Born in Paris, William George Spencer Cavendish became the 6th Duke of Devonshire on the death of his father in 1811, at the age of 21. Along with the title he inherited eight stately homes and 200,000 acres of land. He went on to improve his houses and gardens (including the rebuilding of the village of Edensor) and travelled extensively. He was Lord Chamberlain to King William IV and a close friend of Czar Nicholas I of Russia. Among his friends was Sir Joseph Paxton.

The Duke is said to have wanted to marry Princess Mary, daughter of George III, but she preferred her Royal cousin the 2nd Duke of Gloucester (son of her uncle by his wife, who was born an illegitimate commoner).
The Duke had no children so when he died, at the age of 67, the dukedom passed to his cousin William Cavendish.

Gardener and architect. In 1823 obtained a position at the Horticultural Society's Chiswick Gardens which were close to the gardens of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire at Chiswick House.

A chance meeting resulted in the Duke offering the 23-year-old Paxton the position of Head Gardener at Chatsworth.
On his first morning there, Paxton met Sarah Bown, the housekeeper's niece. They later married. He enjoyed a very friendly relationship with his employer who recognised his diverse talents and facilitated his rise to prominence.

Paxton designed Buxton railway station and the layout of the Park Road circular estate. He was interested in the way public parks blended into the urban landscape, and how they could be used to attract visitors to both enjoy the beautiful environment and behave in a civilised manner. Many of his ideas were developed and tested in the Pavilion Gardens and Serpentine Walks. Look at the cascades in the Serpentine Walks, for example, and you'll notice that they have a formal architectural style similar to the great cascade at Chatsworth, extensively remodelled by Paxton.

Other features created with Paxton's input were the area's streams and lakes. which were central to his design. Engravings made at the time show a series of rustic bridges and two impressive fountain jets in a lake near Broad Walk. These water features clearly echo the style of Paxton's spectacular Emperor Fountain, built at Chatsworth in 1844 to honour the Emperor of Russia. He also designed the Crystal Palace in London.

Born in Buxton in 1905, the youngest of 12, film director Robert Stevenson's knack for blending fantasy with credibility made anything seem possible in Disney live-action motion pictures. During the 1960s, the unpretentious craftsman directed nearly all of Disney's successful films, including the Academy Award-winning "Mary Poppins" in 1964. He died in Santa Barbara, California, on September 4, 1986

Comic actor born in Buxton on July 17, 1940. Best known as a member of "The Goodies" comedy trio and as a panel member of the comedy radio show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Tim is the grandson of a parson who played centre-forward for England's football team in the 1890s. His mother was an international lacrosse player and his father a solicitor. Despite an expulsion from school at the tender age of five, Tim went on to study at Cambridge where he mixed with other budding comedians, including John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Bill Oddie in the Footlights Club (of which he became President in 1963).

In 2003 Tim unveiled a 30 metre long mural, painted by students from Buxton Community School and designed to hide an unsightly building site behind the Crescent.

UK radio presenter, best known for his career as a BBC Radio 1 disc jockey. Born in Buxton on 25 May 1945, DLT began his radio career at the pirate station Radio Caroline.

His Radio 1 career began in 1968, presenting the 'Pop North' show from Manchester. In the 1970s he adopted the on-air nickname of "The Hairy Monster". In 1993 DLT resigned on-air during his Sunday morning show, stating that he could not agree with changes that were being made to Radio 1.

Until the early 2000s Dave worked for the oldies station Classic Gold and the Army's Garrison Radio. Since March 2003, Dave has presented a Sunday morning show on BBC Three Counties Radio. Since the summer of 2006, he has also presented a weekend morning show on the Magic Radio AM stations across the North of England.