Bakewell's name is said to derive from the warm springs in the area - the Domesday book entry calls the town 'Badequella', meaning Bath-well. The town was built on the West bank of the Wye at a spot where it was fordable and the site was probably occupied in Roman times (there is a Roman altar at Haddon Hall, found nearby).
Matlock Bath in Derbyshire, became an instant tourist resort for the wealthy and influencial, when warm springs, at a constant temperature of 68 degrees fahrenheit, were discovered back in 1698. The upheavals in Europe in the later part of the 18th century onwards discouraged the wealthy from making the Grand Tour and they diverted their attention to places like the Peak District. Matlock Bath was a beneficary of this new era in travel.