American-style members club with spa & boutique hotel planned for Lancashire estate in £30m transformation
It is the latest in a string of applications for wellness retreats in the area.
A 400-year-old Lancashire estate is to be transformed into a luxury American-style members club in a £30m overhaul.
Renowned Alison Brooks Architects has been commissioned to spearhead the overhaul of the Gisburne Park estate, which occupies 1,000 acres of Ribble Valley countryside near Clitheroe.
Brooks - working alongside landscape architect Todd Longstaffe-Gowan - will restore and revitalise the Grade I-listed Georgian mansion at the heart of the estate, introducing a contemporary hotel, dining and gallery spaces, as well as a wide-ranging California-inspired health spa and wellness centre.
There will also be a calendar of community events and opportunities for ‘therapeutic immersions in nature’, courtesy of the 70-acre wildlife sanctuary on site.
Alison Brooke said: “Gisburne Park Hall is perched on the edge of a sublime cliff above a river valley, with a fascinating history, spectacular views and extraordinary Baroque rooms. Restoring the Hall to its former glory is our starting point and inspiration for a fully contemporary country-hotel experience, including new health spa pavilions, guest accommodation and convening spaces. I’m thrilled to work with Guy and Amber Hindley who are both deeply committed not only to the health and wellbeing of their guests but also to the house and its landscapes.”
Gisburne Park is the family home of Guy Hindley, artist and grandson of BHS founder Harold Hindley. Hindley inherited the estate in 2003, when the historic house at the centre had been sold on and expanded, enabling it to operate as a private hospital.
Since taking over the estate, husband-and-wife team Guy and Amber Hindley have set up Ribblesdale Park, a successful holiday village, restaurant, wedding venue and glampsite in the park.
During the Covid pandemic, when the opportunity came to buy the manor house and reintegrate the estate, they saw a chance to take Gisburne Park to the next level, and transform the Hindley family home into a boutique hotel, members’ club and wellbeing retreat.
Amber Hindley said: "My vision is centred around helping people feel energised, connected, purposeful, and truly alive for as long as possible."
Key to the Hindleys’ project is the restoration of the mansion and its grounds. There are ambitions to redevelop the gardens and wider landscape – including restoring a former lake for wild swimming.
Having seen Alison Brooks’ portfolio – notably including The Smile, centrepiece of the 2016 London Design Festival – Guy and Amber Hindley said they were confident that Alison Brooks Architects had the ideal combination of construction expertise, diversity of experience, and artistic sensibility to do justice to their vision.
Guy Hindley said: "For this project we wanted someone who was as much an artist as an architect. Alison’s work immediately jumped out to us, especially The Smile, which we saw as an installation piece of extraordinary beauty, workmanship and joy. Gisburne Park has evolved over hundreds of years, shaped carefully over time, and it demands an architect with a genuine sensitivity to its history, landscape and character.
"We believe Alison has the ability to create something that sits in harmony with what already exists – enhancing and enriching the estate rather than overwhelming it."
Planning applications are anticipated for November 2026, and if successful, it is hoped the project will complete in 2028.