Places of Worship in BuxtonContributions of old photographs, picture postcards and 'potted histories' of other Buxton churches are most welcome. |
||
 |
 |
|
| With the exception of the Old Hall, the diminutive St. Anne's Church in Higher Buxton, is the oldest public building in the town. According to the the lintel over the north door, it was built in 1625. An earlier chapel dedicated to St. Anne once stood on St. Anne's Cliff (now known as The Slopes). Visitors and pilgrims would pray there, give thanks and hang up the crutches they no longer needed! | The earlier chapel fell victim to the iconoclastic zeal of The Reformation and Henry VII and Thomas Cromwell put a stop to the ‘idolatrous' behaviour by dissolving the chapel and plundering its wealth. In 1538, Sir William Bassett of Langley removed the crutches and other relics, ordered the chapel to be locked and the wells and baths to be sealed. For nearly 100 years Buxton was to remain without a church. | |
 |
When the present building was erected, at the top of Bath Road, it was dedicated to St. John (an attempt to counteract the veneration attached to St. Anne, to whose influence the healing power of the waters was attributed). It was known by the new name for a short time only, soon reverting to its present title.
The years rolled by and the little church fell into disrepair and closed for public worship. It was used at various times as a school room, a mortuary and a barn. In 1840 the 6th Duke of Devonshire came to its rescue and had the church restored "For the convenience of those attending funerals" |
|
 |
 |
|
| More like a chapel than a church, St. Anne's is a small, low building with no tower or aisles. There are no structural divisions between the nave and chancel, and the massive tie-beams, seen in the photograph (right), are only seven feet from the floor. |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
The Parish Church of St. John the Baptist stands on a slightly elevated site to the north-west of the Crescent at the junction of Manchester Road and St. John's Road.
|
It was built by the 5th Duke of Devonshire in the Tuscan order of architecture. The date on the pediment is 'MDCCCXI' (1811)
|
|
 |
Can anyone supply information about this church? What road was it on, when was it built, when was it demolished?
|
|
 |
Again, I don't know much about this church - except that it stood on Hardwick Street and that it pre-dates Trinity church which stands a little further up the hill on Hardwick Mount.
Can anyone help with more information? |
|
 |
 |
|
| St. Peter's was built in 1839 on the site of a chapel dating from the time of Queen Elizabeth I - which itself succeeded a 13th century building. | The church was extended in 1901-2 at a cost of £3,000 | |