The Broad Walk

The Broad Walk, originally called Cavendish Terrace, was developed between 1861 and 1870.

During The Season, between May and September, the population of the town expanded enormously and the demand for accommodation was high. There were already several hotels and inns and many residents also offered rooms in their own houses to visitors. The Buxton Devonshire Estate decided to provide plots of land for building larger, private lodging houses for more affluent visitors. The Broad Walk was laid out, overlooking the gardens along the east side of the Wye River and became a fashionable place to promenade. 

​​​The building plots were subject to a covenant to build a lodging house of the specified value and to a design approved by the Devonshire Estate (usually by Robert Rippon Duke). Many local bankers and tradesmen invested in these plots. The first was Cavendish Villas at the northern end closest to the Old Hall Hotel, built for Mr W.F. Barnard, a local wine and spirit merchant, whose shop was in Spring Gardens. 

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Walking south from there were Grosvenor Villas, Holly Bank, Milton House, Cavendish House, Derby House, Stanley Terrace, Lake Villas, Dalton House, Cambridge Villas, Westminster House, Eton House, Carlisle House, and finally Argyle Terrace. With the exception of Holly Bank and Milton House, all of these houses remain and provide some idea of the elegance that Buxton once enjoyed. The names of these houses were painted or carved in the stonework on the north side of the building so that visitors approaching from the railway stations or from Spring Gardens could easily find the house they were looking for. Most of these names are still visible.