Country Estate’s £30m Private Members’ Club
Ambitious plans are in the pipeline for a luxurious private members’ club to be developed on a historic 1,000-acre country estate, writes Jan Woolley
A £30 million venture to create an exclusive, private members’ club, country house hotel and wellness resort is set to go ahead in the beautiful Ribble Valley countryside.
At the heart of the project is the magnificent Georgian mansion house set within the historic, 400-year-old Gisburne Park estate.
Spearheading the development are Guy and Amber Hindley, who explain: “To create something like this has always been an ambition of ours. Gisburne Park is a unique place with endless potential and unbelievable beauty.”
Guy Hindley is the great-grandson of British Homes Stores (BHS) founder Harold Hindley. He grew up on the 1,000-acre estate and inherited it in 2003 as a former shooting and hunting property that was once frequented by historical figures including Oliver Cromwell, Winston Churchill and King Charles II.
The Grade I listed family home, overlooking the tributary of Stock Beck and the River Ribble, was sold back in the mid-1990s and for 35 years operated as a private hospital. But in a twist of fate, the 50,000 sq ft house came up for sale during the pandemic and Guy and Amber had the opportunity of reacquiring the hall enabling them to reunite it back with the family and the surrounding parkland.
“When we discovered the house was being sold, we couldn’t believe it! This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” says Guy, who after inheriting the estate, transformed part of it into a state-of-the-art holiday village with luxury lodges and cottages.
The new private members’ club is inspired by the likes of the prestigious Soho Farmhouse, Estelle Manor and the country club lifestyle of Amber’s upbringing: “I grew up in California and the country club was a big part of my life,” Amber explains. “We want to bring that lifestyle to the north.
“In the south you will find private members’ clubs but here in the North West there is nothing similar.
“We want our members to feel like they have their own key to the estate, to walk along the river amidst the wild Sika deer, go for a work out, a yoga class, spend a few hours working remotely while indulging in a delicious meal, entertain guests, sunbathe by the pool, play a game of padel or tennis, go riding, clay pigeon shooting, catch a salmon, and enjoy old and new friends.”
The duo are tremendously excited to be working with some of the world’s leading designers to restore the privately-owned estate.
The plans for the club include a hotel with 40 rooms, restaurants and bars and a wellness club giving members access to the latest biohacking technology.
“Gisburne Park will not be a traditional spa but a holistic sanctuary designed to nurture members and guests from top to toe,” says Amber.
On the ground floor there will be restaurants and rooms in which members and guests can work, meet and dine, a cinema, library, various bars and in the cellars will be private dining and a nightclub: “It will be a home away from home,” adds Guy.
Amber explains: “Guy and I met in New York City while I was at acting school and he was at art school. Our passion and love of the arts will be celebrated across this project and we look forward to working with local and national artists. The house, in the days of Lord Ribblesdale, once housed a vast collection of important works of art and we look forward to filling it again.
“We are in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and only 45 minutes from Manchester and on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. There isn’t a site as beautiful as Gisburne Park in the UK and we feel the north of England is ready for a project of this nature!”