12 Stone Urns And Linking Walls And Steps

The structure consists of twelve stone urns on plinths, linked by walls and steps. These were created in 1753, 1818, and 1859, with restoration in 1994. The urns were likely carved by Robert Parsons of Bath for Lord Burlington at Londesborough Hall in Yorkshire. They were brought to Buxton by the 6th Duke of Devonshire and positioned here as part of Sir Jeffrey Wyatville's landscaping of The Slopes in 1818, with alterations made by Sir Joseph Paxton in 1859. The urns are made of limestone and are set on gritstone plinths, accompanied by gritstone walls and steps. Each urn features a pedestal, with the lower part of the bowls adorned with leaf decorations, and the tops showcasing a continuous Vitruvian scroll frieze beneath a Greek key frieze, capped with circular decorations of leaves. The layout includes three tiers of low quadrant terrace walls connected by lower walls and steps. The lower terrace wall is linked by four sets of steps, each with an urn in shallow recesses. The middle terrace has two urns flanking central steps and two in shallow recesses as terminals. The top terrace features two urns flanking steps that lead to a central platform with a War Memorial, along with two urns as terminals. Together, these urns, walls, and steps create a significant landscaping feature opposite John Carr's The Crescent.