Danson Park, Bexleyheath, England

The former landscape park which the public park now occupies was designed and laid out in the mid 18th century by Lancelot Brown and a Mr Richard for wealthy merchant John Boyd. The Palladian style house was designed by Robert Taylor who was also the architect responsible for designing the bank of England.

As Bexley's flagship park, Danson Park is recognised nationally for its historic landscape and buildings. In 2004 the Council successfully obtained a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the restoration of the historic setting of the Grade I Listed Danson House and surrounding area.

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest:   

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

The original Danson estate, known in the 16th century as Dansington, was, between 1571 and 1723, enlarged from 100 acres (about 41 hectares) of woodland and arable to 250 acres (about 104 hectares) ornamented with waterworks and fishponds (Colson Stone 1997). In 1723 the owner John Styleman leased the estate to John Selwyn, on condition that he spend at least £1000 improving the estate which he did by buying up parcels of adjoining land, ornamenting the landscape, enlarging the house, and in about 1745, re-routing the public road from Danson to Blendon. Selwyn died in 1751 and the lease of Danson was held by Styleman's widow until 1753 when John Boyd (later Sir John) took a full repairing lease on the original Danson House. By 1763 Boyd was making plans to rebuild the mansion and a plan dated 1763 which was drawn up by Reverend Spence when he visited Danson shows the site of the new mansion and, like another entitled 'A plan for the proposed alteration at Danson Hill' (1762-1763), shows a mansion standing alone on its present location.

The new mansion was augmented by 1766 with two wings, one for stables and one for offices; these are shown on Andrews, Drury, and Herbert's Map of Kent (published 1769) and on a painting by George Barrett Snr (1733-1807). Landscaping of the park appears to have been undertaken at the same time as the new house was built and 'A plan for the proposed alterations at Danson Hill' about 1762/3 has been attributed to either Lancelot Brown (Fisher 1776; Hasted 1797; Stroud 1975), or his then assistant, Nathaniel Richmond (Jacques 1983). Evidence (Colson Stone 1997) survives which suggest that some aspects of the 1762/3 design were implemented.

Sir John Boyd died in 1800 and was succeeded by his son, also Sir John, who undertook a comprehensive programme of repair and enhancement between 1802 and 1804 before selling the house to cover his father's outstanding debts. During this time the wings of the house were demolished and new stables (Listed Grade II*) were constructed on a separate site at a greater distance from the house, using materials from the demolished wings.

The estate plan drawn up in connection with the sale of the property to John Johnston in 1805 shows details of the many alterations and improvements made by the Boyds. Other than ornamentation to the northern boundary, few alterations were made during Johnston's lifetime (estate plan, 1823-1830) but the Johnston family, who held the estate until 1862, were probably responsible for improvements recorded on the Ordnance Survey 1st edition map (1865).

The new owner, Alfred Bean, and his descendants owned Danson between 1862 and 1922 and during that time a number of rustic lodges and a circular summerhouse were built. In 1924 Bexley Urban District Council acquired part of the estate named as Danson on the 1922 sale map; this included the house, stables, lake, and 74 hectares of parkland. The remainder of the estate was developed for housing and the construction of the A2 trunk road. In 1925 Danson was opened as a public park, the house, known as The Mansion, housing a museum and a cafe. Many new facilities have been created since 1925, most of them in the area of the park to the north of the house.

The Mansion was closed in 1970 and has remained empty to the present day. It is currently (1997) undergoing restoration and the stables have been converted for use as a restaurant.