The Crescent was built by the 5th Duke of Devonshire between 1779 and 1789. It was designed by architect John Carr. The hotel is one of the two hotels that occupied the complex, the other being St Ann’s Hotel. Originally six lodging houses separated them but these were eventually taken over by the hotels.
These changes were easily achieved due to the flexibility of the foresighted design of John Carr. Carr had intended on creating a building that could be easily altered to suit its changing needs. The Crescent in Bath is a facade that covers numerous buildings that stand behind it. The Crescent in Buxton, on the other hand, is a single complex that allows for corridors to be extended or closed by simply changing the partition walls.
The Crescent was also home to The Assembly Rooms which hosted balls frequented by some of the country’s wealthiest and most powerful people.
The Crescent Hotel closed in the early part of the 20th century and was used by the Devonshire Hospital as an annex. It was eventually taken over by Derbyshire County Council who opened it again in 1970 as Buxton Library until it moved to Kent’s Bank Road in 1992.