Dinsdale Park is a 19th-century mansion and former Spa hotel at

Low Dinsdale Low Dinsdale is a village and former civil parish in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The Parish population taken at the 2011 census was 871. It is situated a few miles to the south-east of Darlingt ...

, near

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

now converted into residential apartments. It is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Low Dinsdale Manor Low Dinsdale Manor is a privately owned, much altered, and extended medieval moated fortified manor house situated on the north bank of the River Tees at Low Dinsdale, near Darlington, County Durham, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. ...

estate, anciently the seat of the Surtees family, was acquired by John Lambton of Lambton in 1770. In 1789, during drilling for coal, a natural spring of sulphurated mineral water was discovered on the northern bank of the

River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...

at Dinsdale. The first

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

was established there in 1797. In 1829

John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, (12 April 1792 – 28 July 1840), also known as "Radical Jack" and commonly referred to in Canadian history texts simply as Lord Durham, was a British Whig statesman, colonial administrator, Governor G ...

built the Dinsdale Spa Hotel on his estate to a design by architect

Ignatius Bonomi Ignatius Bonomi (1787–1870) was an English architect and surveyor, with Italian origins by his father, strongly associated with Durham in north-east England. Life He was the son of an architect and draughtsman, Joseph Bonomi (1739– ...

. The three storey seven bayed mansion provided accommodation for seventy visitors. The business was not greatly successful and the property was sold for residential use, together with the manor, in 1844 to Henry George Surtees (

High Sheriff of Durham This is a list of the High Sheriffs of County Durham, England. In most counties the High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. In the Palatinate of Durham the officeholder was appointed by and was accountable to the Bishop of D ...

) a descendant of the ancient family. Following the sale of the property in 1914 by Aubone Surtees, the building has had various uses, including a psychiatric hospital, a local authority residential school and a nursing home. The grounds were laid out as a golf course and more recently the building has been converted into residential apartments.

References

* {{NHLE, num=1185930 , desc=Dinsdale Park Residential School, accessdate=20 October 2008 Photograph and architectural description of listed building
''A History of the County of Durham'' Vol 3, (1928) pp217-222. Low Dinsdale. from British History Online

University of Newcastle, SINE. Dinsdale Spa Hotel and Spa
Grade II listed buildings in County Durham History of County Durham