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The Heart of a Peak District Community
Archives I - August / September 2000
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Week 1 : 13th-19th August 2000 : The Royal Devonshire Hospital
Bright, fresh flowers bloom against Buxton's Royal Devonshire hospital, which has now closed its doors for the last time.
Although plans are laid to reopen this grand building for another use,
its corridors and rooms will no longer echo to the sounds of hospital
patients, doctors and nurses.
A sad loss, not only to the people of Buxton, but also for all of those
who live in the north west, people who sought medical help from within
its portals. Now, they are forced to travel about 16 miles for the same
treatment at Stepping Hill near Stockport
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Winters were once extremely harsh in
the Peak District, and Buxton always had a little more than its fair
share of blizzards that gave the town deep drifting snow.
Whereas, a typical winter prior to the 1990s would have given us at
least 60 days, or more, of snow on the ground, now, we rarely see so
much as a single week of continuous snow within the town itself.
Winters can be bitterly cold, and it's not unusual to find quite icy
conditions, even on the sunniest of days between December and March.
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Dominating the skyline to the south, when viewed from the market
place, the visitor will notice a small structure perched on top of the hillside.
Other Pictures of Solomon's Temple :
[ 1 |
2 ]
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Solomon's Temple
This is Solomon's Temple, a stone
edifice built during 1896 by Solomon Mycock, who is said to have
provided work for the local unemployed of that time.
The all round views from this tower are breathtaking, and very popular
with walkers in the area. It can be a steep climb, but a less arduous
access can be gained if the visitor walks via the entrance to Grin Low
country park beside Poole's cavern.
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The fine lines and sweeping curves of
the Slopes, were created to mirror those of the majestic Crescent
building which faces this vista.
These graceful walks were set out to a design by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville
in 1818. Recently, the Borough of the High Peak refurbished the whole
area, utilising funds in partnership with English Heritage and the
European Commission.
The Slopes are a very popular feature of the town, for locals and
visitors alike, throughout the year. The Springtime affords the best
views across the town from this locality, before the trees gain their
dense Summer foliage.
Other Pictures of The Slopes can be found here :
[ 1 |
2 |
3
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Drystone walls are a particularly noticeable feature of the upland
Derbyshire landscape. Depending upon the underlying bedrock, some walls
are built with Limestone and others, with Millstone Grit.
In other areas of the county, the early landowners have made use of
hedges to divide the land. Since the hills and dales provide so much
natural rock at hand, it was decided to make use of this plentiful
resource. Our photograph was taken on the outskirts of Buxton, along
the Ashbourne road.
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Drystone Walls
Drystone Wall, Harpur Hill, Buxton
Updated Picture, September 2007
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Buxton has many little architectural
gems out in plain sight of our eyes, just as these beautiful "Art
Nouveau" tiles that grace several shop fronts, in the town. However,
rarely do we notice such things, in passing.
The Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian eras were responsible for giving
Buxton many highly decorative art forms by way of its buildings,
fixtures and street furniture.
Many are worthy of our attention. They remain a very important part of
the town's valuable history, so, we hope to feature some of these
wonderful subjects on our, This is Buxton page, over the coming months.
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Buxton tiles
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Well Of Living Waters
Well Figure Head
Updated Picture 2007
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The inscription on the receptacle of this
well reads, "A Well of Living Waters". Throughout the ages, this water
has given life and benefit to all of those who drank of it.
Updated Picture 2007
From the ancient peoples who lived in
this area, the Romans who built baths to cater for their enjoyment of
bathing, through to the Victorians who took it for its curative
properties, and on to the present day.
This well of living waters has served generations, and will no doubt continue to do so, for many more years to come.
Our photographs show some of the lovely detail which is to be found on
the St Anne's Well. Please, do come along and try this water for
yourself.
This well is opposite the Crescent, and next to the Pump Room. Except
for brief spells of maintenance, the well flows all year round.
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Our view of the Town Hall as seen from
Market Street, is the building with the clock tower. It was built in
the 1880s from a design by William Pollard, and open for use in 1889.
A much earlier structure, the market hall, stood upon this site until
it was consumed by fire. Earlier still, this site had a Well-Chapel, a
building used by sick people who visited St Anne's Well.
This was demolished during the later half of the sixteenth century.
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At the turn of the nineteenth century, the Town Hall also housed the
local library. The librarian, Mr T.A Sarjant charged visitors 1/- (5p)
to borrow a book for one week. However, before any books could be taken
out on loan, the prospective borrower had to have a guarantee signed by
one of the town's rate payers, or pay the cost of the book as a
security deposit. The building also housed a reading room and museum,
of which Mr Sarjant was the curator.
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Engine House
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This building, with its attractive arched
doorway, contained an engine that was used to heat the waters used by
the Buxton Bath Charity.
The Duke of Devonshire, arranged that hot and natural baths were to be
built for the use of the charity patients at the Devonshire Hospital.
This building was erected, in the 1870s to a design by R.R. Duke
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A particularly splendid example of Buxton's postal history, is to be found opposite the Opera House.
This magnificent hexagonal Victorian post box, is one of only a few that remain in service today, in the whole of the country.
Made around 1879, it bears the Royal coat-of-arms of Queen Victoria.
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Archives Index
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