Acquisitions

One of our most recent projects was to transform the Raymond Room on the first floor to reflect the period when the house was owned by Sir Charles Raymond (1754 – 1788). The project was completed in September 2023.

If you visit regularly you will have noticed many changes in this lovely room. Spot the difference when you visit!

We have purchased several other items of furniture for the house since restoration was completed in 2009, as well as other items to enhance the beauty of the mansion and bring alive its historic nature. We continue to do so.

Victorian dining table purchased for the Holcombe Room (2011)
Table and chairs purchased for the Regency Parlour

Are you sitting comfortably?

Thanks to a generous gift from former FoVM member the late Mrs. Phyllis Bowers, you will be. Mrs. Bowers donated these two Victorian chairs which belonged to her grandfather. The Friends paid for their refurbishment but they are not museum-pieces, they are meant to be used, so if you are visiting Valentines Mansion and need a little rest, please take a seat.

The chairs are pictured here in the Raymond Room, but they are also used elsewhere.
Former Chairman Barbara Norcaro enjoying one of the Victorian chairs in the Entrance Hall.

The Finch mirror

Mirror donated by Mr John Hart a descendant of the Finch family.

George Finch

A GENEROUS DONATION The Friends are grateful to Mr. John Hart for donating a charming mirror to the Friends – Mr. Hart is a descendent of the Finch family who owned Valentines in the early years of the eighteenth century.

The Finch mirror in the Bedchamber