Derby Images / The Olde Spa Inn. Around 1773, a Dr Chauncey came across a mineral spring just off Abbey Street, Derby. Chauncey was an entrepreneur and seized the opportunity to rival places like Buxton and Bath. Simpson's History of Derby states: 'He put down a basin into the spring of it, to come out fresh: he built a cover over the spring which discharges itself by a grate and keeps the place always dry. About 20 yards below the spa he made a handsome cold bath and some rooms to it at considerable expense.