Grade I-listed Ribble Valley hall set for hotel, members' club and wellness centre, with planning applications expected in November

Alison Brooks Architects has been appointed to lead a £30 million redevelopment of Gisburne Park, a 1,000-acre estate near the Ribble Valley, converting the historic house into a members' club, boutique hotel and wellness centre.

The practice will restore the Grade I-listed Georgian mansion at the centre of the estate and add hotel, dining and gallery space. Landscape architect Todd Longstaffe-Gowan has also been brought in to work on the estate's 68 hectares of parkland and woodland.

"Gisburne Park Hall is perched on the edge of a cliff above a river valley, with a fascinating history and Baroque rooms," said Alison Brooks. "Restoring the Hall is our starting point for a country-hotel experience, including new health spa pavilions, guest accommodation and convening spaces."

Plans include a spa and fitness facility, an art gallery showing work by local artists, and a 70-acre wildlife sanctuary intended for nature-based activities. There are also proposals to restore a former lake on the estate for wild swimming.

History of the estate

Gisburne Park is the family home of Guy Hindley, an artist and grandson of BHS founder Harold Hindley. He inherited the estate in 2003, when the main house — by then expanded and sold on — was operating as a private hospital. Guy and his wife Amber Hindley subsequently established Ribblesdale Park, a holiday village, restaurant, wedding venue and glampsite elsewhere on the estate. During the Covid pandemic they bought back the manor house, bringing the estate under single ownership again.

The Hindleys said the redevelopment draws on the American country-club model and comparisons were made with UK country-house hotels such as Babington House and Cowley Manor. They plan for the site to include hotel rooms and suites, a spa with sports and fitness facilities, a gallery, and dining and social space.

"My vision is centred around helping people feel energised, connected and purposeful," said Amber Hindley. "I am excited to bring this to the Yorkshire Dales, creating a wellness offering connected to the natural beauty and slower rhythms of the countryside."

Guy Hindley said the couple chose Alison Brooks Architects partly on the strength of her work on The Smile, a temporary installation at the 2016 London Design Festival, as well as the practice's history of work on listed buildings, including Windward House in Gloucestershire and the Cohen Quad at Exeter College, Oxford.

"Gisburne Park has evolved over hundreds of years, and it demands an architect with a genuine sensitivity to its history, landscape and character," he said. "We believe Alison has the ability to create something that sits in harmony with what already exists."

Planning applications are expected in November 2026, with concept development due to begin this summer and completion targeted for 2028.