Danson House , a hidden gem in Bexleyheath

A few weeks ago I went with my parents to Danson House in Bexleyheath, Kent. I forgot my camera that day so these photos are taken with my phone, which is why they are not quite as clear as usual. When we first visited The Red House (William Morris' house), a few years ago we noticed this property in Danson Park. It had been restored and reopened to the public. My Mum used to teach in a nearby school and she remembers it before it was restored. It was not open the day we visited the Red Room and we vowed to return at some point.  There is a also a super tea room here and we started off our visit with lunch and homemade cakes which were delicious. The tea house has been opened in one of the rooms at the back of the house..

 Below is the entrance to the Tea Room.

This stunning Georgian villa was originally built in 1766 by Sir John Boyd who was besotted by his young bride. In it's heyday it was the most sumptuous house, filled with the trappings of Georgian wealth and stood in 600 acres of grounds. The family lost their fortune in the 1800s. The original wings at the side of the house were demolished at that time and the house was sold on. By the 1920s it was virtually derelict and it was acquired by Bexleyheath council. They sold off a huge chunk of the land and opened the rest as a park. Amazingly a lot of the original features survived,despite the building not being inhabited for many years.

English Heritage acquired the house in 1995 as it was noted to be a house of significant historical importance and it was made a listed building. English Heritage and Lottery funding was approved and the house has been lovingly restored and several rooms put back to their original Georgian splendour. It was reopened by the Queen in 1996.
The staircase is most unique in that it is oval and top lit. The Japanese flags at the top are for a current exhibition being held in the upstairs rooms.

 Can you imagine having to negotiate these stairs in a long dress in the 1700s!

The hallway has doors to several rooms, 3 of which have been restored.

 This is the dining room decorated with exquisite painting telling stories of love.

Through the door is the octagonal salon with hand blocked wallpaper

and the library, complete with organ, no less

This is the view from the window looking out to only a quarter of the land it once owned! The grounds must have been so vast in it's day. 

The last room which has been restored is the old kitchen, down in the basement. What a difference is seen there. No sumptuous paintings or carpets, just huge working surfaces, a vast range and little light. What a hard life the servants had but I suppose in those days it was a better life than being in the workhouse.

 All the washing for the house was done by hand on a Monday..no wonder the old rhyme talks about Monday being washing day as it took all day.

I'm sorry the photos are not that good but I really thought that this little gem of a house was worth sharing with you. Nearby is Hall House, which we hope to visit soon and of course The Red House, home of William Morris is a few minutes walk away. If you are ever in the area they are all worth a visit.

As we are now in September and the weeks are racing away I have been trying to get some more Christmas cards made. My card today has been inspired by my visit to Danson House and uses a gorgeous "Vintage" stamp made by Stampendous called Snowy Postcard. I admired this stamp last year on several people's blogs but I could not buy it anywhere, as it sold out. I vowed to still buy it after Christmas and eventually managed to purchase it from an American web site earlier this year. I finally inked it up and here is my first creation.

I added lots of Frantage embossing powder to the Marianne die cut trees and lots of layers. I also added some lovely lace I won from the Ribbon Girls. I made another of my Card Candy flowers, this one I made to look like a sort of pine cone. The sentiment is LOTV. I used vintage photo distress inks to add an aged look to everything. The snowflake die is my newest buy from Joy Crafts. I finished off with a sweet reindeer charm from my jewellery making stash. Here is that gorgeous stamp in close up.

and here is that cute reindeer charm.

I just love this stamp and you will see me using it on some other cards I am sure. I have stamped it on Kraft card.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges;

Country View Crafts Challenges layers
Simon Says Stamp anything goes
Party Time Tuesdays anything goes
Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas challenge get inky/painty
Winter Wonderland How charming - add a charm
Christmas at sweet stamping animals my winter animal is the cute reindeer charm
Sparkles creations weekly Christmas challenges something new my new is the stamp, lace and the snowflake border die.
ABC U is for unlimited (anything goes)
Bunny Zoe's monthly card challenge Bingo my line is diagonal; lace/sparkle/charm
Natalie and Amy Embossing

The weather has been just glorious again this weekend and I am heading out to the garden again after lunch. Just to cheer those of you who cannot consider Christmas until 1 December here are some sunny photos I took yesterday. Just look at that sky. Despite autumn only being 21 days away we are still enjoying a glorious summer here in the south of England. Enjoy the rest of today.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x