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Origins and early ownership
The first known record of this Grade II listed Georgian merchant house dates from 1787, when it was listed as part of a block of property owned by John Constantine, a butcher, which also included two dwelling houses on the west side, a dwelling/shop on the north side, a currier’s shop, barns, yards, two gardens and an orchard.
By the 1830s the house had been acquired by William Howson, a wine merchant whose name survives in Howson’s Yard behind the property. During the later nineteenth century it became the town’s central medical practice. By 1871, it was owned by Dr James Hartley, who used the ground floor as his surgery and lived in the accommodation above. Dr William Altham subsequently practised there, before Dr Charles Buck acquired his practice and established himself in the house after qualifying as a surgeon in 1875.
Dr Buck and Sir Edward Elgar
Dr Charles William Buck (1851–1932) was born in Settle and trained in medicine in Manchester and London. After qualifying as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1875, he returned to the town and established himself as a general practitioner in the Georgian house on the north side of the Market Place that now bears his name. The building served as both his home and surgery, with a dispensary where he prepared medicines for his patients.
A gifted amateur cellist, Buck met the young Edward Elgar at the British Medical Association’s jubilee conference in Worcester in 1882. Their shared interests in music, the countryside and dogs began a lifelong friendship. Elgar soon visited Buck in Settle and returned regularly until at least 1900, staying first at Cravendale in Giggleswick and later at the Market Place house. Their association is commemorated by the plaque on the building.
From surgery to bank
The building continued in use as a doctor’s residence and surgery until 1917, when it was sold to the Nuvic Cinema for use as offices. In 1937, it became the local branch of the District Bank and home to the bank manager and his family. The conversion included the addition of a small rear extension and a bank vault. Latterly occupied by the NatWest Bank, the branch closed in October 2017 and the building then stood vacant until purchased by the Trust to rescue it from further dereliction.