April Fools’ story: The wind research, turbine proposal, official quotations and turbine illustrations in this article are fictional. The history paragraph describes the real tower. Read our visitor guide to Solomon’s Temple.
Anyone who has walked up Grin Low to Solomon’s Temple (Grin Low Tower) on a wintery day (or any day, come to that!), will know that the wind over the brow of the hill can be strong enough to hold you upright when falling into it. Research into the windiest spots around the town have highlighted Grin Low as a stand-out with the exposed summit the most consistently windy place to the south of the town.
The local authority is under pressure to designate seven locations around the High Peak for wind turbines, as part of a new renewable energy policy, and Grin Low is one of them. With much of the High Peak located within the Peak District National Park, it falls to its larger towns like Buxton, officially outside the national park boundary, to host the new wind turbines.
Due to the slopes of Grin Low, the reasonably flat summit has been chosen for the turbine location meaning the beloved folly must be demolished to make space.
However, the council is proposing to rebuild the Temple in an as-yet undetermined location. We believe a number are being looked into and the final location will go to a public vote.
“We thought it best to move it to a new location, rather than build a wind turbine over the top of it,” says a spokesperson for the scheme.
The present Solomon’s Temple was built in 1896 by public subscription, with support from the 8th Duke of Devonshire. It replaced an earlier tower associated with farmer and innkeeper Solomon Mycock and was restored in the late 1980s. Buxton Civic Association owns and manages Grin Low Woods below the tower.
A spokesperson for BCA commented on the plans for Grin Low, “This is obviously going to be a huge loss to Buxton. Solomon’s Temple is an icon of the town and held in great affection by local residents and visitors alike. It is a place of peace and beauty for many. But we need to support the transition to renewable energy generation so BCA will be supporting the development however it can.”
The other six wind turbine locations have yet to be announced. The council has pledged to keep the public posted with developments, including the potential alternative locations for Solomon’s Temple.
The wind-turbine story above is an April Fool. Please do not write any letters or emails! You can visit Solomon’s Temple via Grin Low Woods from Poole’s Cavern car park.
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