Valence, the new mansion, 1887
In 1884 Norman Watney bought Valence and by the turn of the century had dramatically altered the estate, building a new mansion on the hill beside the home farmstead and levelling to the ground the old neo-classical mansion known as ‘Hill Park’. No sooner had he bought Valence than he commissioned the architect Frederick J. Robinson to design a new mansion for which the drawings are dated 1885-6. This was built by local builders Durtnells between 1885 and 1887. The style was revival Tudor Elizabethan, built in red brick with stone dressing and tiling, half-timbered gables and a Cumberland slate roof complete with two towers. There was a conservatory to the rear and the ground floor was surrounded by a loggia as shown in the photograph.
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