Royal opening for Valentines Mansion

His Royal Highness, the Duke of Gloucester, officially opened Valentines Mansion and Gardens to the public today, following a £8.5million renovation financed by Redbridge Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The Duke was welcomed by Colonel Alan Hall, Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London, before being introduced to senior figures including Cllr Alan Weinberg, Council Leader and Wesley Kerr, Chairman of the HLF London Committee.

Addressing an audience of specially invited guests, the Duke was clearly impressed with the renovation. In particular, he praised the level of detail applied to ensure the 300-year old country house and gardens had been restored as authentically as possible to create an outstanding historic environment for the local community.

The Duke extended his congratulations to everyone involved in the two-year project, before being taken on a guided tour of the three-storey Mansion and gardens by Nigel Burch project director and Paul Velluet project architect.

Built around 1696, Valentines Mansion is considered to be 'of outstanding architectural and historical importance' by English Heritage. With its beautiful period rooms, grand staircase and walled Old English and Victoria Rose gardens, Valentines represents Redbridge’s ‘hidden gem’.

Cllr Weinberg said, “Valentines is a very special place and this has been a very special day for Redbridge. We have been overwhelmed by the public’s interest in Valentines, which proves that the time, hard work and immense effort by everyone involved with its restoration is widely acknowledged and appreciated”.

Commenting on behalf of the Heritage Lottery Fund who gave nearly £5million towards the project, Chairman of the London Committee Mr Wesley Kerr said,"It is 15 years since the Heritage Lottery Fund began its work of transformation and restoration nationwide and Valentines Park and Gardens are model integrated schemes.

"I am immensely proud that so much has been achieved at Valentines, once described as a "capital family mansion" and now available to all families and Londoners in its magnificent 18th century designed landscape. This is a landmark conservation project which removes four listed buildings from the At Risk Register and puts an outstanding house and park firmly on the map of great destinations and venues.

"Times are tough, but what more brilliant thing can we do in a recession than use the creativity, imagination and materials of today to bring back the best of the past, to strengthen our common life, and make fabulous spaces available to people for free; celebrating our legacy as Londoners"

The Mansion will be open to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Sundays. In addition to providing an exquisite setting for weddings and other special celebrations, the mansion will also offer an exciting programme for schoolchildren during term time. The converted servants quarters located on the top floor of the mansion now provide studio facilities to a number of local artists.