B U X 



ereflcd by the duke of Devonrtiire wltliin the lad twenty 

 years, from thedoCign and under tlic fiiperintciidaiice of Mr. 

 Carr, the architeft. It confilU of three ftorics ; the lowtll 

 rulHc, foiming a beautiful colonnade, which extends the 

 whole lenejth of front, and is feven feet wide within the 

 pillars and eleven feet high. The divifions between the 

 windows above, are formed by Ionic pilafters, wliicli extend 

 can elegant balullrade that ilcirts the whole front, the fpan 

 of which is 257 feet. Tlic Crefcent is built with grit-llone 

 obtained near the fpot, and faced with line free-ftonc, pro- 

 cured from a quarry ab--ut two miles dillant. Near the 

 back of the Crelcent are ihejinl/ks, an cxtenlive pile, which 

 was alio con^lruded at the charge of his grace of Devon- 

 fliire, who is faid to have expended i ;o,oool. in completing 

 the whole. The poor who rtfort to Buxton, on bringing 

 acertifijate from the minifter of their parifli, and medical 

 attendant, vouching for their being proper objefts of cha- 

 rity, are admitted to partake of thi' benefit of a fund formed 

 by col.ev!!^.ing one (hiUmg from every vifitor who Itays here 

 more than a day. Thu is appropriated to the purchaft of 

 necelTary medicines, and fupplyiiig fjurteen indigent per- 

 fons with fix fliillings weekly for one month ; they are alfo 

 perr.iited to bathe gratis. Buxton feafon generally com- 

 mences in June, and concludes in OAober. In thefe 

 months affemblies are held three days in the week, and a 

 fmall theatre is opened on the other three days. 



Buxton contains about 100 houfes, chiefly of (lone; the 

 inhabitants, generally refident, are about 400. The vilitors 

 in the bathing feafon are uncertain, but are eftimated at 700 

 annually, who are the principal fupport of the inhabitants. 

 Several ihops for the ma.iuiaclure and fale of ornaments of 

 fluor fpar and alaballer are eftablilhed in this village. The place 

 where the cryllals, denomiiiated Buxton diamonds, are found, 

 is about two miles louth-weil from the village: it is a walle 

 uneven piece of land, feveral acres in extent, and called the 

 Diamond Hill. 



Between one and two miles wcftward of Buxton, in the vaft 

 mafs of lime-ftone, which ranges in this part of the county, 

 is a fiffure, or cavern, called Poole's Hole, from an 

 ancient tradition, that an outlaw, named Poole, once made 

 it his relidence. Tiiis beiuT confidered a great natural 

 curiofity, we (hall be rather particular in our defcription 

 of it. Nothing grand a-n pidturefque marks the entrance 

 into this cavity, neither does its interior prefent any of tiie 

 magnilicenje which fo eminently diilinguilhes the Peak 

 cavern at CalHeton. It opens with a c:evice fo low and 

 contratled that the curious vifitant is obliged to proceed 

 with caution in a Hooping pofture nearly twenty-tive yards, 

 when the paffage widens into a fpacious vacuity, from whofe 

 roof depends a quantity of ilalaftite, produced by the 

 droppings of water impregnated with calcareous matter. 

 Part of this fubHance adheres to the roof, and gradually 

 foruiS thofe pendant fpiral maffes called i\aladites, or (lo- 

 cally) ivaler-icicles ; another portion drops with the water to 

 the ground, and attaching itfelf to the floor is there de- 

 pofited, and becomes the Jlalagmite, a lumpy mafs of the 

 fame matter. One of the former, of immenfe fize, called 

 the Flitch of Bacon, occurs about the middle of the cavern, 

 which here becomes very narrow ; but, after a ftioit fpace, 

 fpreads again to a greater width, and continues large and 

 lofty, till we reach another furprilingly large mafs of itahic- 

 tite, to which the name of Alary Qiieen of Scots' Pillar is 

 attached, from the tradition of that queen having vilited 

 this cavern and advanced thus far into its receffes. As this 

 pillar cannot be paffed without forne difficulty, few people 

 venture beyond it ; and, indeed, the remaining part of the 

 cavern offers few objefts to repay the fatigue of exploring 



B U X 



It. The money given by vifitants is di\ided among ten 

 aged women who refide here, asul aft as guides by the per- 

 miffion of the duke of Devonlhire, to whom the ground 

 belongs. The extent of the cavern docs not exceed three 

 hundred yards. 



The ilone in this neighbourhood, though of feveral 

 kinds, is mollly applied to the making of lime, many hun- 

 dred tons of which are here burnt annually. The workmen 

 and their families, like the Troglodytes of old, refide in 

 Ciives ; for any other name would be ill-adapted to defcribe 

 their habitations, which are feooped out of the hillocks or 

 fmall mounts, formed with the refufe of the lime-kilns. 

 The crull of thefe heaps of rubbifli having been confoli- 

 dated by time and the weather, is now impervious to the 

 rain; and being left of fufficient tiiieknefs, forms a fubftan- 

 tial roof. Each habitation contains two or three rooms ; 

 but few have any other light than is admitted through the 

 chimney and door-way. 



About three miles from Buxton and two from Clinpel-in 

 the- Frith, in a pafture field, is a natural curiofity, called 

 " The Marvel Stones," of which Mr. Brav gives a particular 

 defcription in his Tour through Derbyfliirc, and to which 

 probably Dr. Stukcly alluded, when he mentions having 

 heard of what appeared to liim a druidical work near Hope. 

 Near the northern extremity of an eminence called Comle- 

 J\Ii,fs, three miles from Buxton, are fome ancient military 

 works, confiding of two deep trenches, which run parallel 

 to each other to an extent of about two hundred yards. 



Buxton is fituated i6j miles N.W. from London. War- 

 ner's Northern Tour, vol. i. Pilkington's View of the 

 prefent State of Derby rttire, 2 vols. 8vo. 17S9. 



Buxton Water. The native warm fprings that have 

 given fo much celebrity to tliis town are very numerous, 

 and affoid a great abundance of water for every purpofe 

 both of bathing and domellic fupply. 



Buxton water is perfectly clear and colourlefs, entirely 

 void of fmell and tai'ce, nor has it any quality, befides its 

 temperature, which diilinguiflies it from the purcft of the 

 numerous fprings with which all mountainous countries 

 ulually abound. The heat is very uniformly Sa'' in all 

 feafons and circumllances, taken in the (lone refervoir which 

 firll receives it, and hence, though to the touch this water 

 is pofitively cold, or rather cool, it is entitled to be confi- 

 dered as a warm fpring, being uniformly of a much higher 

 temperature than common fprings. In St. Anne's well, the 

 original and principal refervoir, a quantity of thin fleam is 

 conitantly given out from the water which hovers over its 

 furface and contributes to keep up the heat during the 

 bathing. 



Along with the water, which rifes up through the 

 crevices of the floor of the well, a coiifiderable number of 

 air-bubbles are conftantly feen to rife at the fame time, 

 and palling through the water break at its furface. Thefe 

 may readily be collected by immerfing a bottle and funnel 

 full of water in an inverted pofition and intercepting them 

 in their paffagc upwards. Dr. Pearfon was the firft chemift 

 who afc5:rtained the nature of this gas, and he found it to 

 conCll almoft entirely of azotic gas mixed with a fmall portion 

 of atmofpherical air, and not carbonic acid gas as had been 

 conjedtured by preceding obfervers. A fmall portion of 

 the fame gas alfo is found in combination with tlic water, 

 which is readily fcparable by boiling. The water then 

 yields about a fixty-fourth part of its bulk of this air. 



The analyfis of the water exhibits a few faline fubdances, 

 but in very minute proportion and pcrfeftly infignhicant ; 

 for, in fadt, it is by its purity and warmth that this natural 

 fpriiig is didinguilhcd. By Dr. Pearfon's experimcius a 



gailou 



