Robert Ottiwell Gifford-Bennet - Buxton and its Medicinal Waters

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Transcribed from the 1892 John Heywood edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org

BUXTON
and its
MEDICINAL WATERS.

by

ROBERT OTTIWELL GIFFORD-BENNET, M.D. ,

Senior Acting Physician to the Devonshire Hospital and
Buxton Bath Charity.

john heywood ,
Deansgate and Ridgefield , Manchester ;
2, amen corner , london , e.c.

PREFACE.

Knowing from long experience the powerful action exerted upon the human system by the Buxton Medicinal Thermal Water, and the unsatisfactory results arising from its indiscriminate and incautious use, either in the form of baths or by taking it internally, I have in the following pages, as briefly and succinctly as possible, endeavoured to make some practical suggestions for the guidance of those of my professional brethren who have had no opportunity of becoming personally acquainted with the Buxton Spa, with the hope that they may prove of service.

R. O. G. B.

Tankerville House,
Buxton, May, 1892.

CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. topographical and descriptive .

page

SituationAltitudeGeologyRoman BathsClimate and TemperatureDeath RateWater SupplyRainfall DrainageRailway CommunicationPublic BuildingsDevonshire Hospital and Buxton Bath CharityVisitors AccommodationAntiquarian

CHAPTER II. the medicinal waters and their action .

Physiological Functions in Healthy IndividualsPerformance of the Physiological Functions in Health and DiseaseAction of Oxygen upon the Nitrogenous and Non-nitrogenous CompoundsOrigin of Calculi, Nodosities, and TophiAction of the Thermal Water upon the Great EmunctoriesChalybeate Water when Used as a Douche, or Taken InternallyAnalyses of the WatersSelection of Buxton by the RomansFirst Treatise upon the Buxton Spa, written by Dr. Jones in 1572Source and Nature of the Waters

CHAPTER III. the baths and mode of application .

Kinds of BathsNatural and HotAction of Thermal Water upon the SkinNatural BathsSwimming and Plunge for Males and FemalesNecessity of Caution in their UseImportance of Time and Frequency in Taking the BathsDirections During and After BathingMost Favourable Time for Taking Warm or Hot BathsDirections for the Use of Half, Three-quarters, and Full BathsDrowsiness after BathingMassage, When and How UsedWhen Baths InadmissibleHours for Drinking the Medicinal WatersDiseases in which the Thermal Water should Not be Drunk

CHAPTER IV. diseases in which the waters are useful .

Acute Gout and RheumatismChronic Gout and RheumatismChoreaMany Forms of ParalysisMuscular Atrophy consequent upon the Gouty DiathesisLoco Motor AtaxiaSyphilisLocal InjuriesNeuralgiaSciatica, Lumbago, &c.Number of Baths Constituting a CourseLength of Residence RequiredAction of Water upon Acute and Chronic DiseasesExtract from Devonshire Hospital ReportInference

CHAPTER I.
topographical and descriptive .

SituationAltitudeGeologyRoman BathsClimate and TemperatureDeath RateWater-SupplyRainfallDrainageRailway CommunicationPublic BuildingsDevonshire Hospital and Buxton Bath CharityVisitors AccommodationAntiquarian.

The ancient town of Buxton, which is situated upon the extreme western boundary of the county of Derby, at an elevation of 1,000ft. above the sea level, lies in a deep basin, having a subsoil of limestone and millstone grit, and is environed on every side by some of the most romantic and picturesque scenery in the High Peak, hill rising above hill in wild confusion, some attaining an altitude of from 1,900ft. to 2,000ft.

Buxton, or, as originally called, Bawkestanes, was occupied as a military station by the Romans, who, during their occupancy, constructed baths over the tepid water springs which issue through fissures in the limestone rock, where it comes in contact with the millstone grit, as was proved beyond doubt by the finding of Roman tiles (used in the construction of their baths) some years ago, when the present baths were under repair.

Although Buxton is situated at so great an altitude, the mean temperature for years past (owing, no doubt, in a great measure, to the taste displayed and forethought shown by the late Mr. Heacock, agent for many years to his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, in causing the surrounding hills to be well planted) has averaged about 44 Fahr., only a few degrees below that of some of the most frequented winter resorts in Great Britain. Such a temperature, however, may appear to some to militate against Buxton as a health resort except during the summer months, but it must be borne in mind that although the temperature may be said to be somewhat low (a necessity of its altitude), yet the atmosphere is especially pure and dry, and, like that of Davos Platz, plays no inconsiderable part in conducing to the highly-sanitary condition of the neighbourhood.

The healthiness of the Buxton district is borne out by the fact that the death-rate from zymotic disease is lower than that of most other localities in Great Britain, and that the average annual death-rate from all forms of disease is only (among the resident population) 10 in 1,000.

The air being so pure and dry exerts a most bracing and tonic effect, especially in cases where the system has become debilitated from any causeanmia, chlorosis, chronic liver and splenic disease, many forms of bronchial asthma, the first stage of tuberculosis of the lungs, and tubercular degeneration of the mesenteric glands in childhood, I have seen much benefitted by a short residence in the district. To the closely-confined and overworked residents in towns the crispness and buoyancy of the atmosphere impart a feeling of lightness and exhilaration rarely experienced except in a highland district, making mental and physical labour less irksome and life more enjoyable.

The water supply of Buxton is abundant, soft, and free from impurities, doubtless owing to its percolating through the great filter bed of sandstone to the north of the town, and issues in numerous springs far above any source of contamination from the inhabitants in the valley below.

It has been stated (and I think much to the prejudice of Buxton) that the rainfall of the High Peak, and especially of the Buxton district, is generally in excess of that of most of the other parts of Great Britain. Such an assertion is quite incorrect, as may be ascertained by a careful examination of the rainfall of other localities; although, as in all hilly districts, we must, on account of the attraction of the hills, expect a somewhat larger rainfall than on the plains. The annual average fall in the neighbourhood of Buxton amounts to about forty-nine inches, which is much less than that of many localities both in the Northern and Midland Counties. Even when there is an exceptionally heavy fall of rain the porous nature of the subsoil precludes the possibility of an accumulation of surface water to any great extent.

The following table shows the mean temperature and rainfall for 1890 and 1891, two years in which we have experienced a lowertemperature and a greater rainfall than for some years past, which, I believe, has been the experience of most otherparts of Britain during the same period:

Mean Temperature.	Rainfall.
1890. Deg.	1891. Deg.	1890. inch.

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