In the 1830s, St Catherine's House, designed by Leeds-based architect John Clark, was built as a retirement home for George Banks, a wealthy cloth merchant and former Mayor of Leeds,[8] in the south of Balby, near to the site of St Catherine's Well, an ancient site of healing and pilgrimage.

It remains owned by the NHS and operates as a not for profit social enterprise, offering conferencing facilities, a cafe and a walled garden.

Sycamore Hall Preparatory School is an independent primary and there is also specialist provision at Maple Medical PRU, incorporating Hospital Tuition, the Young Parents Centre/Link/JASP and the Mulberry unit.

The site reopened in 2011 following extensive restoration by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and charges an admission fee.

It runs a cafe based in the house, together with an historic Walled Garden which is free to access and grows and sells its own plants, and fruit and vegetables.