History of the Building

The site of Valence House is first mentioned in 1269. The house takes its name from Agnes de Valence, a French noble woman who was cousin to the King of England, who retired to Valence House in 1291 following her 3rd widowhood.

No part of the house that Agnes de Valence lived in now remains. The earliest surviving part of the house was built in the 1400s. For the next 400 years the house expanded, being modified or modernised according to the wealth of its tenants. A survey of 1649 reveals a house much larger than today with parlours, dining-room, bedchambers and a variety of domestic offices.
 
Most of the house is timber framed. Fragments of decoration from many periods have been discovered at Valence - plaster mouldings from walls or ceilings and tiles from the surrounds of fireplaces. Victorian and Edwardian wallpapers have been discovered behind council fittings.
 
Two rooms, the Great Parlour and the Barking New Town Gallery, are lined with wooden panels dating from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Grounds

The earliest lease, relating to Agnes de Valence, reveals that Valence moat already existed in the year 1290. An inventory of 1649 describes a typical manor farm with a wood yard, a pigeon house, a stable, an orchard and a garden all in the tenure of Thomas Bonham.

A plan of 1771 shows cultivated garden plots, known later as a kitchen garden. A large walled area to the east of Valence House was most probably the farmyard. Stove and greenhouses were built in the walled kitchen garden to the west of Valence House.
 
An 18th-century lease mentions fruit trees planted around the moat, including apple trees recently imported from America. Two great cedar trees, which used to stand in the grounds, have failed to survive. Surprisingly however, there are some survivals of estate planting: Ancient yews and hollies shield the park and library from Becontree Avenue and several oaks and spectacular holm oaks continue to thrive.

By 1869 traditional garden paths had been laid out beside flower borders. A thatched swan house was built in the moat. By the end of the 19th century leisure features such as a croquet lawn and a grass tennis court could be seen in the grounds.

Recent History

Valence House was a family home until the 1920s. The May family were the last tenants before the building was transformed into a civic amenity.
 
After the First World War (1914-1918) the London County Council built housing estates in suburban areas of the capital city. Dwellers of overcrowded slums were rehoused in new homes which were considered to be fit for heroes. The largest of these estates, the Becontree Housing Estate, was constructed in Dagenham.
 
Farms were compulsorily purchased and the centrally positioned Valence House was used as the headquarters of estate development, with the building being extended in 1929 to accommodate the new council offices. Much of the square-shaped medieval moat was filled in.
 
After 1937, Valence House became the headquarters of Dagenham Public Libraries. Part of the building was used as a local museum from 1938.

In 2007 the redevelopment of Valence House and its moated landscape began. The work conserved the historic building and restored the relationship between the house and its landscape, facilitated improved opportunities for education and interpretation of heritage and ensured its long-term sustainability. As well as Valence House's refurbishment as the local museum, the project also included a new visitor centre, shop, café, education space and local studies library.