Danson House: A Historic Georgian Mansion in Bexleyheath

Danson House is a grand Palladian mansion situated in the heart of Danson Park, Welling, within the London Borough of Bexley. The mansion was built in 1768 by architect Robert Taylor and is a Grade I listed building, owned by English Heritage.

Over the last few years, I’ve run past Danson House in Bexleyheath more times than I care to remember. It’s the main feature of my local weekly 5k park run held naturally enough in Danson Park.

It occupies the high ground and commands the view down to the lake – the other side of which is the starting point for the race every Saturday morning.

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The Danson Estates before Danson House

The Danson Estates have a long history dating back to 1284 when an Archbishop’s survey mentioned seven of the Archbishop’s tenants owning 17 acres of land at “Densynton”.

The Manor of Bexley was acquired by Henry VIII and remained a part of the royal estates until James I sold it to John Spielman to raise funds for the crown. In 1622, the Manor was bought by William Camden, who immediately granted it to Oxford University to fund a chair in History.

In 1695, the estates were sold into private hands for the first time as an owner-occupied property.

The history of Danson House

John Boyd, the son of a prosperous Lewisham sugar plantation owner who owned slaves in the West Indies, built the House, or Mansion, as it is sometimes called. He appears to have created the Danson estate partly from the estate of the late John Styleman – whose row of almshouses for the poor of the parish still stand in what is now nearby Bexley village.

Boyd’s architect was Robert Taylor who began his career as a sculptor and went on to build a memorial in Westminster Abbey. Boyd’s wife died during its construction leaving him with five young children, but he re-married and moved in shortly afterwards.

The layout of the gardens and formal grounds appear to have been in the style of Capability Brown. Later owners included a captain of the 62^nd regiment of Foot and a chairman of railways. By the early 1920’s, most of the estate had been sold off and in 1925, it was opened as a public park by Princess Mary.

Sir John Boyd & beginnings of Danson House in 18th Century

In 1734, John Styleman died, and his will stipulated that half the proceeds from the lease should go to his widow, Mary Styleman, and the other half to charities providing almhouses for 12 poor families in Bexley.

On 10 July 1753, Selwyn’s widow, Mary, sub-let the property to Sir John Boyd, sugar merchant and vice-chairman of the British East India Company, and son of the St Kitts planter and slaveholder Augustus Boyd. By 1759 Boyd had taken over the lease and bought out the rest of the land added to the estates by Selwyn.

However, he still had to pay £100 annuity to the charity established by Styleman’s will, which owned half of the freehold.

His offer of a permanent annuity in return for the charity’s half of the freehold required an Act of Parliament, and as a result, the Styleman Act was passed in 1762, and John Boyd thus became the sole owner of the entire estates, paving the way for extensive enlargement of the property and the construction of Danson House as it stands today.

Danson House architect Sir Robert Taylor

Originally called Danson Hill, the Palladian villa was designed by leading architect Sir Robert Taylor and constructed to the north of the older mansion. Work began on the house in 1763, and Boyd moved into the house around 1768 with his new wife Catherine.

By the time of Boyd’s death in 1800, it stood in the centre of over 600 acres of pleasure grounds and agricultural estate – over 200 acres of which today form Danson Park, the second-largest public park in the London Borough of Bexley.

The ownership of the house in early 19 century – from John Boyd to John Johnston

After Sir John died in January 1800, 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 John Johnston, a retired army captain of the 62nd Regiment of Foot and Freeman of the City of London. 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 intricate detail, which were later of key use in the restoration of the interior.

The last owner – The Bean Family & the park opening to public

Hugh Johnston sold Danson to railway engineer Alfred Bean in 1862. Bean was the driving force behind the Bexleyheath Railway Company and chairman of Bexley Local Board, and envisaged transforming the 582-acre estate into a residential suburb.

Outlying areas were sold off for residential development according to Bean’s will, but the house and 224 acres of the estate remained in Bean’s family after his death in 1890 until the death of his widow in 1921 when it was auctioned and eventually acquired by Bexley Urban District Council for £16,000 in 1924.

The park was opened to the public in 1925 by Princess Mary, while the house was used for civil defence purposes during World War Two.

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Saving Danson House

The West Indian connection came full circle when English Heritage was trying to restore the House. It seems parts of the property had been illegally removed and stored in lock ups – and the owner was traced to a house in the – you’ve guessed it – West Indies.

When the house was acquired by English Heritage in 1995, it was in a dangerously dilapidated condition, having been uninhabited since 1923, and was described by English Heritage as “the most significant building at risk in London”.

Neglected since the early 1920’s, there were no slates on the roof and water had undermined the very foundations of the building. Indeed, the west bay had already collapsed. English Heritage stepped in and just ten years later, this fine Grade 1 Palladian villa had been restored and opened to the public.

It was painstakingly restored in a ten-year £4.5m project by Purcell Miller Tritton architects. Bexley Heritage Trust, a local heritage charity, was involved in partnership with English Heritage from 2000 and completed the interior furnishing and fitting-out of the house.

In 2005 the Queen Elizabeth II re-opened Danson House. A guide told me that the local dignitaries ushered her to the newly installed lift but she insisted on taking the stairs instead. Perhaps that’s Her Majesty’s secret to a long and active life; taking the stairs instead of the lift. When you live in a Palace it’s bound to make a difference.

The Danson Park grounds were also restored, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, in 2006.

In 2016, the borough cancelled its grant to the Bexley Heritage Trust for the upkeep of the property, and the charity therefore withdrew to focus on Hall Place, and the house fell under direct management from the borough. The council has subsequently made Danson House the register office for Bexley Borough. The house is now owned by English Heritage on a 999-year lease from 1997, but it’s run by Bexley Borough Council.

The Danson House Tour – What can you see inside

So much for the outside but what’s on the inside? A pair of impressive black wrought iron gates reveal a magnificent raised stone stairway.

This leads to what would have been the Entrance Hall and it’s not difficult to imagine carriages arriving for a sumptuous evening banquet having ridden through the grounds and paths along which I plod at a more sedate pace. The original stables were later moved away from the House to another location close by and now serve as a restaurant.

The kitchens lie in the cool of the airy basement and there’s an array of brightly polished copper utensils set against the blackened ovens on show. Upstairs, the rooms seem to get more grand with each floor. The Dining room is lavishly gilded with wall paintings by Charles Pavillion and the octagonal Salon has the only known painting of Boyd himself.

There’s a collection of watercolours by the daughter of one of the former owners – an amateur artist herself. Pleasant to look at though they are; they were invaluable in the restoration of the house since several were of the interiors showing the original layout and décor of many of the rooms.

The library houses an organ still in working order and the views of the lake from one of the many bay windows are stunning on a sunny day.

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The Danson House Tearoom (open all year)

The tearoom has a series of photographs of the family of later day owners of the house – including one of a gamekeeper or steward outside his house on the estate. Long since demolished, I’ve often wondered about its exact location in the present park or not. Tea can also be taken on the lawn by the ha- ha where in summer film screening are held.

Danson Park

Within Danson Park itself, there’s boating on the lake and the Boat House, a modern building, is the host for international water polo competitions with tents and canoes strewn outside in the summer. There are formal gardens and rockeries and a host of public amenities.

The park is free to enter and it’s open all year round. You can also see the Old English Garden – just opposite the Danson House main entrance. It’s really pretty any time of the year, but best in the late spring and summer when the flowers are in full bloom.

Visiting Danson House & Opening Times 2024

Danson House is now owned by Bexley Council and it’s being used as offices. The house is also licensed for civic ceremonies. There are only few organised tours of Danson House for general public and these are usually between May and September on Sundays. It’s best to check the main council website, which has the most uptodate information (www.bexley.gov. UK).

• Location: Danson Park, Danson Road, Bexleyheath DA6 8HL
• Admission Fee: £7
• Parking: Danson Park car park pass The Stables Pub
• Refreshments: Fleur de Thea – Lovely vintage styled tea room at the back of the house, open all year round. The Stables – pub and restaurant, The Boathouse – Sunday carvery, Tea & Coffee hut – on the side of The Boathouse. The park also has ice-cream van in the summer months.

This blog post was originally published on 18 January 2015 and last updated on 17 January 2024