The land and buildings at Rockliffe formed part of the Pilmore Estate purchased by Alfred Backhouse, a member of the famous and very influential Quaker banking family of Darlington. He commissioned a much larger and fashionable new residence to replace Pilmore House - this was completed in 1863 and named Pilmore Hall. During this period of occupation the house became known as Rockliffe Hall and the estate Rockliffe Park. The property was subsequently acquired by Lord Southampton and during WW2 was used by the RAF as a command headquarters. In 1948 the estate was divided into lots and sold off by the Southampton family. It was then that the most previous owners, The Order of St. John of God acquired the site and converted the hall to a tuberculosis sanatorium in 1950. During this time extensive alterations and largely inappropriate additions were made in order to maintain the hospital and ancillary functions. In 1980 the main blocks of woodland on the site were the subject of extensive preservation orders and the hall itself was listed in 1991.
The hospital officially closed in 1988 and since then Browne Smith Baker have been retained to advise the owners (most recently Middlesbrough Football Club) on a range of development options. The club currently use approximately half of the 176 acre site and its facilities for training purposes, whilst there are plans for a major refurbishment and extension to the hall to create a five star hotel with 46 bedrooms including conferencing facility for 250. A health club is planned in the nearby stable block and an 18-hole golf course is to be laid out in the grounds of the hall.
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