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 2023, Buxton Museum’s Lead, Lime, Coal exhibition explored the history of mining and quarrying in the area and their effect on the landscape.
The exhibition brought together paintings, photographs and objects from the museum’s collections. The museum’s contemporary account describes the displays and the stories of people who worked in the industries.
In 2023, council leader Barry Lewis said:
“Derbyshire has a proud industrial history that has shaped our landscape and our people, from Roman times to the present day.
“This fascinating exhibition gives us a glimpse into that history – and a voice to the people who made it all happen.”
Photographs commissioned from John Davies in 1985, focusing on the limestone industry around Buxton, were shown alongside older images of the work.
The exhibits included an 18th-century quarrying scene by an unknown artist, acquired with support from the Art Fund’s New Collecting Award.
Another acquisition was Topley Pike, a 1923 watercolour by Karl Hagedorn (1889–1969), depicting the limestone quarry near Buxton. The V&A Purchase Grant Fund’s awards list records its support for the purchase.
Another painting was View of a Limestone Works by Herbert G. Slater (1892–1978); the original report suggested it might depict the quarry at Stoney Middleton.
The works showed different stone-working processes and forms of transport, from horse and cart to trains.
The original report also noted gifts from local people, including a Roman lead ingot, an ICI operative’s jacket from the 1960s and a 1950s ICI Lime Division safety trophy.
At the former museum, the Wonders of the Peak gallery also explored the geology and archaeology of the Peak District.
Lead, Lime, Coal was scheduled to run from 18 February to 7 June 2023. The council’s accounts record that the former museum building closed on 1 June 2023. For current exhibitions and opening times, see the museum’s visitor information.
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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