Buxton
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| Buxton | |
  Buxton shown within Derbyshire |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| District | High Peak |
| Shire county | Derbyshire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BUXTON |
| Postcode district | SK17 |
| Dialling code | 01298 |
| Police | Derbyshire |
| Fire | Derbyshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | High Peak |
| European Parliament | East Midlands |
| List of places: UK • England • Derbyshire | |
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England, close to the Cheshire/Derbyshire border to the west. Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park" (true from the west). A municipal borough until 1974, Buxton was then merged with other localities including Glossop, lying primarily to the north, to form the local government district and borough of High Peak within the county of Derbyshire. Buxton is within the sphere of influence of Greater Manchester due to its close proximity to the conurbation.
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[edit] History
Built on the River Wye, and overlooked by Axe Edge Moor, 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 (oftem mistaken for the source) opposite The Crescent near the town centre. Each summer the wells are decorated according to the local tradition of well dressing.
Initially developed by the Romans around AD 78, the settlement was known as Aquae Arnemetiae (or the spa of the goddess of the grove), although little evidence remains to be seen today. The town largely grew in importance in the late 18th century when it was developed by the Dukes of Devonshire, with a second resurgence a century later as the Victorians 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 copper mines to develop the town as a spa in the style of Bath. Their ancestor Bess of Hardwick had taken one of her four husbands, the Earl of Shrewsbury, to "take the waters" at Buxton shortly after he became the jailer 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.
[edit] Notable architecture
- The Crescent (1780–1784) was modelled on Bath's Royal Crescent by John Carr along with the neighbouring irregular octagon and colonnade of the Great Stables.
- The Devonshire (1780–1789) was created from the Great Stables, converted by Henry Currey, in 1859. It became the Devonshire Royal Hospital (now the Devonshire Campus of the University of Derby). Later phases of the conversion were by local architect Robert Rippon Duke including his design for what was the world's largest unsupported dome with a diameter of 44.2 m, beating the Pantheon (43 m) and St Peter's Basilica (42 m) in Rome, and St Paul's Cathedral (34m). However, this record is now routinely beaten by space frame domes such as the Georgia Dome (256 m). The main building and its surrounding Victorian villas is now part of the University of Derby.
- Buxton Opera House was designed by Frank Matcham in 1903. He was a prolific theatrical architect and also designed several London theatres, including the London Palladium, the London Coliseum, and the Hackney Empire. It is attached to the Pavilion Gardens, Octagonal Hall (built in 1875) and the smaller Paxton Theatre. The Pavilion Gardens contain 23 acres of gardens and ponds and were opened in 1871.
- Buxton railway station was designed by Joseph Paxton, and who also designed the layout of the Park Road circular estate. He is perhaps more famous for his design of the Crystal Palace in London.
- The Natural Baths, by Henry Currey, sit on the site of the original Roman Baths. The building was opened in 1854.
- The Pump Room, also by Henry Currey, was built in 1884 opposite The Crescent. Visitors could 'take the waters' until 1981. The building will be refurbished as part of the National Lottery-funded Buxton Crescent and Thermal Spa re-development.
- 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 designed by Henry Currey, architect to the 7th Duke of Devonshire.[1]
- 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 "jailers" 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 doorway.[2]
[edit] Culture
The annual Buxton Festival, Four Four Time music festival, and International Gilbert and Sullivan Festivals are held in the refurbished Opera House.
The Buxton Festival, founded in 1979, which runs for about two weeks in mid-July, is particularly noted for its Handel productions and the presentations of rare operas, with top-quality artists and orchestras. Running alongside it is the Buxton Festival Fringe. It is popular as a warm-up for the Edinburgh Fringe, and it now claims to be the largest 'true' fringe festival in the UK and is the second-largest Arts festival in the country after Edinburgh, which is itself the largest annual festival in the world.
The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, founded in 1994, which runs for over three weeks from the end of July through most of August, is an adjudicated competition among amateur G&S societies and also presents professional performances and fringe events.
Since 2004, the Opera House and the neighbouring Pavilion Gardens have also hosted the annual Four Four Time music festival which sees a wide variety of performers appearing over one week in February.
Buxton has a range of other cultural activities including Screen Buxton, an innovative new film club.
[edit] Geology
Built on the boundary of the Carboniferous limestone and the Derbyshire shale and gritstone, 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 eighteenth century.
The river Wye has carved an extensive limestone cavern at the South edge of the town, known as Poole's Cavern, that is open to the public for viewing along more than 300 metres of chambers.
[edit] Economy
Buxton's mixed economy includes revenue derived from the commercialisation of the local spring waters, bottled and marketed by the Buxton Mineral Water Company (now owned by Nestlé Waters UK). Buxton Blue is a blue cheese with PDO status that can only be made in and around Buxton.
Other major economic activities include tourism and limestone quarrying. The presence of the opera house and the festivals in the summer generate a good deal of economic activity, and Buxton has a considerable number of hotels (including the large Palace Hotel), B&B establishments and restaurants. There is a pedestrian-only street, Spring Gardens, that caters to tourists; an enclosed mall with various stores, including a Marks & Spencer, and a market square in the town.
In 2004 Barclays Bank published a survey of its customers showing that the High Peak borough had the largest percentage year-on-year increase of people earning over £60,000 of anywhere in Britain.
Buxton is twinned with two other towns - Oignies in France and Bad Nauheim in Germany.
[edit] Sport
It the high land above the town there are two small stadiums. The original High Edge Raceway was the original home of the Buxton High Edge Hitmen in the mid 1990s before the team moved to the custom build track immediately to the north of the original circuit. Buxton have been regular competitors in the Conference League.
[edit] Climate
At 307 metres (1,000 feet) above sea level, Buxton is the highest market town in England. Alston, Cumbria also makes this claim (but lacks a regular market). Buxton has an annual rainfall (1959-1995) of 1,286 mm with a mean temperature (1959-1995) of 7.8 °C. The town is sometimes described by Derbyshire locals as being 'a top coat colder'.
[edit] Public transport
Buxton is served by a railway line with frequent trains to Stockport and the nearby city of Manchester. Like most busy towns, Buxton had two stations, but one was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Spring Gardens shopping centre. The trackbed of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway has in part been utilized as a walk and cycleway called the Monsal Trail. Peak Rail, 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 Chapel en le Frith, New Mills and Glossop, and the 'Transpeak' coach service offers an hourly link to Taddington, Matlock, Derby and Nottingham. There is a Trent Bus directly from the Manchester Airport to Buxton. Other buses provide roughly two-hourly services linking Buxton with Stoke-on-Trent and Sheffield.
[edit] Famous Buxtonians
- Vera Brittain (1893–1970) — author of Testament of Youth and mother of Shirley Williams
- Tim Brooke-Taylor[3] — comedy actor
- Lloyd Cole— musician and songwriter, frontman of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
- Bruno Langley — actor in Coronation Street
- Elizabeth Spriggs — BAFTA nominated actress[4]
- Robert Stevenson — director of many Disney films including Mary Poppins[5]
- Dave Lee Travis[6] — former BBC Radio 1 DJ, better known as DLT
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Information about Buxton
- Buxton Opera House
- Visit Buxton.co.uk
- Buxton's local newspaper
- Buxton Festival Fringe
- Buxton lodging information
- 360° panoramic photo taken from the top of the tower at Trinity Church in Buxton
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| Unitary authorities | Derby |
| Boroughs/Districts | Amber Valley • Bolsover • Chesterfield • Derbyshire Dales • Erewash • High Peak • North East Derbyshire • South Derbyshire |
| Cities/Towns | Alfreton • Ashbourne • Bakewell • Belper • Bolsover • Buxton • Chapel-en-le-Frith • Chesterfield • Clay Cross • Derby • Dronfield • Glossop • Heanor • Ilkeston • Killamarsh • Long Eaton • Matlock • New Mills • Ripley • Sandiacre • Shirebrook • Staveley • Swadlincote • Whaley Bridge • Wirksworth See also: List of civil parishes in Derbyshire |
