The popular historic house and wedding venue, Valentines Mansion, hosted their annual Victorian Christmas event on the last weekend of November. Crowds flocked to the Mansion, located in Ilford, Essex, for a weekend full of festive fun for the whole family.
Built in 1696 for Elizabeth Tillotson - the widow of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Valentines Mansion is a historic country house, which was restored for the public to enjoy back in 2009. The council gained ownership of the house in 1912, after it was used as a hospital, council housing department, public health centre and a living place for wartime refugees, and is now a popular tourist attraction and venue.
For this special Christmas weekend, the Mansion was dressed in traditional seasonal decorations, and attracted over 2000 visitors over the two-day event, who were treated with a range of Christmas festivities.
Craft stalls selling unique items, such as artisan chocolate, locally produced honey and handmade jewellery, left visitors spoilt for choice when shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts for their loved ones. Victorian characters in costume entertained families in the dining room, which was laid beautifully for a Victorian meal. In the Victorian kitchen, children gathered around to make Christmas cards. On the second floor, the Studio Artists opened their doors to the public and allowed visitors to browse their art spaces and buy their handmade works of art.
“As soon as I entered the building, I was amazed at how well the mansion had been decorated. As someone who adores Christmas, I was immediately put in good mood. I enjoyed looking at the stalls while sipping on my hot chocolate, but I would have to say my favourite part of the day was watching the Christmas show at the end, which really topped the day off!”, says Jessie, aged 14.
As if this wasn’t enough, competitions and raffles drew excitement from all ages, and live entertainers wowed the crowds and kept them in a merry mood with their brilliant performances, including the Redbridge Music Service orchestra, Redbridge Creates musical theatre, Glade Community Choir and the Valentines Singers.
Hardip Kaur, Marketing Manager at Valentines Mansion commented “We were thrilled with the event, it was everything we had hoped for and more. It was wonderful to see people of all ages at the Mansion enjoying the festivities.”
The celebrations were brought to a close on the last night of the event with the lighting of the Mansion’s Christmas tree and a performance from the Redbridge Creates Mobile Christmas Show, which was enjoyed by many! For those of you who missed the market but would still like to visit the grade II* listed building, there’s good news as the mansion is open to the public every Sunday and Monday from 10:30-4:30, with free entry (excluding Christmas as New Year)!
Be sure to visit the Mansion next year to kick off your Christmas celebrations!
