heather which turns the land purple in late summer; there is bell-heather which grows on dry rocky slopes; and there is cross-leaved heather which can be found on wet, boggy ground.

The town is also the starting point for both the Brindley Trail and the Monsal Trail. Covering some 61 miles, the Brindley Trail, which takes its name from the famous canal engineer, leads southwest to Stoke-on-Trent, while the Monsal Trail, beginning just outside Buxton at Blackwell Mill Junction, finishes at Coombs Viaduct near Bakewell, some 8 miles away.

Less than one mile to the west of the town, on Green Lane, is Poole’s Cavern. Since the 16th century, the cavern has been known as “the first wonder of the Peak”. It is a natural limestone cave, said to be over 2 million years old, which was used by tribes from the Neolithic period onwards. Archaeological digs have discovered Stone Age, Bronze Age and Roman artefacts near the cave entrance. Art Hacker’s “Buxton Thro’ Other Glasses” (turn of the century) says …

“A kind of abandon-hope-all-ye-who-enter-here sort of feeling assails you as
you pass beneath the low arch of rock.”

The spectacular natural formations in the cavern include a large stalactite called the ‘Flitch of Bacon’ and the ‘Poached Egg Chamber’, with blue grey and orange formations, coloured by manganese and iron soaking down from the lime-tips above.

Axe Edge Moor, which receives an average annual rainfall of over four feet, is strictly for hardened walkers. It should come as no surprise that this moor is the source of several rivers which play important roles in the life of the Peak District including the River Dove, River Manifold, River Dane, River Wye and River Goyt. The moor actually spreads over three counties, and at Three Shire’s Head, to the south east, the counties of Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire meet.

The entire length of the River Goyt can be walked, from its source to its confluence with the River Etherow to the north and just outside the boundaries of the National Park. Once marking the boundary between Derbyshire and Cheshire (which now lies just to the west), a walk along the Goyt takes in sections of the riverbank as well as the Errwood and Fernilee reservoirs before leaving Derbyshire just north of New Mills. Although the two reservoirs look well established and very much part of the landscape, they are relatively recent additions: the Fernilee was opened in 1938 while the Errwood was flooded in 1967.

The highest point in this area is Shining Tor, overlooking Errwood Reservoir and standing some 1,834 feet above sea level. To the north is Pym Chair, the point at which an old packhorse road running east to west crosses this gritstone ridge. An old salters’ route, it was used for transporting salt from the Cheshire plains across the Peak District moorlands to the industrial and well-populated areas of south and west Yorkshire. Pym Chair is said to be named after a highwayman called Pym, who used to sit here awaiting travellers whom he could rob. During the 19th century the Goyt Valley, with its natural resources of both coal and water, developed rapidly into one of the nation’s major textile production centres. In order to service this growth, the valley also developed an intense system of transport, including canals and railways. The rugged terrain that had to be negotiated has made for some spectacular solutions to major engineering difficulties.