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Excerpts from 900 word article BUXTON WAS ONCE A VERY GRAND SPA
Nestled in the Derbyshire hills 1000 feet above sea level, Buxton was first developed as a spa town by the Romans. In medieval times the springs were dedicated to St Ann, mother of the Virgin Mary. Their curative powers were widely acclaimed in the 1500s, when a rheumatic Mary Queen of Scots attended the baths from the Earl of Shrewsbury's estate where she was being held prisoner. But it was the 5th Duke of Devonshire, owner of much of the town and surrounding countryside in the 1700s, who decided Buxton should rival Bath and Cheltenham in grandeur as a spa town.
Like so many of Europe's old spa towns, Buxton's aim was to restore both body and soul. To this end, the 23-acre Pavilion Gardens were developed with paths and footbridges over the River Wye which prettily winds its way through them. Pavilion buildings include a vast walk-through conservatory alive with exotic flowers. |
It must have been a splendid town back then,
when the rich and royal came here to ease
their aching bones. In my mind's eye I can
see it all: the horse-drawn carriages lined
up outside The Crescent, and guests in
bathrobes padding along hotel corridors to
the spa's
promise of
renewed health.
Elegantly
attired
visitors stroll
in the lovely
Pavilion
Gardens. Some
stop for
Afternoon Tea,
others opt for
water so
graciously
served in the
Pump Room, and talk turns to the merits of
this town's blue springs bubbling through the
ground at a constant 28 deg (82F).
An architect was commissioned to build
accommodation
befitting wealthy
patrons. He
designed The
Crescent, a
handsomely curved
building with Doric columns and a paved
shopping arcade ...
