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. ImageMetadata File history File links House-A.jpg File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Buckingham Palace, a Grade I listed building. ... Danson Park (Grid reference:TQ 4775) is a charming park located in Welling part of London Borough of Bexley. ... Bexleyheath is a place in the London Borough of Bexley. ... The London Borough of Bexley is a London borough in southeast outer London. ... The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ...

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. Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect, also known as a building designer, is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction, whose role is to guide decisions affecting those building aspects that are of aesthetic, cultural or social concern. ... Sir Robert Taylor (1714 – 1788) was a notable English architect of the mid-late 18th century. ... The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom, sometimes known as The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street or The Old Lady. The Bank of England // Functions of the bank It performs all the recognized functions of a central bank -- to maintain price stability, and subject to... 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... Lancelot Brown (1716 - 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape gardener, now remembered as the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due, and Englands greatest gardener. He designed over 200 parks, many of which still endure. ...

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. 1800 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Lewisham is an area within the London Borough of Lewisham in south-east London. ... George Dance the Younger (1741 - 14 January 1825) was a British architect and surveyor. ... 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Look up Engineer on Wiktionary, the free dictionary An engineer is someone who practices the profession of engineering – a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems using technology. ... 1863 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Bexleyheath Line is last of the three rail routes created between the outskirts of London and Dartford in Kent. ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the globe...

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. 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 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). English Heritage is a United Kingdom government body with a broad remit of managing the historic environment of England. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 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. ...

The estate's stable block is now a public house, the Danson Stables. An amusingly named pub (the Old New Inn) at Bourton-on-the-Water, in the Cotswold Hills of South West England A pub in the Haymarket area of Edinburgh, Scotland A public house, usually known as a pub, is a drinking establishment found mainly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada...

External link

• Danson House Website

• Video Clip - BBC
• Danson House Restored - Sutton Guardian
• Welling Website