Sculpture of Duke of Devonshire officially unveiled at Buxton Crescent Hotel

The 12th Duke of Devonshire visited the town last Friday for the unveiling of the statue of his ancestor, the 5th Duke who commissioned John Carr of York to design the stunning building.

The statue has been created by Denise Dutton, the niece of Buxton couple Bill and Sheila Barratt, who not only sponsored the work, but paid for it to be created as a gift to the town.

Sadly Bill died before the statue could be formally unveiled but his wife Sheila represented him and their family at the unveiling on Friday.

The idea for the statue has been long in the planning, with Sheila previously explaining that it first came about in the late 90s when tourists asked the couple who had built the Crescent and why there was no monument honouring the achievement.

It was commissioned and funded by Bill and Sheila more than 20 years ago but had been put on hold several times as various complications caused set backs to the major scheme to redevelop the Crescent into a five-star spa hotel.

Speaking in November 2020, Sheila said: “It was difficult because there’s no point having a statue when you don’t know where you can put it.”

The striking 7.5 ft bronze sculpture - weighing 285kg - shows William Cavendish in his favourite, every-day business clothes - reflecting his reputation as a ‘quiet sort of person’.

Also present at the unveiling was Trevor Osborne, developer of the project.

Sculptor Denise Dutton - who created the figure over the course of two years - shaped it from clay using a model dressed in the typical clothes William would have worn at the time.

It sits in a new public square at the hotel, which reopened in October 2020 after a refurbishment spanning almost 20 years. Operated by the Ensana chain, it became the first UK property in the Ensana Hotels brand.

Featuring 81 bedrooms, the Crescent Hotel also has state of the art spa facilities which harness the therapeutic quality of Buxton’s mineral rich water.