The Old Hall Hotel is a hotel 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 ...

, 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 ''Derbyshire Archeological Journal'' (1994): "In the national context, the survival of a building which accommodated both Mary Queen of Scots and much of the Elizabethan nobility is of considerable note. Its importance in architectural terms is further enhanced as it is believed to be the earliest known British building of cross-axial form."

History of the building

Since at least the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, a hall has stood on this site by the warm spring for which Buxton water is known. The oldest part of the current building was once part of a four-storey fortified tower, built in 1573 by

Bess of Hardwick Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; c. 1527 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series of well-made ...

and her fourth husband,

George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal (c. 1522/1528 – 18 November 1590) was an English magnate and military commander. He also held the subsidiary titles of 15th Baron Strange of ...

.''A Brief History of the Old Hall Hotel'', 4-page leaflet published by the Old Hall Hotel and available from reception. The tower was used at times between 1576 and 1578 to house

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Sco ...

, whilst she was in the custody of the Earl on the orders of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. Her last visit to Buxton was in the summer of 1584.Mary Stuart Society
/ref> It is claimed that it was Mary who inscribed the following couplet to Buxton on a window pane:

Buxton, whose warm waters have made thy name famous, perchance I shall visit thee no more – Farewell.

The inscription can still be seen in the window of room 26. The Hall was rebuilt by one of Bess of Hardwick's descendants, the first Duke of Devonshire, in 1670.

Use as a hotel

By 1727, the Old Hall had become a hotel, the only one in Buxton, where the writer Daniel Defoe stayed on his tour of Great Britain. Of the Hall he wrote: "The Duke of Devonshire ... has built a large handsome house at the bath, where there is convenient lodging, and very good provisions, and an ordinary well served for one shilling per head; but it is but one." By the time that the nearby

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

was built (1780–86), Buxton had become an established spa town; and the Old Hall had become a fashionable hotel for the Georgian aristocracy taking the waters. In 1791 one James Cumming (father of the noted chemist James Cumming) leased what was then called Buxton Hall Hotel from the fifth Duke in 1791. He was considered socially more than a mere hotelier, and the hotel's clientele included bishops and visiting aristocracy. The Old Hall has served as a hotel ever since.

References

External links

The Historic Old Hall Hotel, Buxton: History of the Hotel
* {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020 Hotels in Derbyshire Buildings and structures in Buxton Country houses in Derbyshire Grade II* listed buildings in Derbyshire Country house hotels

History of the building

Use as a hotel

See also

References

External links