Information AboutBuxton |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BUXTON | |
| spa towns in england | |
| towns in derbyshire | |
| towns and villages of the peak district | |
| 70s establishments | |
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Buxton is a Spa Town in Derbyshire , England and 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, lying primarily to the north, to form the Local Government District and borough of High Peak within the County of Derbyshire. 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 marked by St. Ann's Well opposite The Crescent near the town centre. Each summer the well is decorated according to the local tradition of Well Dressing . Initially developed by the Romans around 78 AD , 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 Victorian 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 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''". NOTABLE ARCHITECTURE The Crescent ( 1780 – 84 ) was modelled on Bath 's Royal Crescent by John Carr along with the neighbouring Great Stables. In 1859 Henry Currey converted the stables into the Devonshire Royal Hospital(now the University of Derby ,Devonshire Royal campus). In the process he added what was the world's largest unsupported Dome with a diameter of 47 m, beating St Peter's Basilica (42 m) and the Pantheon Of Rome (43 m). However, this record is now routinely beaten by Space Frame domes such as the Georgia Dome (256 m). The dome is now part of the University Of Derby . Other architects active in Buxton were and the London Coliseum . The Opera House was refurbished in 1979 and now hosts the annual Buxton International Festival of Music and Arts and the International Gilbert And Sullivan Festival . The annual opera festival is particularly noted for its Handel productions, with top quality artists and orchestras. Alongside the Opera Festival — which runs for around a fortnight in mid-July — runs the Buxton Festival Fringe . Popular as a warm up for the Edinburgh Fringe , this is said to be the second largest 'true' fringe festival in the UK. Also of note is Joseph Paxton , who designed Buxton Railway Station and the layout of the Park Road circular estate; he is perhaps more famous for his design of The Crystal Palace . 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 . ECONOMY Today the town's economy is still supported by the local spring waters, as the water which is bottled and marketed by the Buxton Mineral Water Company. The other major economic activities are Tourism , and the quarrying of Limestone . In March 2006 the upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose announced that it was buying a site in the town. This is perhaps a sign of the Gentrification of Buxton. 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. CLIMATE At 307 Metre s above Sea Level , Buxton is the highest market town in England — see, however, the article on Alston, Cumbria , which also makes this claim (but lacks a ''regular'' market). The town is sometimes described by Derbyshire locals as being 'a top Coat colder'. PUBLIC TRANSPORT Buxton has a Railway station with frequent links to Stockport , and the nearby cities of Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester . The Bus station is a short walk south of the railway station, in Mill St., off the High Street. The town's buses offer affordable travel into the Peak District National Park. FAMOUS BUXTONIANS
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