It was built by John Carr of York and extended by architect Robert Rippon Duke,[1] who added what was then the world's largest unsupported dome, with a diameter of 44.2 metres (145 ft).

Octagonal in shape, it housed up to 120 horses and the servants of the guests of the Crescent Hotel,[2] built in combination as part of the plan to promote Buxton as a spa town.

Local architect Robert Rippon Duke was commissioned to design a 300-bed hospital to rival Bath and Harrogate for charity medical provision.

[6] Further changes were undertaken, with the clock tower (a tribute to the hospital's chairman Dr William Henry Robertson)[7] and lodge completed in 1882, surgical wards in 1897, spa baths in 1913, and the dining room and kitchens in 1921.

The Devonshire Dome functioned as a campus of the University of Derby[9] and of Buxton & Leek College,[10] and as a commercial venue and visitor attraction.

[2] On 23 October 2015, the venue played host to Jack Massey's defeat of Gogita Gorgiladze for the vacant WBC Youth Silver Title.