Edward Elgar: Plan to create museum to famous English composer in former Natwest bank in Yorkshire market town

The museum would be created in Dr Buck’s House, a Grade II-listed building in the centre of Settle which was most recently home to Natwest Bank until 2017. The building was bought by North Craven Building Preservation Trust (NCBPT) last year to safeguard its future.

The trust also runs the Museum of North Craven Life in The Folly, which tells the stories of the people and landscape of the area. It now has plans to completely renovate the former bank building which it says could become a case study for carbon-neutral conversions of listed buildings.

It’s intended that the museum gallery will celebrate Elgar and the inspiration that he drew from Settle and the Yorkshire Dales. The building is known as Dr Buck’s House for its association with one of its previous owners, Dr Charles W. Buck, local GP and lifelong friend of Elgar.

From 1882, Elgar made frequent visits to Settle for around two decades and his association with the town is commemorated by a plaque on the building. But planning documents warn that the building, which dates to 1787, will continue to deteriorate without refurbishment.

With a shortage of affordable long-term rental properties in Settle, the proposals also propose creating three apartments above the museum for local people.

Document state: “Dr Buck’s House is a significant building, architecturally as an integral part of the fabric of the conservation area and historically through its links with Elgar.

“However, without significant intervention to find a viable and sustainable solution which will enable the building to be brought back into use, it will continue to deteriorate. Conserving Dr Buck’s House to museum and residential use will secure its future.

“The proposals seek to find the least obtrusive, most financially viable, and sustainable solutions to halting the decay and bringing the building back into use. It will contribute towards tourism and education, provide much-needed local housing, retain the green space, and open the ground floor to the public.”

North Yorkshire Council will decide on the plans at a later date.