Hotel rescued from dereliction sold to new owners

A country house hotel and wedding venue has been sold to new owners, more than a decade after being rescued from dereliction by a property developer.

Rossington Hall, near Doncaster, had been a residential school for children with behavioural difficulties before Gary Gee bought it in 2011.

He renovated the stately home, which was built in the 1880s, and attracted celebrity guests including Sir Ian McKellen, David Baddiel and Sheridan Smith.

He has now sold the business to hotel group The Crown Bawtry Collection, whose managing director Craig Dowie said he would keep the venue's "extraordinary charm".

Mr Dowie said: "It was a massive milestone for Mr Gee to sell and we know it has been overwhelming for him.

"We seized the opportunity as this kind of sale doesn't come up often and it felt like a really good fit for us.

"This is the next adventure for us and it is a wonderful hotel with beautiful grounds that are home to peacocks, so we will keep its extraordinary charm and potential as it is and continue lending it out for events and weddings."

The Crown Bawtry Collection also owns the nearby Crown Hotel, in Bawtry, and Bawtry Hall.

Mr Dowie added that he and chairman Jason Cooper were drawn to Rossington Hall's traditional features as they "contrasted well with the Crown Hotel's contemporary style".

The company said it wanted to support local suppliers and tourism in the area with the purchase, as well as "support Doncaster Airport and all the exciting developments at Gateway East".

The hall was occupied by the Royal Veterinary Corps during World War Two and was also a training college for Catholic missionaries. Its stable block is part of a horseracing college.

Mr Gee wrote on social media that he had returned the hall to its "former Victorian glory and created a business that would look after the hall in perpetuity".

He said: "My time at the hall has been rewarding and memorable and I have had the opportunity of working with a magnificent team of staff and meeting wonderful guests over the years."

Mr Gee also recently applied to Doncaster Council for consent to change the use of the estate's Victorian entrance lodge into a restaurant.

The restoration work had already been completed before the application was submitted and a café called The Lodge opened in the building in 2022.

The scheme was approved after council conservation officers determined it was an appropriate way of protecting the site's heritage.

According to documents submitted to the council, the restoration work had been finished by 2018 but it was felt that the building was unsuitable for residential use because of its proximity to a main road.

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