The Slopes (formerly known as The Terrace) is a Grade-II-listed public park in

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.

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 England. The area was laid out by landscape architect

Jeffry Wyatville Sir Jeffry Wyatville (3 August 1766 – 18 February 1840) was an English architect and garden designer. Born Jeffry Wyatt into an established dynasty of architects, in 1824 he was allowed by King George IV to change his surname to Wyatville ...

in 1811 for

William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, (21 May 1790 K. D. Reynolds, ‘Cavendish, William George Spencer, sixth duke of Devonshire (1790–1858)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; ...

, as pleasure grounds for the guests of The Crescent hotel to promenade. The design of The Terrace was modified further by Sir

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 ...

in 1859. The grassed bank of The Slopes lies between the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

and Higher Buxton at the top and St Ann's Well and the Pump Room (into which the Buxton spring mineral waters were piped) at the bottom, facing The Crescent hotel, the Victorian spa baths and the

Old Hall Hotel The Old Hall Hotel is a hotel in Buxton, Derbyshire, England, and is one of the oldest buildings in the town. The current building dates from the Restoration period, built around and incorporating an earlier fortified tower. According to the ''De ...

. The terraced area is intersected with numerous footpaths. The Terrace had previously been a bare hillside known as St Ann's Cliff. In 1787 Major

Hayman Rooke Major Hayman Rooke (20 February 1723 – 18 September 1806) was a British soldier and antiquarian who became an antiquary on his retirement from the British Army, Army. The Major Oak is named after him. Biography Rooke was born on 20 February 17 ...

uncovered a long section of the Roman town wall, which is now beneath the landscaped hillside of The Slopes. At the same time Rooke also documented details of the base of a temple in the same area, overlooking the site of the baths and springs. The temple was dedicated to the water deity Arnemetia. It had a shrine room set on a rectangular podium, with a columned

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

at the front. Twelve Grade-II*-listed 18th-century decorated limestone urns (originally from Lord Burlington's estate at

Londesborough Hall Londesborough Hall is a country house in the village of Londesborough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, close to the towns of Market Weighton and Pocklington. The original Elizabethan building was demolished in 1819 and replaced by th ...

in Yorkshire) are set on gritstone plinths along walled footpaths and stone steps. Buxton Town Hall looks down from the top of The Slopes. It was designed by William Pollard in a French Renaissance style and built between 1887 and 1889. The Grade-II-listed war memorial from c.1920 commemorates the soldiers from Buxton who perished in the two World Wars. An ashlar obelisk on a stepped platform is fronted by a bronze statue of

Winged Victory The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...

holding a sword and a laurel wreath. The sculptor was

Louis Frederick Roslyn Louis Frederick Roslyn (born Roselieb; 13 July 1878 – 1940), also known as Louis Fritz Roselieb, was a British sculptor noted for his World War I war memorials, portrait sculptures and bronze statuettes. Before beginning his career, he stu ...

. The

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

climatological station for Buxton is situated on The Slopes directly above the war memorial. The instruments at the station record various meteorological measurements (including temperatures, rainfall, humidity and wind speed and direction), which are read daily by volunteers. Buxton's weather was formally recorded in the grounds of

Devonshire Royal Hospital The Devonshire Royal Hospital was established as the Devonshire Hospital in 1859 in Buxton, Derbyshire by the Buxton Bath Charity for the treatment of the poor. The hospital was built in the converted stable block of The Crescent. The building ...

since 1865. The climatological station was relocated to its present site in 1925. It is one of the oldest weather stations in the UK. The Slopes were restored in 1994 with grants from the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

and

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slopes, Buxton Parks and open spaces in Derbyshire Buxton

See also

References