Buxton Advertiser • 21st November 2015

What a relief! New Buxton road opens to ease town centre congestion

Links junction of Cavendish Circus and Station Road to Spring Gardens It took 30 years of campaigning, but in September 1987 there was finally relief for Buxton. The new Spring Gardens relief road was officially opened by local county councillor Arthur Robinson. Stretching one-third of a mile from the junction of Cavendish Circus and Station Road to Spring Gardens, the £750,000 road scheme was aimed at easing traffic congestion in Buxton’s shopping centre.

Buxton Advertiser • 31st August 2015

10 YEARS AGO: Drama in Buxworth as fire rips through Britannia Mill

It is almost ten years to the day since a huge fire ripped through a historic mill complex in Buxworth. The blaze at the four-storey Britannia Mill destroyed the former cotton mill and damaged many of its adjoining buildings. Residents closest to the fire were forced to leave their homes due to toxic fumes caused by tonnes of burning PVC on the site, while others were advised to keep doors and windows shut. Recalling the dramatic events of the evening of Sunday August 28, 2005, Buxworth resid

Buxton Advertiser • 9th September 2014

Fly back in time to the World Gliding Championships

Flying enthusiasts from around the world descended on the Peak District in 1954 as the famous Derbyshire and Lancashire Gliding Club had the prestigious honour of hosting the World Gliding Championships. The beautiful, idyllic surroundings of Great Hucklow greeted the 45 competitors from 19 different countries who lined up to compete in the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) event between July 20 and August 4.

Buxton Advertiser • 7th September 2014

The Buxton hotel that ran out of time

It was once one of Buxton’s grandest hotels, but the Empire never had an opportunity to live up to its name and ultimately fell victim to changing times. Built by railway buffet catering firm Spiers & Pond, the Empire Hotel opened its doors to much acclaim in 1903. The colossal structure, which stood proudly within extensive manicured grounds off Park Road, was a dominant feature of the Buxton skyline. Renowned for its luxurious accommodation, it could provide for up to 300 guests.

Buxton Advertiser • 4th September 2014

The many incarnations of Peak District’s waterway jewel

It is one of the country’s most important waterway treasures, offering a poignant reminder of the High Peak’s rich industrial heritage. Built in 1796 by canal and tramway engineer Benjamin Outram, Bugsworth Basin is part of the 14-mile long Peak Forest Canal network running between Dukinfield and Buxworth. The Scheduled Ancient Monument was once the largest and busiest inland port on Britain’s narrow canal system, and today it is the only example of its type to survive intact.

Buxton Advertiser • 2nd March 2014

Princess Anne makes waves during visit to Buxton

‘Very smart’ was how Princess Anne described the Pavilion Gardens’ new £290,000 swimming pool when she officially opened the new Buxton leisure facility on November 16, 1972. Arriving in the Peak District on the royal train, the Princess’s first port of call was the Hope Valley. Stepping off the train at Hope station, she travelled by motorcade to Losehill Hall National Park Study Cent

Buxton Advertiser • 6th February 2014

The arrival of ‘down the road’ television

Here’s a look back to when the BBC made headlines in Buxton. August 1980 heralded the long-awaited switch-over which provided 24,000 BBC viewers in and around Buxton with regional programmes from the North West instead of the remote Midlands. It was the first time Buxton residents were able to pick up the Beeb’s regional news magazine Look North West, and to mark the occasion the Buxton Advertiser went behind the scenes at their Manchester newsroom.

Buxton Advertiser • 25th January 2014

Matcham’s masterpiece still a jewel in Buxton’s crown

One of the most artistic and beautiful theatres in the county,” was how the great theatrical journal The Era described Frank Matcham’s beautiful Buxton Opera House, which officially opened its doors in 1903. The report, which featured in the Buxton Herald, highlighted the many delightful features of the new building, designed by the renowned theatre architect. “A philosopher has remarked that he who causes a blade of grass to grow where none grew before is a public benefactor...

Buxton Advertiser • 11th January 2014

Bomb storage tunnels exploded into life as a mushroom farm

Underground tunnels in Harpur Hill exploded back into life 50 years ago when the former World War Two bomb storage depot was transformed into a working mushroom farm. The 11 tunnels, cut deep into the hillside in 1938 by the Air Ministry at a cost of £6,500,000, had been used during the 1940s conflict to store explosive munitions and food rations during the conflict. They had stood deserted for many years until arousing the interest of Somerset-based Wrington Vale Nurseries.

Buxton Advertiser • 1st June 2013

Railways heralded new era in Buxton

Two railways arrived in Buxton almost simultaneously in 1863. The Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge railway, part of the London and North Western (LNWR) line, extended its Manchester to Whaley Bridge line all the way to Buxton. Meanwhile, the competing Midland Railway extended its line from Rowsley across some of the Peak District’s most spectacular scenery to Chinley and New Mills. They hoped to bypass the LNWR route and provide a faster connection to London. A branch line connected Buxto

Buxton Advertiser • 16th September 2012

Journey into Earth’s depths

Approximately 50 years ago a group of High Peak cavers played their part in a daring expedition in the French Alps to reach the bottom of what was then the deepest cave in the world. David Allsop, Tony Briggs, Clive Hockenhull, Peter Blakeley, John Needham and Ken Pearce, all from Buxton and the surrounding area, were members of a national team which in 1962 tackled the Gouffre Berger limestone cave in south-east France.

Buxton Advertiser • 9th September 2012

Best seat in the house for Beatles concert

Trevor Auty had without doubt the best seat in the house when The Beatles came to Buxton nearly 50 years ago. Not only was his father Dennis Brooke-Auty, then the Pavilion Gardens’ Entertainments & Publicity Manager, responsible for bringing the Fab Four to the spa town TWICE in 1963, he also managed to get Trevor into one of the Pavilion Gardens concerts for free - at the age of nine-years-old! It’s an experience which Trevor, now aged 58 and living in Hertfordshire, fondly remembers.

Buxton Advertiser • 2nd September 2012

Touch down at the Silverlands

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Well, yes, actually it is a plane, but not as we know it! This postcard commemorates the arrival in Buxton of intrepid airman Gustav Hamel approximately 100 years ago, during the Daily Mail circuit of Britain Air Race in his Bleriot. On that late August evening in 1912, crowds had flocked to the Silverlands football field to watch the arrival of Hamel from Northwich, via Macclesfield, after two previous failed attempts due to the weather.

Buxton Advertiser • 31st July 2011

Sister act looks for an encore

Two thespians who trod the boards at Buxton’s former Playhouse theatre — recently brought back to life as the Pavilion Arts Centre — took a trip down memory lane during a visit to the town last week. Penelope Williams and younger sister Pruedence were members of Anthony Hawtrey’s repertory company which came to Buxton each summer, performing weekly shows at The Playhouse. Between them, the pair spent five seasons in Buxton, between 1948 and 1952, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Yes, Minist

Buxton Advertiser • 17th June 2011

Dickie Bird recalls when SNOW stopped play in Buxton

IT IS etched into cricket folklore. Derbyshire versus Lancashire, 1975. An unbelievable game which saw play halted by snow — in June! Few remember the three-day match at The Park, between Derbyshire and Lancashire, for being one of the biggest defeats in County Championship history, instead for the unseasonal and unexpected influx of the dreaded white stuff. And it’s one experience that certainly sticks in the mind of retired English international cricket umpire Harold Dennis Bird, MBE