I am glad to say, that only a few people living in the suburbs of London can boast of being right next door to a really big (picturesque) park, which also happens to have a mansion. I am one of them. I’ve always wanted to see the really famous castles/palaces which are normally far away in places like Yorkshire and Wiltshire but I’ve never realised I live right near one and it’s history can match up to any castle in the country. To be precise, it’s called Valentines Park and Mansion, which is one of the largest parks in the borough of Redbridge.  You might have heard that the Queen recently visited us; as part of her Jubilee celebrations, which I have to say made me feel rather proud.

However I want people to remember Valentines Park/Mansion as a historical ‘reminder’ in our community, to show the civilisation that lived before and we as habitants will be sure to leave a similar mark for our future generations. How amazing would it feel for your home to be transformed into a museum? All of your stuffed animals to be viewed as antique objects being auctioned for millions of pounds, and your messy bedroom to be viewed as an expression of art? We normally view History to be events that have already occurred in the past, but what we don’t realise is that we are making history everyday, we are all living examples.

An old mirror, an opulent (red) four-poster bed, a fancy painted cabinet; these are only a few of the things present at Valentines and these are all from different eras.  Also from the beginning of reading this, you may be wondering, why on earth is it called Valentines? Well the name ‘Valentines’ comes from the land it was built on. Valentines was a common family surname. Members of the Valentines family probably farmed the fields long before the mansion was built.

Let me talk more about the more historical context: Valentines Mansion was built in 1696 (That’s 316 years old, even older than your house probably) for Elizabeth Tillotson the widow of Archbishop of Canterbury, John Tillotson. Originally the land which came with the house was only 8 acres, but Robert Surman who owned the mansion between 1723 and 1753 added an area of farmland and Sir Charles Raymond expanded the estate considerably; today Valentines is in the region of 125 acres.

Throughout the years, Valentine Mansion got different owners, went through different changes and the last private owner and resident was Sarah Ingleby, who previously had lived there when she was younger with her uncles, Charles Holcombe but then left to get married. She returned later with her family in the 1860’s. She lived there till her death in 1906. Since 1906 the mansion has been home to wartime refugees, used as a hospital, public health centre and a council housing department.

Even though Valentines Park and Mansion don’t compare to the grandeur of something like Hampton Court Palace or Kensington Palace, I still believe Valentines Mansion deserves to be regarded highly. It was habited by people like the wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which I think is a huge deal, but most of all it shows what life was like before; the kitchen contains actual cooking appliances which were used before and much of the décor is probably the same.

You might be wondering that with so many owners throughout so many years, that Valentines Mansion would probably be the oldest building, you’re wrong. It’s the Ilford Hospital Chapel, near Ilford station and it’s more than 850 years old. Can you imagine being alive for that long, seeing the world evolve around you?

I don’t want to remember Valentines Mansion just as an old house and you might think the money spent on the preservation could be used for other causes but look at it this way: “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots”- Marcus Garvey. 

It’s worth it to go visit Valentines Park and Mansions and here is the website to see the on going events: http://www.valentinesmansion.com/

How do you see Valentines Mansion?