Archive: This article describes Buxton Museum in 2023. Its former Terrace Road premises closed in 2023. The museum reopened in a temporary home next to Buxton Library in October 2026; see the museum for current exhibitions and visiting information.
In 2022, Buxton Museum and Art Gallery recorded around 30,000 visits at its former Terrace Road home. Its 2022 infographic reported more than £5,300 in donations, double the amount it had previously received in a year.
The former museum’s Wonders of the Peak gallery explored the area’s geology and archaeology. Its £1.5 million redevelopment in 2017 was supported by Derbyshire County Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Wolfson Foundation, Arts Council England and other funders. The gallery displayed around 1,200 objects, including the hind leg of a cave lion, Roman jewellery and prehistoric tools.
In 2019 the museum hosted Hoards: a hidden history of ancient Britain, a touring exhibition developed with the British Museum and Salisbury Museum. It went on to win the Sky’s the Limit award at the regional heritage awards in September 2019.
Earlier that year, Wonders of the Peak received the Judges’ Special Award at the Derbyshire Heritage Awards in May 2019.
During the pandemic, the museum quickly adapted to the era of lockdowns and business closures delivering online family workshops and activities; with funding from the Arts Council England‘s Emergency Response Fund, this also offered a life line to local artists and organisations in such a challenging period.
The museum reported that in 2022 it hosted 14 exhibitions and 11 free family workshops, including two for families with special educational needs, and welcomed 285 school pupils. Explore Buxton also reported 14 public lectures.
New children’s room and play area
In 2023 the museum had a play area for under-fives and encouraged children to explore its displays. It was also designated a warm space for people who needed somewhere to keep warm.
For 2021/22, the museum’s infographic reported £225,735 in local economic impact, citing the Annual Museum Survey.
The museum reported that it returned 36 objects to Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States in 2022. Its curator described a project involving 51 Native American and First Nations objects from the former Derbyshire School Library Service; the final objects were dispatched in January 2023. Items included a ceremonial platter, moccasins and baskets.
New additions to the museum collection include a love token associated with Charles II
Items added to collections in 2022 include a teapot belonging originally to Ann Yates of Brown Edge near Buxton dating from about 1880, and made probably at Pearson’s at Whittington Moor, that bears her name; a silver cufflink, found by a metal detectorist in the county, with a design of flaming hearts underneath clasped hands, a love token associated with Charles II and his marriage to Catherine of Braganza in 1662; and a Buxton Mineral Water Co. bottle used for ginger beer dating to about 1875.
2023 exhibition plans
In February 2023 the museum announced plans for the Derbyshire Open Exhibition and for Limestone and Lead: Images of Industry from the Collections, due to open on 18 February. The Derbyshire Open was subsequently cancelled after the museum closed in June 2023.
In 2023, Councillor Barry Lewis, Derbyshire County Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Leadership, Culture, Tourism and Climate Change, said:
“After the restrictions of lockdown, it’s wonderful to see that Buxton Museum and Art Gallery has not only bounced back but continues to go from strength to strength.”
He added: “The museum and art gallery is home to many precious and interesting items and I would like to thank the volunteers who gave more than 1,400 hours of their free time to identify, document and care for collections.”
In 2023, admission to the former museum was free. Its opening times were Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, with last admission at 4pm.
Former museum address (closed in 2023): Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, Terrace Road, Buxton, SK17 6DA
T: 01629 533540
derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/buxton-museum/buxton-museum-and-art-gallery
The museum is now in a temporary building next to Buxton Library on Kents Bank Road. Find Buxton Library on Google Maps.
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