P5239 Buxton Crescent and Spa

Item

Title
P5239 Buxton Crescent and Spa
Alternative Title
DERSB:2009.27 Buxton Crescent & Spa, The Crescent, Buxton, Derbyshire (EVL)
Description
The thermal spring waters at Buxton have been exploited since the Roman period most prominently during the late 18th century when The Crescent was built by John Carr for the Fifth Duke of Devonshire as the focal point of a health / leisure spa resort. It flourished in the 19th century although declined during the 20th, portions of the building being used variously as hotel, hospital and latterly council offices and library. The building has been empty for many years and it is now intended to be developed as a modern high quality hotel complex integrated with the adjacent natural spa. Given the high potential for below ground remains of significant Roman, medieval and post medieval archaeology a series of exploratory trial pits and evaluation trenches were excavated to help to establish the engineering environment prior to redevelopment.

The investigations demonstrated that to accommodate The Crescent and adjacent buildings a large level terrace was excavated to the natural shale. In the process the site of what is thought to have been a bath of possible Roman date, first uncovered in the 1690s was disturbed and the debris utilised in the footings of the building. In addition the location of a medieval well described by antiquarians and thought to be on an earlier Roman structure was identified. There is still potential for significant remains to survive in these locations. The work demonstrated the value of an integrated multidisciplinary approach combining historic building analysis, archaeological evaluation with hydro-geology. The project also showed the importance of using of archaeology and building analysis as a primary investigative tool as part of a development design.
Type
Evaluation
Excavation
Date
20 May 2009 – 24 June 2009
Creator
York Archaeological Trust
Contributor
Huw Pritchard
Spatial Coverage
The Crescent, Buxton, Derbtshire
SK05787356
Monument Type
Monument Type - Building
Period
Post-medieval

Position: 7657 (37 views)