Danson House

Danson House
Danson House, Bexley

Danson House is a Georgian mansion (today a Grade I listed building) at the centre of Danson Park, to the west of Bexleyheath in the London Borough of Bexley, south-east London.

Contents

History

18th Century

Originally called Danson Hill, the Palladian villa was designed by leading architect Sir Robert Taylor (architect of the Bank of England), and constructed c.1764-67 for sugar merchant and vice-chairman of the British East India Company, Sir John Boyd. It stood in over 600 acres (2.4 km²) of pleasure grounds and agricultural estate - over 200 acres (0.8 km²) of which today form Danson Park, the largest public park in the London Borough of Bexley. The landscape was designed and laid out by Nathaniel Richmond, assistant to Capability Brown from 1761 to 1763. At its centre is a large and picturesque 12 acre (49,000 m²) lake to the south of the house.

19th and 20th Century

After Sir John died in January 1800 (being buried in St Mary's churchyard, Lewisham), his son demolished the imposing wings containing kitchens and stables, and built the present stable block (design attributed to George Dance the Younger). He sold the estate in 1807 to a retired army captain John Johnston. In 1829, it passed to Johnston's son Hugh. Hugh's daughter Sarah painted a number of watercolours of the interior in the 1860s with exceptional detail. These watercolours have been invaluable in restoring the interior. Hugh Johnston sold Danson to railway engineer Alfred Bean in 1863. Bean was the driving force behind the Bexleyheath Railway Company and chairman of Bexley Local Board, and envisaged transforming the 582 acre (2.4 km²) estate into a residential suburb. Outlying areas were gradually developed but the central area of the estate remained in Bean's family after his death in 1890 until it was acquired by Bexley Urban District Council for £16,000 in 1924 on the death of his widow. The park was opened to the public in 1925, while the house was used for civil defence purposes during World War Two.

When the house was acquired by English Heritage in 1995, it was in a dangerously dilapidated condition, having been uninhabited since 1923. It was painstakingly restored in a lengthy £4.5m project by Purcell Miller Tritton architects. Bexley Heritage Trust, a local heritage charity, has been involved in partnership with English Heritage since 2000 and has completed the interior furnishing and fitting-out of the house prior to reopening by HM The Queen in Spring 2005, and it now manages the building as a publicly accessible venue and visitor attraction (the Trust is also responsible for Hall Place, east of Bexleyheath).

Today

The house is currently used for public functions and is opened to the public on certain open days. The estate's stable block is now a public house, the Danson Stables.

External links

Coordinates: 51°27′23.24″N 00°07′06.00″E / 51.4564556°N 0.11833°E / 51.4564556; 0.11833


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Danson Park — Danson Park, Bexley Danson Park ward (green) within the London Borough of …   Wikipedia

  • Barney Danson — Barnett Jerome (Barney) Danson, PC, CC (born February 8 1921) is a former Canadian politician and Cabinet minister.Barney Danson was born to a Jewish family in Toronto s Parkdale neighbourhood. He joined The Queen s Own Rifles of Canada in 1939… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Members of the Canadian House of Commons - D — Da * Jean Claude D Amours b. 1972 first elected in 2004 as Liberal member for Madawaska Restigouche, New Brunswick. * John Dahmer b. 1938 first elected in 1988 as Progressive Conservative member for Beaver River, Alberta. * Madeleine Dalphond… …   Wikipedia

  • Bexleyheath — infobox UK place country = England map type = Greater London region= London population= official name= Bexleyheath latitude= 51.4589 longitude= 0.1384 os grid reference= TQ485755 london borough= Bexley post town= BEXLEYHEATH postcode area=DA… …   Wikipedia

  • Sir John Boyd, 1st Baronet — Boyd (29 December 1718, St Kitts, Leeward Islands 24 January 1800, Danson Hill) was a sugar merchant and vice chairman of the British East India Company. He built Danson House, and was the first English owner of the Piranesi Vase. He was the only …   Wikipedia

  • List of museums in London — This list of museums in London, England contains museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic,… …   Wikipedia

  • Bexley — For other uses, see Bexley (disambiguation). Coordinates: 51°26′28″N 0°08′56″E / 51.441°N 0.149°E / 51.441; 0.149 …   Wikipedia

  • Bexley parks and open spaces — The London Borough of Bexley owns and maintains over 100 parks and open spaces within its boundaries, with a total of 638 hectares (1,580 acres)[1]. They include small gardens, river and woodland areas, and large parks with many sporting and… …   Wikipedia

  • Welling — infobox UK place country = England map type = Greater London region= London population= official name= Welling latitude= 51.4594 longitude= 0.1097 london borough= Bexley constituency westminster= Old Bexley Sidcup post town= WELLING postcode area …   Wikipedia

  • Hall Place — is a former stately home, today a Grade 1 listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument, beside the River Cray, west of Bexleyheath and north east of Old Bexley. It is in the London Borough of Bexley in south east London.It is situated just off… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”