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The Park
The development of Buxton as a spa town began with the building of The Crescent, a project that the fifth Duke of Devonshire hoped would increase the estate’s revenue and offset the drain on his resources caused by the gambling habit of his wife, the famous Georgiana. After the Duke’s death in 1811, his son, the 6th Duke was fully occupied at first with politics in London and then with improvements at Chatsworth and it was not until the early 1850s that he turned his attention to Buxton. The 6th Duke was the patron of Sir Joseph Paxton, the designer of the Crystal Palace, built in 1851 and the following year, the Duke had Sir Joseph draw up a plan for The Park, an area west of the town which the Duke wanted to develop. The intention was to create a park-like setting in which large private houses would be surrounded by extensive gardens. These houses would attract families as permanent residents rather than the lodgers who only came for the season.
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However, the 6th Duke died in 1858 and there was very little development in The Park until the 1880s when large family houses were built, many of them for Manchester millowners or merchants.
In the meantime, on the other side of Manchester Road, the Devonshire Park was being developed. From early 1870, building plots were released and large houses were built, to a design approved by the Devonshire Estate. Many of these remain along Devonshire Road, Marlborough Road, and the east side of Manchester Road. |