Taking the waters: Buxton Spa
The Roman spa and settlement, Aquae Arnemetiae developed around thermal springs in the Wye Valley. The Elizabethans and later, Mary Queen of Scots also 'took the waters'. The old town grew up above, around the market, but not until the building of the Duke of Devonshire's Crescent in the 1780s did the spa really began to take off. The Crescent was built on the profits from Ecton Copper Mine and was a copy of the larger Royal Crescent in Bath completed five years earlier.
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Over the next century, a classical church, great hotels, massive riding stable complex (later to become the Devonshire Hospital, now being converted by Derby University), thermal baths, Pavilion (reflecting ideas from the Crystal Palace), concert hall, hothouse and leisure gardens were established. The opera house was added in 1903. Buxton rests entirely on the limestone and mudstone outcrops, but all buildings of any significance are built from sandstone, largely quarried from Corbar Hill to the west.
Buxton the highest market town in England and still relies heavily on tourism and conferences. The Opera Festival is one of the best known in the country. Nearby Hillhead Quarry, hosts Europe's largest quarry plant trade fair every two years, with accommodation provided by the town's hotels.
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