Robert Gifford-Bennet - Buxton and its Medicinal Waters

The Devonshire Hospital is a large octagonal building surmounted by a lofty dome, and is situated at the foot of Corbar Hill, being a conspicuous object from all parts of the town. It was originally built for stabling in connection with the Crescent Hotel. Some years since the committee of the Buxton Bath Charity, being desirous of providing better accommodation for those seeking its aid, succeeded, mainly through the exertions of the late Mr. Wilmot, agent to his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, in obtaining the duke’s sanction to its conversion to its present use.

The structural alterations necessitated an outlay of between £30,000 and £40,000, towards which the committee of the Lancashire Cotton Fund contributed 24,000, in consideration of a first claim to the occupancy of 150 beds, the entire hospital accommodation being 300 beds.

The dome covers an area of nearly half an acre, and is said to be one of the largest in the world. Under its vast expanse between 5,000 and 6,000 people can assemble without overcrowding. A perfect echo, like that in the Baptistry at Pisa, is heard slightly away from beneath its centre.

The hospital is open to the inspection of visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a small charge, which is appropriated for the purpose of purchasing books for the library, a great boon to the crippled patients.

The Palace Hotel, a large and imposing building, stands within its own grounds, beautifully situated and laid out, close to the London and North-Western and Midland Railway stations. Being elevated considerably above the town, a panoramic view of Higher and Lower Buxton, St. Ann’s Cliff, Broad Walk, the Crescent, and Buxton Gardens is obtained from its windows, and in the distance Axe Edge, 1,950ft., Harpur Hill, Diamond Hill (so-called from the Derbyshire diamond being found there), Solomon’s Temple, and Hindlow are in full view.

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