DISCOVER DERBYSHIRE

AND THE

PEAK DISTRICT

BUXTON MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

THE FEATURE

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, which was founded in 1891 in the Town Hall is now relocated only a short distance away in Terrace Road. Here many local treasures which cover the town's long history are to be found.

There is evidence of pre-historic settlers in the caves round Buxton, but it is the Romans who created the first real impact on the area. Precisely when they settled in Buxton is uncertain, but it was around AD78 when forts were established nearby at Navio and Melandra.  Attracted by the warm springs they built a bath on about the same site on which St Ann’s Hotel now stands. The bath measured thirty by fifteen feet with a spring of warm water on the western side. Appropriately the Romans called the settlement Aquae Arnemetiae, which means the spa of the goddess of the grove.

That this was an important settlement is obvious, judging by the number of roads that radiate out of it in all directions. An old Roman milestone was discovered at Silverlands in 1862 and can be seen in Buxton Museum and Art Gallery. It shows the mileage to Navio, the Roman fort at Brough. The Romans remained at Buxton in continuous occupation until early in the fifth century when they withdrew from Britain.

The museum is an excellent place start to find out more about the town's fascinating history and to become more acquainted with the Peak District landscape. On the first floor, the award winning 'Wonders of the Peak' gallery  illustrates how the Peak District landscape developed, along with the animals and people who once lived in the area. On the same floor is an art gallery, which is used for regular exhibitions of work by local artists. The Sir William Boyd Dawkins room presents a wonderful opportunity to look back at a Victorian study.

• carboniferous limestone fossil record of the Peak District collected between 1900 and 1950;

• Pliocene mammal evidence from caves throughout the Peak District;

• the archives and libraries of Professor Sir William Boyd Dawkins and Dr J.W. Jackson, geologists associated with the county and with Manchester Museum;

• Board photographic archive of images of Buxton;

• local social history and ephemera;

• Randolph Douglas 'House of Wonders' collection from Castleton which includes a huge collection of locks and keys and some very unusual Houdini material;

• fine art collection dominated by 19th and 20th century works in watercolours, oils and prints, including works by Brangwyn, Chagall, Chahine and their contemporaries.  

Some of the displays change from year to year. The shop sells a wide range of items.

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BUXTON MUSEUM

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery (Tel. 01298 24658) is situated in Terrace Road opposite to the Town Hall. Opening times: Monday: Closed (except summer Bank Holidays) Tuesday to Friday: 9.30am-5.30pm
Saturday: 9.30am-5pm
Sundays and Bank Holidays from Easter to 30 September: 10.30am-5pm. Admission is free

Email:

buxton.museum@derbyshire.gov.uk

THE DISCOVER DERBYSHIRE AND THE PEAK DISTRICT GUIDE

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BUXTON FEATURE

Visitors arriving in Buxton for the first time from the bleak moorlands cannot be blamed for pinching themselves in some disbelief as they emerge into a town with fine parks and grand old buildings. 

It was in the 1780s that Buxton really came to prominence as a spa. The fifth Duke of Devonshire using the profits he had made from his copper mines at Ecton in the Manifold Valley, embarked on a costly campaign to attract and accommodate more visitors in what was then only a tiny Peakland village.

Buxton Feature

BUXTON WALK

From Buxton Country Park the walk soon climbs up to the moors and as Stanley Moor is approached there are good views over Axe Edge and from the best vantage points at the top of the climb Kinder Scout can be seen in the distance.

The effort in climbing up to Solomon’s Temple is well rewarded on a clear day with magnificent views over Buxton. Poole’s Cavern was awarded ‘First wonder of the Peak’ status by Charles Cotton in his book written in 1680. It is a natural cave and provided the home for a thief and robber named ‘Poole’ in the 1400’s. The source of the river Wye it is well worth a visit along with Buxton itself.

Buxton Walk

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