Mural in Valence Park

Image: © Marathon Taken: 30 Nov 2016

Valence House is one of the few original buildings to have survived the construction of the Becontree Estate. The present building is a moated 17th century manor house, once the most important house in Barking & Dagenham, and is now the only surviving of the five manor houses of Dagenham. The timber framed museum building, partially surrounded by a moat, is situated in Valence Park and now houses a museum. The museum contains permanent exhibitions on history and life in Barking & Dagenham, and includes displays of the 1945 Becontree Estate. The house and park to the south were purchased by the Borough in 1926 from the London County Council. The LCC had themselves acquired them as part of the Becontree Estate development. The north and east parts of the moat survive. This mural is at the western end of a linear lake which is roughly where the southern arm would have been, but appears not to be original. See also http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5213364 More information about the house and its history can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valence_House_Museum and for details of opening times and exhibitions see http://valencehousecollections.co.uk/

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