Buxton weather station saved by volunteers: 2016 report

Archive, August 2016: this report describes the volunteer effort to keep the weather station running.

The Met Office climatological station on The Slopes in Buxton has weather records dating back to 1865. The instruments moved to The Slopes in 1925.

After financial constraints made it difficult for High Peak Borough Council staff to cover daily readings, the station team’s history says Met Office area manager Gill Allbones advertised for volunteers in May 2015. The volunteer team formed in June 2015; Derbyshire Record Office also dates volunteer observations from 2015.

Michael Hilton helped coordinate the volunteer team and runs the independent Buxton Weather website. Its Harpur Hill station is separate from the Met Office station on The Slopes.

In the original 2016 report, Michael said: “we advertised for volunteers and enough people came forward within a few days who were very keen to help – the result is, that we have now set up a rota of 12 -14 fully trained people to compile readings and enter the information into the Met Office computers.  We have had great support from the Met Office and from HPBC staff at Buxton Town Hall in setting all this up.”

Michael went on to say that “this is so typical of how supportive local people are to their town – there is a great spirit, of wanting to help make Buxton a better place for everyone, and of playing your part in the fabric of Buxton life – just look at the Opera House, the Well Dressings, The Town Team, Talking Signposts, and many other local organisations – none of them would be so successful, without local volunteers”

Michael also said: “The Buxton Climatological Station has records of temperatures, humidity, rainfall, and much more – and even details like the daily temperature of the soil, one metre (3 feet) below the ground! – and the records already go back 150 years – just imagine the value of this data, to people in the future, looking at climate change or global warming.  We think it would be shame, if this long and unbroken record was lost”.

Why is the weather station even on The Slopes?

In 1865, people in Buxton subscribed to set up a weather station in the grounds of the Devonshire Royal Hospital. Chemist Edwin J. Sykes took readings in the late 1860s and 1870s.

In 1925 the equipment moved to The Slopes. Council staff later took the readings until the volunteers stepped in.