William Henry Robertson (physician)


William Henry Robertson was a physician and a leading figure behind the development of Buxton as a Victorian spa resort.

Early life

He was born in London and graduated in medicine at Edinburgh University in 1830. After practising as a doctor for a short time at Chesterfield, he settled permanently in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Water medicine in Buxton

Robertson came to Buxton in 1835. He wrote the definitive tourist guidebook to Buxton in 1854.
He studied the effects of the local mineral waters on disease and promoted their value in the treatment of gout, rheumatism, sciatica, etc. His Guide To The Use Of The Buxton Waters ran to twenty-four editions.He was appointed as an honorary physician to the Buxton Bath Charity in 1836 alongside Sir Charles Scudamore. From 1865 he became the chairman of trustees and board of management of the Devonshire Hospital and Buxton Bath Charity.
He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1872.
In 1881, the Buxton Bath Charity trustees persuaded William Cavendish to give them the use of the whole Devonshire stables building in exchange for providing new stables elsewhere in the town. The clock tower of the Devonshire Dome was named in his honour.

Life in Buxton

He lived and practised at No. 6 The Square from 1861 until his death in 1897.
He was chairman of the Buxton Improvements Company and of the trustees of Buxton College. He was also churchwarden at St John The Baptist Church for 30 years.
He qualified as a magistrate in 1867 and served on the bench in Buxton for 30 years.
Robertson Road in Buxton was named after him.

Family

William married Eliza Gill in 1836 and they had a daughter Elizabeth and two sons, William and Gordon.