Buxton Crescent
Encyclopedia
Buxton Crescent is a Grade-1 listed building in the town of Buxton
, Derbyshire, England.
Owing much to the Royal Crescent
in Bath, but described by the Royal Institution of British Architects as "more richly decorated and altogether more complex",
it was designed by the architect John Carr, and built for the Fifth Duke of Devonshire
between 1780 and 1789.
The facade forms an arc of a circle facing south-east. It was built as a unified structure incorporating a Hotel, 5 lodging houses, and a grand Assembly Room with a fine painted ceiling. The Assembly Rooms became the social heart of 18th century Buxton.
On the ground floor arcade were shops (including a hair and wig-dresser) and kitchens were in the basement.
The whole building was closed when major structural problems were discovered in the Assembly rooms, and by 1992 lay empty.
The hotel part was bought by the local council in 1993, at which time the whole building fell into public ownership.
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
, Derbyshire, England.
Owing much to the Royal Crescent
Royal Crescent
The Royal Crescent is a residential road of 30 houses laid out in a crescent in the city of Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom and is a grade I...
in Bath, but described by the Royal Institution of British Architects as "more richly decorated and altogether more complex",
it was designed by the architect John Carr, and built for the Fifth Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, KG was a British aristocrat and politician. He was the eldest son of the William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire by his wife the heiress Lady Charlotte Boyle, suo jure Baroness Clifford of Lanesborough, who brought in considerable money and estates to...
between 1780 and 1789.
Location
The Crescent faces the site of St Ann's Well, where warm spring water has flowed for thousands of years. The well is at the foot of The Slopes, a steep landscaped hillside in the centre of Buxton. Here the geological strata channel mineral water from a mile below ground, to emerge at a constant 27.5C.Current Setting
Originally detached, the Crescent building is now the centrepice of an attached range facing The Slopes.- To the left (SW) are the Natural Mineral Baths (grade-II listed, 1851-53, by Henry Currey), recently the tourist office but now empty; followed by the Old Hall HotelOld Hall HotelThe Old Hall Hotel is a hotel in Buxton, Derbyshire, England, and is one of the oldest buildings in the town.The current building dates from the Restoration period, built around and incorporating an earlier fortified tower....
(1572, altered 1672, rebuilt 1725-35, listed grade-II*), and still a hotel.
- To the right (NE) are the Buxton Thermal Baths, now shops; and The Colonnade, a row of shops with a projecting canopy (both grade-II listed, 1851-53, also by Currey).
- Across the forecourt of the Crescent, at the foot of The Slopes, are the Pump Room (1894 also by Currey); adjacent to the public drinking spout St Ann's Well, built c1940, on the site of earlier wells dating back to the Roman period.
Original construction and use
The Crescent was built for William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire, as part of his scheme to establish Buxton as a fashionable Georgian spa town.The facade forms an arc of a circle facing south-east. It was built as a unified structure incorporating a Hotel, 5 lodging houses, and a grand Assembly Room with a fine painted ceiling. The Assembly Rooms became the social heart of 18th century Buxton.
On the ground floor arcade were shops (including a hair and wig-dresser) and kitchens were in the basement.
Subsequent History
Over time, St. Ann's Hotel at the Western end of the Crescent, and the Great Hotel, incorporating the Assembly Rooms at the Eastern end, took over the intervening lodging houses in the centre of the building.Twentieth century
The western end served as a hotel. The eastern end served as council offices, a library and a clinic.Abandonment
The hotel at the western end closed in the mid eighties due to the high cost of necessary repairs.The whole building was closed when major structural problems were discovered in the Assembly rooms, and by 1992 lay empty.
The hotel part was bought by the local council in 1993, at which time the whole building fell into public ownership.
Current state and future plans
The building is currently (2011) unoccupied, but plans are in place for it to be converted into a hotel.External Links
- Engish Heritage listing
- Article with picture of Assembly Room ceiling Visit Buxton
- Article with Image of Buxton Crescent in 1795 Royal Institute of British Architects
- Newsletter of the regeneration project Buxton Crescent Hotel & Thermal Spa
- Articles with photo galleries of CrescentCrescent HotelsPump Room iPeak