Buxton Civic Association Newsletter Issue 38 Autumn 2017 RESTORING OUR HERITAGE Progress on the Octagon: Interview with Councillor Tony Kemp The Octagon project began quickly in March when the Octagon was closed for safety reasons. Repairs to this Grade II Victorian Concert Hall gem should be ready for visitors by late spring 2018.
The Octagon—restoration very much in progress
A Nasty Shock Under the Floor The original concert hall was built on earth with a brick sleeper wall holding up the floor. The bricks were not mortared together and there were 50 places where the brickwork had been knocked through and the brick removed. Recalling his shock when he saw photos, Councillor Kemp said, “Classic cars were exhibited on this floor worth as much as two and three hundred thousand pounds and who would have picked up the bill if one had fallen through that floor?” Previous work was undertaken in 1951 when skilled labour and suitable materials were in short supply but the priority was getting ‘things back to normal’. Visitors wanted a family day out in ’The Gardens’, despite rationing, to put the war years behind them. It was nevertheless a nasty surprise when a remote camera was sent under the floor and ‘…found things you wish it hadn’t!’
Building Remains under HPBC Ownership The building will remain in the ownership of High Peak Borough Council as is the Opera House. Whether in future a Trust may be established has not been decided but the building will remain in public ownership. Interview continued on page 2 1
THE OCTAGON Interview with Tony Kemp—continued
Commercial Interest Being Welcomed Councillor Kemp feels that the Pavilion Gardens complex have potential for other uses that will contribute to the town and boost jobs. Owing to commercial confidentiality he could not disclose these innovations. There have been expressions of interest and HPBC is hopeful they will submit proposals or tenders. He feels this is a different prospect to a few years ago. In 2008/9 there was no commercial interest shown in The Gardens. “It was necessary to bring the buildings into a suitable state of repair because no one was prepared to ‘take them on’… Whoever is chosen to manage the project they will not be able to do as they please with the building. Maintenance of the fabric will remain with HPBC. The interior space would be more flexible.”
Councillor Kemp Awaits 'Comments' The Council will expect comments from the public, as happened ten years ago when the cafeteria was removed and replaced by Tourist Information and the art exhibition. Councillor Kemp had complaining letters at the time about the loss of the “wartime cafeteria with water leaking through the roof.” He feels the changes proved a success and show the commercial potential of The Gardens. Spending on The Gardens, despite its success, can be seen as a waste of council tax because it requires a subsidy due to the nature of the buildings. “Even if the building was padlocked and boarded up the costs would not go away because it must be heated to some extent to prevent deterioration. Responsibilities through Historic England mean HPBC has a duty to keep the buildings in reasonable order… Historic England has been extremely helpful with many projects but do not provide large sums of money.”
New / Old Vintage Colour Scheme Research has identified the original colour scheme which will be reintroduced. All the old photographs are of course black and white and in living memory the paintwork has been just that. Historic England has used evidence from the internal columns and partially hidden structures to colour match to the original schemes. “There will definitely be a reaction and all publicity is welcome.”
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FOCUS ON HIGHER BUXTON
Dressing up the Market Place by Steve Phillips
‘Buxton’ in 1840 really meant what we now call ‘Higher Buxton’ as that is where most people lived. Life changed for ever in that year when, for the first time, fresh water was piped across from Cold Springs on Long Hill. The gratitude felt by everyone for this gift from the Duke of Devonshire, prompted Buxtonians to adopt the custom of ‘well dressing’. This annual custom perhaps started in Tissington where the village wells had maintained a supply of pure water whilst the black death had raged all around. The importance of the ‘Eagle Parade Cistern or Drinking Fountain on Market Street’ to Victorian Buxton cannot be underestimated. This year the 50th Anniversary of BCA was chosen as a theme for one of the wells and the well dressing team chose to focus on our walking guide, through many of our woods, called ‘The Ring of Trees’. Christine Gould co-ordinates the annual preparations along with a sub committee. Planning begins around January/ February time. This stage is about trying to identify a key event or anniversary or a relevant religious reference and then choices are made. Once a subject has been chosen a mini drawing is made, utilising recognisable features from the subject. “You learn over time what works,” says Christine.
In 2017 the frames were finally dressed by 6pm then erected by Stuart Watson (from the George Garage) and his team in readiness for the ceremony of blessing the wells which followed the next day. Of course although Buxtonians love their well dressings the 24 hour access to St Anne’s well is highly valued too so arrangements have evolved whereby the water supply is conducted out to the side of the well during the period when the well is dressed. This year the detail picked out from the Ring of Trees show many of our woodlands in pictures made from natural materials was a wonderful sight during the Well Dressing Festival. The sadly neglected market well, which so transformed the town in 1840, is now very much on the agenda of Buxton Civic Association. We are actively working on a restoration project to raise the profile of this important historic water feature in our town.
A paper pattern is made and then enlarged, using an overhead projector, to full scale. This is placed on the clay that has been set into the wooden framework which supports the well dressing. Volunteer helpers follow on by placing thousands of petals into the clay to make the display. It costs about £2000 to dress the wells of Buxton (£500 for flowers alone). Nestle are long time sponsors and the rest is raised by collecting boxes at the wells plus fundraising events during the year. In early July the natural materials are bought and the hope is that around 50 volunteers will turn up to help with the preparations. Christine explains, “We are always looking for new volunteers (anything from ten minutes to full days is all fine) and we want people to just come along and enjoy it; perhaps to give something back to the community and to maintain this tradition of using natural materials. It is fun and quite mad to be honest!” 3
Skilful detail achieved by ‘petalling’
FOCUS ON HIGHER BUXTON
Dressing the Well
Creating and making the dressing (above) Installation (opposite)
FOCUS ON GRIN WOODS
Come down to the woods and spot our new hand carved finger posts on the Green Trail. 4
OUR HISTORY IN POST CARDS It was there…….Now it is gone! Chris Simpson talks about Buxton and its Market Place Report by Alyson Phillips On Thursday 21st September we welcomed Chris Simpson to speak to BCA Members for our Thursday Monthly Talk. He shared photographs of postcards dated between 1900 and 1915 and welcomed additional insights from anyone in the room with ‘gems‘ to add because, as he said,”… no one can know everything.” This period was the golden age when millions of postcards were sent and postcards from Buxton can still be found across the world, many sent to Canada due to the large number of Canadian troops who came here to convalesce.
Memories of Poole’s Cavern Museum The unusual old photographs of Poole’s Cavern Museum brought back memories of the old curios and stuffed animals that people found fascinating and a way of finding out about the world long before it could be seen on a screen at the click of a button.
Walking in Duke’s Drive Most pictures were black and white but one beautifully coloured postcard of a winding lane was Duke’s Drive, free of traffic. The Victorians popularised the walk, fashionably collecting the mosses and lichen at Lover’s Leap then back to Buxton along Ashwood Dale using the High Pavement or via Ashwood Park.
Buxton High Street, the Main Road. The High Street was the main street. There was civic pride seen in the quality of the Robert Rippon Duke designed lampposts decorated with the borough arms. With no traffic hundreds of people watched maypole dancing to tunes played by Fairfield Band. They danced in the streets all around town, the fair came and music was played in the town’s five bandstands.
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BUXTON OF YESTERYEAR The Market Place – Well Dressing Begins The Market Place was the centre of the old town, away from the boggy wet area by the Crescent which could get flooded. Chris showed a Buxton that still retained its dilapidated, white cottages and small family farms. They were demolished, like those on Dunmore Square on the Market Place, or replaced by ‘modern’ late Victorian and Edwardian buildings. Drinking water was sourced from various public ponds like Dog Leach Pond, near the old Toll Bar, until 1840. The Eagle Parade Cistern’ or ‘Market Place Fountain’, to give it just two of its names, was a revelation and was celebrated by the first well dressing in Buxton. Chris outlined its extraordinary origins. The Dukes of Devonshire sponsored the Gold Cup at Buxton Race Course at Fairfield. Over the years concern grew about rowdy behaviour and a rise in illegal gambling, including fist fighting and cock fighting. The Buxton Races, that included the Gold Cup, were an important source of income for the town but the Duke decided to use the 100 guineas prize money for the Gold Cup to sponsor a well on the Market Place. This was to promote a gentler image for the tourist resort. 100 guineas was spent bringing water to the Market place and the town’s efforts were put into garlands. There were street parties all week and fierce competition for prizes for the best dressed streets. Chris has plenty of postcards so we can still judge them. There seemed to have been a competition each year to make the displays bigger and bolder. For the Diamond Jubilee in 1901 you can only just glimpse the urn on top of the Market Place Fountain, surrounded by garlands on wooden structures. In 1908 plants in pots made up the floral display but the Council tried to ban this as too untidy and sent men with shears to these ‘random arrangements’ as they didn’t seem to be ‘in keeping’.
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FESTIVAL REPORT—GUIDED WALK A Legacy of Posh Stuff and Rough Stuff – An extract from The Duke’s Legacy Walk on Grinlow, Buxton Country Park. PART 1 The 5th Duke. By Alyson Phillips As you start the climb up the main path to Solomon’s Temple turn around your eyes look at the ‘posh stuff’ and your feet walk in the steps of the ‘rough stuff’. Here on this hill, where no part of nature has been left alone, was all about making money. Let your eyes look towards the Crescent and Stables (now Derby University) to where this wealth was spent. Their esteemed Graces, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire had gambling debts equivalent today to six million dollars in 1790. They loved gambling, especially card games and horse racing at Buxton racecourse and amorous encounters. Mike Ashton, from Time Team, said that when you look at a piece of archaeology you shouldn’t see it in isolation – context is all important in explaining why the pieces are where they are rather than anywhere else. Hold this quotation in your mind’s eye as you gaze first at The Crescent and Stables and then as you turn to examine the humps and bumps that make up Grinlow and the Duke’s fortune.
View from Grinlow of The Stables, now Derby University, and the Crescent
Spending Money William Cavendish the 5th Duke 1748-1811 was aged 20, already a duke for four years, when, on the Grand Tour, he sat for his famous Italian painting. He was influenced by everything Italian and bought remarkable treasures home. His 47 years as Duke were influenced by the outlandish behaviour of the Prince Regent – the standards and norms of behaviour are set by those who have the potential to wield the most power. The Devonshires were ever loyal to the Prince. A marble bust of William Cavendish was placed in the Prince’s London home in honour of his great friend and drinking partner, creditor, fellow gambler and philanderer. The aristocracy raised or lowered the social tone. The building of the Crescent was set to rival Bath, a playground a day’s ride from Chatsworth. The village of Buxton and its 200 residents could only look on in wonder. In his History of Buxton 1811, the topographer, Arthur Jewitt praised His Grace for rescuing Buxton ‘from a state of relative barbarity, and to lay the foundation of a village, at present as remarkable for its beauty and its elegance as for the healing properties of its springs.’
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FESTIVAL REPORT—GUIDED WALK The Duke’s Legacy continued from page 7 -The Duke had an income of £1400 a week and that was 200 years ago. The Crescent cost him £38,601 and was built with the profit from his copper mines at Ecton. This copper was the best quality and the Royal Navy was expanding to ’Rule the Waves’ and needed copper bottomed boats for speed. Due to this windfall the Duke could afford the services of John Carr, architect, of York who designed five lodging houses in a crescent shape, an assembly room, card rooms, and shops that included a wig and hairdresser.
Making Money – Life on Grinlow Now turn your face uphill, your feet are walking the ancient holloway. Forty packhorses at a time would travel to Long Hill, down what is now Hargate Road, past Wyelands Court in Lismore Fields, through Gadley Ford, on a route that can still be distinguished and is mainly on public footpaths. On your right hidden amidst the quickly sprouting ash trees is a typical ‘cut’. Quarrying was a family business. The Duke leased a ‘cut’ for ten or twenty years. The Duke also took royalties on all lime products. Women carried the 25kg corves, baskets of limestone. It was loaded onto their wagons or ‘wains’ or barrowed to the nearest kiln which was burnt once or twice a year with layers of wood and later coal. Dig, crush, carry and repeat. Then repeat faster because due to enclosure and an agricultural revolution more lime was needed to improve the land and more plaster needed for buildings. Imagine the smoke and dust from the kilns and noise of forty horses with loaded panniers. Due to the Enclosure Acts drovers had to follow the same enclosed route and had to pay road charges to the Duke. Horses and small carts also carried coal from the Duke’s coal mines at Burbage, George Turner is recorded as working for three shillings a week at the Old Rise Pitt in Burbage in 1790 when the Buxton season had become well established. He could have used these three shillings to buy a ticket for the card room in the Crescent.* (Coal Mines of Buxton A.F.Roberts and J.T.Leach) So much noise and mess eventually drove later Dukes to move all mineral rights to the south side of Grinlow so no mining was permitted within sight of the Crescent. Workers who had lived their lives in lime houses, built with the lime waste, were moved on to the south side. The Duke’s agent let the poor labourers who had scooped out these dwellings live in them for nothing. Older women received five shillings a week as guides into ‘Poole’s Hole’ and children sold Buxton Diamonds as souvenirs to visitors. The remains of these old houses can be seen as part of the humps and bumps from which the newly planted beech and sycamore trees reached up to the light. No part of the scene from Grinlow could be acknowledged as natural wildness.
Picture below is an artists impression from our archive of Grin Low in 1790.
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NOTES FROM THE CHAIRMAN A Special Summer by Mike Monaghan Summer is usually a quiet time for the Association. Not of course for Poole’s Cavern when for six or so weeks over the school holidays tour staff are at full stretch dealing with 500 plus visitors per day visiting the cave and increasingly coming to sample the great food in the cafe. (See below for details on a Café Loyalty Card.) But this summer both BCA and Poole's Cavern have been busy with promoting or hosting high-profile events as part of the Festival & the ever-expanding Fringe. BCA decided to sponsor an event in the Festival Literary series for the first time, and we were very fortunate to obtain the services of Mark Cocker. Mark was born in Buxton and grew up on Lightwood Road where he acquired his passion for wildlife especially birds. He has become one of Britain's best-known writers on the natural world and in spite of having a slot at 9:00 on a Saturday morning we had a nearly full house at St John's. The audience was well rewarded for their early start by his fascinating and inspiring talk. We are hoping to welcome Mark again at the 2018 Festival when he will be promoting his latest book which deals with some of Derbyshire's iconic landscapes. Also within the Festival programme Alyson Phillips, one of BCA's directors, led a walk in Grinlow Woods entitled “The Duke's Legacy” which covered the both the industrial history of the woods, the subsequent planting by the 6th Duke of Devonshire and the rich variety of plants and trees. This was a sell-out event. Simon Fussell will be leading a repeat of the walk on Saturday 21st October at 10.45am meeting at Poole's Cavern for members. As part of the Fringe Poole's Cavern again hosted Butterfly Theatre Company who put on a very successful version of Alice in Wonderland using the unique setting of the cave This proved to be a very popular event enjoyed by children and adults. And earlier there was a single, magical event in the woods featuring the Whispering Wood Folk company. They put on a fascinating show weaving mythology, music, dance and aerial acrobatics. Once again a sell-out event. BCA are delighted to be able to put on these events for the Festival in the two unique settings of the cave & the woods.
Poole’s Cavern Café Loyalty Card can be obtained from the counter at the Café @ the Cavern, Poole’s Cavern Visitor Centre. Buy 9 drinks and get the 10th one free.
Dr Mike Monaghan and Mark Cocker in conversation
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SPOT LIGHT ON THE PLANNING TEAM
Simon Fussell Talks to Andy Banks about the Work of the Planning Team. Andy Banks, Chair of BCA’s Planning Team has an important message for members and wants them to be on the lookout for potential planning issues to support the work that he and the team do. “We need to move from being reactive to proactive, so we need the help of our members,” Andy explained. “We are not against redevelopment or new development,” Andy stated, "But it needs to be sustainable and in keeping with Buxton’s Heritage. The new Premier Inn and the Haddon Hall Care Home, are examples of good development.” The work of the Planning Team is set out in the ‘Terms of Reference’ issued in October 2014 by BCA’s board. BCA has a duty of care to ensure that proposed developments have regard to the area’s history, heritage, environment and wildlife, thereby supporting improvements in lifestyle and quality of life for locals and visitors alike and ensuring that what makes Buxton ‘special’ can be enjoyed by future generations. In a recent example, the Planning Team led by the previous Chair Jonathan Davey, played a key role in preserving the Buckingham Hotel from demolition in 2016, and the proposal to replace it with a new build. Andy went on, “Our Newsletter (Autumn 2016 No 35) reported on the matter in full setting out the Planning Team's position. The feeling was that this was too important a heritage site to lose and it could have set a dangerous precedent, putting other sites at risk.” “We need to be ever vigilant to the threats that development can pose to the historic fabric of the town and the eyes and ears on the ground of our members can be vital in making sure that we keep Buxton special.”
MEMBERS EVENTS OCTOBER—DECEMBER 2017 21st OCTOBER 2017 SIMON FUSSELL will lead a guided walk through Grin Woods to look at the Duke’s Legacy Meet 10.45am in Poole’s Cavern Car Park. Strong boots and Water proofs advisable
Booking only LOOK FOR DETAILS ON WWW.POOLESCAVERN.CO.UK FOR DETAILS OF SPECIAL BATS AND PUMPKIN EVENTS OVER HALF TERM 16th NOVEMBER VIV RUSSELL Director of Tarmac Tunstead Cement Works Quarrying and the Peak District 7.30 pm at Poole’s Cavern Visitor Centre members and non-members welcome
OUR FAMOUS SANTA’S GROTTO WILL BE HERE WITH A NEW DESIGN IN DECEMBER — BOOKINGS ADVISABLE—SEE WWW.POOLESCAVERN.CO.UK FOR FURTHER DETAILS. 10
FESTIVAL REVIEW
Mark Cocker on the life of a Derbyshire Naturalist by Simon Fussell
Nine o’clock on a Saturday morning can be a challenging time to attend a talk, but this was very well attended and is testament to the popularity of the natural world and the power of Mark Cockers’ writing. In the beautiful and calming setting of St Johns Church, taking the now familiar conversational format, Mike Monaghan, Chair of Buxton Civic Association, which was sponsoring the event, discussed a range of environmental topics with Mark Cocker. Over the past twenty years Mark has written about the damage that colonial Britain has done to indigenous populations, to the devastating effects of humans on the environment and the oceans, and of course the joy and pleasure gained from the natural environment. Mark has also written about birds on a continental scale right down to the local, and the micro habitats of Lightwood where his love of the natural world was first kindled. His passion and a thirst for knowledge about the environment began with the observation of some brown birds at the end of the road where he was brought up, Lightwood Road, in Buxton. Curious about them, he overcame his fear of being labelled a ‘bird watching nerd’ and borrowing his brothers binoculars, rushed out to see what these unremarkable dull looking birds were all about. Of course, they were far from unremarkable and dull, and close observation of them revealed that they were all slightly different, they were all individuals. This fostered a love and respect for the commonplace, and his most successful book ‘Crow Country’ celebrates one of the everyday birds that we take for granted, rooks, revealing them to be a fascinating, intelligent, gregarious and much misunderstood bird. As are Corvids generally. Shot in their thousands as a perceived threat to game estates, they are, we are discovering, among the most intelligent animals on the planet. But of course, not everything we do is bad for the landscape. The RSPB reserves provide sanctuaries and protection for some of our most threatened species, and gardeners everywhere play host to a range of species both common and rare. The problem though, is that the bad things we do greatly outweighs the good. There is also a fundamental disconnect between the expectation of continuous economic growth and the finite nature of the planet and its resources. Our oceans and the animals that rely on it and live in and around it, are choking under mountains of plastics. Essential habitats, woodlands, forests, savannah are being destroyed as we seek to feed an ever-increasing population. Animals that we once could take for granted, lions, elephants, giraffes are everywhere under threat. Perhaps it is not too late. But we need to take a long view. But perhaps we do not have 150 years? Mark is still writing and his next book due out next April, is titled ‘Our Place’. It is a personal history of the environmental movement, focusing on six landscapes in the United Kingdom. Let’s hope that he can be persuaded to come back to the BIF 2018 to tell us about it. 11
HERITAGE OPEN DAY
COMMUNICATIONS
HERITAGE OPEN DAYS
THE RING OF TREES
By Alan Roberts Buxton staged a good range of events for the national Heritage Open Days on the 7-10th September, sponsored by the University of Derby. The Civic Association contributed two events to the programme.
The Ring of Trees circular walk around Buxton is being updated. We are looking for volunteers to help with the revision.
On Thursday 7th, a Heritage Coal Mines Guided Walk took place. The group size had been set at 20 for this event and 20 visitors took part, including a young couple from London on a camping holiday in the Peak District. The weather was somewhat threatening but the visitors were well prepared and the walk across the hills above Burbage went ahead smoothly. The rain started as the group returned to the cars!
Please contact Alyson or Simon at the address below if you are interested in helping.
On Sunday 10th, Alan Roberts gave a talk on "The RAF Bomb Store at Harpur Hill". This was one of a series of three talks at the Devonshire Dome. The talk was well attended and followed by some interesting questions from members of the audience. The talk was based on Alan's recent book "Strange Happenings at Harpur Hill", published by the Civic Association, and some book sales resulted, which was useful!
Buxton Civic Association Directors and Senior Managers General Manager: Alan Walker at Poole’s Cavern 01298 26978 Board Members: Chair: Mike Monaghan Secretary: Martin Wragg Treasurer: Brian Shawcross Corporate Affairs: Jonathan Davey Planning: Andy Banks Woodlands: Peter Phillipson Community & Membership: Mike Wilde, Helen Haywood Newsletter: Alyson Phillips Archives: Brian Lawrence Environment: Andy Banks Heritage: Adam Bench Places and Spaces: Alan Roberts
Editor
Alyson Phillips
communications@buxtoncivicassociation.org.uk
BCA1967
Contact
BCA, Poole’s Cavern, Green Lane, Buxton, SK17 9DH
Registered charity number in England and Wales 258163 12