The land was originally a farm until it was bought by Jeremiah Dixon, mayor of Leeds, in 1784; he began the process of converting it into an estate fit for a member of the gentry by replacing the farmhouse with a villa and moving the local highway (now the A592) away from the edge of the lake to a new route outside of the grounds.

Astley was an expert on forestry, and he continued to develop Fell Foot into something more "picturesque," with long carriage driveways, boathouses, woodland trails, and "carefully designed views.

Ridehalgh was a director of the North Lonsdale Iron and Steel Company, colonel of the 2nd Westmorland Volunteer Battalion Border Regiment, and one of the founder members of the Royal Windermere Yacht Club.

[3] Ridehalgh continued the improvements made by the Astleys, planting an arboretum and replacing the modest lakeside facilities with a "small harbour" consisting of three new piers and five new faux-medieval boathouses.

[5][6] The manager's house (originally a gas works which provided lighting for the estate), the boathouses (including one converted to a cafe), a workshop, and the dock are all Grade II listed buildings.