The Pavilion was designed by Edward Milner and opened on the 10th May 1871 at a cost of £12,000, an impresive structure mainly of iron and glass 400 feet long influenced heavily by the Crystal Palace the London Illustrated News reported on the 30th September 1871 that it rises from a stone base and consisted of a Central Hall flanked by Conservatories, warmed in winter by four rows of hot water pipes going around the building and lit by gas.

The central part of the building was used as an indoor promanade where visitors could walk under cover or sit and listen to the bands, the central hall was 75 feet square and by 1874 had become very popular with large crowds far greater than could be comfortably managed, so plans were made to build a Concert Hall capable of accomodating 1000 people, this was to become The Octagonal Concert Hall now known simply as The Octagon. Designed by Robert Rippon Duke who built many other buildings in Buxton and was responsible for the addition of The Dome on The Great Stables, work started in 1875 when the terrace was widend to 37 feet and the Concert Hall opened on August 30th 1876, followed by the first concert starring Mr Julian Adams Pianist and Conductor of the band.

This is the original entrance to the Pavilion which is now the site of The Buxton Opera House if you stand on the Promenade and look towards the town you can see where the back wall of The Opera House is in relation to The Pavilion. In June 1983 There was a serious fire that destroyed the lounge, bar and restaurant this came very close to spreading to the Buxton Opera House, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service kept their hoses on the West wall trying to diminish the intense heat, fortunately they were succesfull but a large portion of The Pavilion was lost, this was rebuilt by specialist contractors with the addition of a second floor now used for the coffe shop, the cost of all this devastation was over £800,000, it took nearly two years to complete and was finally re - opened by The Duke of Gloucester on March 22nd 1985.