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Corbar Hill is a sandstone hill at the south end of 
Corbar Woods is Buxton's oldest woodland and is included in Buxton's "The Park" conservation area. Its 54 acres are owned and managed by the Buxton Civic Association. The woods were used for coppicing trees in medieval times. There are remains of a white coal pit, which used dried coppice branches to generate the high temperatures needed to smelt lead. The 19th-century paths through the ancient woods, known as the Victorian Swiss Walks, were designed by 
Corbar Hill House (on Corbar Road in Buxton) is a
Combs Moss
Combs Moss is a plateau-topped hill between Chapel-en-le-Frith and Buxton in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. The summit, Combs Head, is above sea level.
The moorland plateau is flanked by Combs Edge and the Goyt Valley to the west, the vill ...
, overlooking Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, in the Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...
. The summit (marked by a trig pillar) is above sea level.
The north west side of the hill (and most of Combs Moss and Black Edge) is designated as "open access" land for the public, following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), known informally as the CRoW Act or "Right to Roam" Act is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000.
Right to roam
The Act imp ...
.
Corbar Cross was a gift from the Duke of Devonshire to Buxton Catholics, who erected it at the summit in 1950 to mark the Holy Year
A jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In ''Leviticus'', a Jubilee (biblical), jubilee year ( he, יובל ''yūḇāl'') is mentioned to occur every 50th year; during which slaves and prisoners would be freed, deb ...
declared by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
. The cross was painted pink as a prank in the 1990s. Protesters against Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
's visit to the UK in 2010 cut down the cross. A replacement solid oak cross was donated by a firm in Lancashire and installed in 2011.
Corbar Woods is Buxton's oldest woodland and is included in Buxton's "The Park" conservation area. Its 54 acres are owned and managed by the Buxton Civic Association. The woods were used for coppicing trees in medieval times. There are remains of a white coal pit, which used dried coppice branches to generate the high temperatures needed to smelt lead. The 19th-century paths through the ancient woods, known as the Victorian Swiss Walks, were designed by Joseph Paxton
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
(who also laid out the original Buxton Pavilion Gardens
Buxton Pavilion Gardens is a Victorian landscaped public park in the spa town of Buxton in Derbyshire. The River Wye flows through the gardens, which are a Grade II* listed public park of Special Historic Interest.
Features
The site of the Pa ...
). These paths allowed visitors to the spa town to enjoy views over Buxton's fine buildings from the hilltop. The "Ring of Trees" waymarked walk around Buxton runs through Corbar Wood. The main tree species are beech, yew and oak. The woodland floor at the higher west end of the woods is covered with swathes of bluebells each May. The woods are habitat to common birds (such as thrushes, tits and finches) but are also home to nuthatches and woodpeckers.
Corbar Hill House (on Corbar Road in Buxton) is a Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
building. It was built in the 19th century in the style of a French ''château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowaday ...
'' (with a mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...
and fountain), apparently for the Ryder family. It later became John Duncan School, which closed in 2003. It has now been converted into private apartments. Corbar Hill Hydro was converted from the Clarendon guest house in the 1890s to offer hydropathic treatments. It was sold in the 1930s for nurses' accommodation.
Nithen Quarry on Corbar Hill was used for many years as a source of high quality sandstone for the buildings of Buxton, including the town hall, which was built in the 1890s.
References