Template:FP-Buxton

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The Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire

Buxton

Buxton is a pretty spa town in the Peak District of Derbyshire. It grew as a spa town in the Victorian period and retains the amenities of a grand resort from that period; an opera house, a theatre and plush hotels, along with shops and a busy market. Buxton, effectively the capital of the Peak District, stands between the lower, pastured hills and the forbidding High Peak.

Though 18th century in its current guise and Victorian in its bearing, Buxton is of far more ancient roots. The Romans built a town here, drawn by the spring water: Aquae Arnemetiae (or "the spa of the goddess of the grove"). Findings of coins indicate that the Romans were in Buxton throughout their occupation of Britain. The main well, St Ann's Well in the town, remains, fed by a geothermal spring and allowed the town to blossom as a spa. The water is bottled and sold internationally.

The town hosts several music and theatre festivals each year in the Buxton Opera House. Other attractions for visitors include two speedway stadia, two golf courses.

Of the original town built in in local limestone, only the parish church of St Anne, built in 1625, remains. The present buildings, of locally quarried sandstone, mostly date from the late 18th century. (Read more)