[1] While on honeymoon in Switzerland in 1847, John Smedley had become seriously ill. On returning to England, he recuperated at the hydropathic establishment at Ben Rhydding in Yorkshire and later took the waters at Cheltenham.

[3] In 1886, the eastern section, including the tower with its square mansard roof, was added by architect George Statham of Nottingham.

[4] The domed glass Winter Gardens, which housed a ballroom, and the northern block on the other side of Smedley Street were added in 1901.

By the outbreak of war in 1939, Smedley's Hydro was world famous, its guests having included Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Thomas Beecham, Ivor Novello, Jimmy Wilde, and Gilbert Jessop, to name but a few.

[8][9][10] After works to convert the building into an administrative centre had been completed, it was officially re-opened by Alderman Charles White on 28 April 1956.