In 1879, the Buxton Bath Charity trustees persuaded William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire to give them the use of the whole building in exchange for providing new stables elsewhere in the town.
Local architect Robert Rippon Duke was commissioned to design a hospital to rival Bath's and Harrogate's facilities for charity medical care.
The stables on the ground floor were converted into hospital rooms by 1882.
Included in Rippon Duke's design was the world's largest unsupported dome with a diameter of 44 metres (144 ft), now known as the Devonshire Dome.
300 hospital beds "for the relief of the poor" were now accommodated in the building.
The Cotton Districts Convalescent fund put up £25,000 for the conversion.
By 1882 the hospital had its own baths building in George Street, although these were closed in 1914 when new mineral baths were built on the hospital site.
Further changes were undertaken, with the clock tower (a tribute to the hospital's chairman Dr William Henry Robertson) and lodge completed in 1882, the Jubilee surgical wards in 1897 and the dining room and kitchens extension in 1921.

King Edward VII (a friend of the 8th Duke of Devonshire) and Queen Alexandra came to Buxton in 1905 to tour the Devonshire Hospital and Buxton Bath Charity.
The royals also visited the Thermal and Natural Baths and the Pavilion Gardens.

Vera Brittain (author of Testament of Youth) trained as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse at the Devonshire Hospital in 1915, caring for soldiers wounded during World War I. Over 5,000 soldiers were treated in Buxton.

In 1934 the establishment was give permission by King George V to become known as the Devonshire Royal Hospital.
In 1879, the Buxton Bath Charity trustees persuaded William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire to give them the use of the whole building in exchange for providing new stables elsewhere in the town. Local architect Robert Rippon Duke was commissioned to design a hospital to rival Bath's and Harrogate's facilities for charity medical care. The stables on the ground floor were converted into hospital rooms by 1882. Included in Rippon Duke's design was the world's largest unsupported dome with a diameter of 44 metres (144 ft), now known as the Devonshire Dome. 300 hospital beds "for the relief of the poor" were now accommodated in the building. The Cotton Districts Convalescent fund put up £25,000 for the conversion. By 1882 the hospital had its own baths building in George Street, although these were closed in 1914 when new mineral baths were built on the hospital site. Further changes were undertaken, with the clock tower (a tribute to the hospital's chairman Dr William Henry Robertson) and lodge completed in 1882, the Jubilee surgical wards in 1897 and the dining room and kitchens extension in 1921.
King Edward VII (a friend of the 8th Duke of Devonshire) and Queen Alexandra came to Buxton in 1905 to tour the Devonshire Hospital and Buxton Bath Charity. The royals also visited the Thermal and Natural Baths and the Pavilion Gardens.
Vera Brittain (author of Testament of Youth) trained as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse at the Devonshire Hospital in 1915, caring for soldiers wounded during World War I. Over 5,000 soldiers were treated in Buxton.
In 1934 the establishment was give permission by King George V to become known as the Devonshire Royal Hospital.
Devonshire Royal Hospital