New temporary home for museum's artefacts

Buxton Museum was based at the Peak Buildings, a four story building that dates back to the Victorian era

Artefacts from Buxton Museum will go on display for the first time since its closure in June 2023.

The town's Peak Buildings, where the museum was housed, had dry rot and it was auctioned off in January.

In the last few months, more than 40,000 artefacts have been packed up and moved to a new temporary base at Buxton Library in Kent's Bank Road, and some of them are set to go on display in the next few weeks.

Derbyshire County Council has said it has made "positive progress" in finding a new permanent home for the museum, after more than 5,000 people signed a petition calling for its long-term future to be secured.

More than 200 people gathered in Buxton in 2024 to mark a year since the museum's closure

Jean Ball, of a forum called We are Buxton, said: "We are delighted that some of the collection from Buxton Museum and Art Gallery will be available to the general public at Buxton Library."

The community group had previously organised a demonstration outside the museum last June to mark a year since its closure.

Ms Ball added: "We are delighted that some of the collection from Buxton Museum and Art Gallery will be available to the general public at Buxton Library.

"I understand over a period of time what is in those cases [in the library] will be swapped about so we can see more of the collection.

"Some of the treasures and artworks that are owned by the museum are exactly that [treasures] - and we don't want them to be lost or hidden for too long."

All packed up

Peak Buildings, where the museum was housed, was sold at an auction on January 30 for £435,000.

Derbyshire County Council is also looking for other temporary sites to display artefacts but it said it was not in a position to reveal where these places are yet.

A spokesperson said: "The Buxton Museum and Art Gallery is now all packed up and the building is empty and ready to be handed over to its new owners.

"The complex and time-consuming work has taken months, but it has been essential to ensure this work has been done carefully to ensure the safety of the thousands of artefacts, displays and artworks.

"We're pleased to say that we are making positive progress on identifying options for the future of the museum and we hope to be able to give an update on this shortly."