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Corbar Hill is a sandstone hill at the south end of Combs Moss, overlooking 
Corbar Woods is Buxton's oldest woodland and is included in Buxton's "The Park" conservation area. Its 54 acres are owned and managed by the Buxton Civic Association. The woods were used for coppicing trees in medieval times. There are remains of a white coal pit, which used dried coppice branches to generate the high temperatures needed to smelt lead. The 19th-century paths through the ancient woods, known as the Victorian Swiss Walks, were designed by 
Corbar Hill House (on Corbar Road in Buxton) is a
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
, in the Peak District
The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...
. The summit (marked by a trig pillar) is above sea level.
The north west side of the hill (and most of Combs Moss and Black Edge) is designated as "open access" land for the public, following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), also known as the CRoW Act and "Right to Roam" Act, is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000.
Right to roam
The Act impleme ...
.
Corbar Cross was a gift from the Duke of Devonshire to Buxton Catholics, who erected it at the summit in 1950 to mark the Holy Year
A jubilee is a special year of remission of sins, debts and universal pardon. In the Book of Leviticus, a jubilee year is mentioned as occurring every 50th year (after 49 years, 7x7, as per Leviticus 25:8) during which slaves and prisoners would ...
declared by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
. The cross was painted pink as a prank in the 1990s. Protesters against Pope Benedict XVI
Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
's visit to the UK in 2010 cut down the cross. A replacement solid oak cross was donated by a firm in Lancashire and installed in 2011.
Corbar Woods is Buxton's oldest woodland and is included in Buxton's "The Park" conservation area. Its 54 acres are owned and managed by the Buxton Civic Association. The woods were used for coppicing trees in medieval times. There are remains of a white coal pit, which used dried coppice branches to generate the high temperatures needed to smelt lead. The 19th-century paths through the ancient woods, known as the Victorian Swiss Walks, were designed by Joseph Paxton
Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...
(who also laid out the original Buxton Pavilion Gardens
Buxton Pavilion Gardens is a Victorian era, Victorian landscaped public park in the spa town of Buxton in Derbyshire. The River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye flows through the gardens, which are a Grade II* listed public park of Special Historic Inter ...
). These paths allowed visitors to the spa town to enjoy views over Buxton's fine buildings from the hilltop. The "Ring of Trees" waymarked walk around Buxton runs through Corbar Wood. The main tree species are beech, yew and oak. The woodland floor at the higher west end of the woods is covered with swathes of bluebells each May. The woods are habitat to common birds (such as thrushes, tits and finches) but are also home to nuthatches and woodpeckers.
Corbar Hill House (on Corbar Road in Buxton) is a Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
building. It was built in the 19th century in the style of a French ''château
A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...
'' (with a mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...
and fountain), apparently for the Ryder family. It later became John Duncan School, which closed in 2003. It has now been converted into private apartments. Corbar Hill Hydro was converted from the Clarendon guest house in the 1890s to offer hydropathic treatments. It was sold in the 1930s for nurses' accommodation.
Nithen Quarry on Corbar Hill was used for many years as a source of high quality sandstone for the buildings of Buxton, including the town hall, which was built in the 1890s.
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