This is Danson House set within Danson Park in Bexleyheath., about a 10 minute walk from The Red House which I wrote about last week.. The house was primarily the vision of two men, John Boyd, the owner and the architect Robert Taylor.
The house was built in 1766 and in 1994 was restored by English Heritage which had identified the house as being ' the most significant building at risk in London'.
Inside the house is this magnificent elliptical staircase. This is the view looking upwards and below is the view from the top of the staircase.
This is the Dining room.
Boyd was a successful business man in the City of London and Danson House was his country retreat. He inherited his fortune from his father who owned sugar plantations in St Kitts in the Caribbean. Boyd completed Danson House to celebrate his marriage to his second wife Catherine Chapone.
In the room are 17 original wall paintings completed by the artist Charles Pavillon in 1766. The paintings have symbolic references to love, marriage and fine dining.
This room is the salon, an octagonal room with Chinese style decorations.
The library would show Boyd's guests that he was a man of learning and culture as well as wealth.
There is a working organ built into the book shelves which is still used today to give recitals.
In the basement is this large kitchen. It is unusually well lit by natural light from a number of high windows.
Sharing with Our World Tuesday
I love when such houses are restored ! And it is done so well !
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is Wow!
ReplyDeleteDiana
What a beautiful house, that picture of the stairs is stunning.
ReplyDeleteBefore you mentioned the light in the kitchen, I thought the whole house looks very brightly lit by natural light. Yes, the stairs are stunning. You took some really good photos.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful the house has been preserved. Judging by the size of the kitchen, a lot of guests were served there I think. Great photos of the staircase.
ReplyDeleteHa...the kitchen was my fav
ReplyDeletecool place
What a wonderful place, but that staircase is my all-time favorite! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful property. The kitchen windows are superb as are the stair cases.
ReplyDeletelovel well maintained. But staircase - fantastic
ReplyDeleteSo glad this old house was restored! Amazing staircase.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible and beautiful place!! I, too, am SO glad it has saved and restored!! Awesome staircase!! Terrific captures as always!! Thanks so much for sharing!! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteOooh. I love a good stairway nautilus. So many great shapes and angles here.
ReplyDeleteWhat a grand house! The staircase is wonderful and I love the huge kitchen! Wonderful tour, thanks for sharing! Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love how the light comes in through the huge windows in the kitchen. And the stairway swirling like a giant seashell is an architectural gem.
ReplyDeleteStunning house - and that staircase is just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fine house, and the kitchen windows!
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ALOHA
ComfortSpiral
Wow, that's a really fine house. What an exciting visit that would have been. I like the library :-) I imagine the teas they have in there. Like downtown abbey, lol
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of a beautiful house. The staircase is really great and I would love to hear the organ.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful interiors of the house. I like that staircase.
ReplyDeleteI also like that elliptical staircase , organand the well lit high ceiling kitchen. This is a very interesting house -- the obvious wealth of the past owners shows in all the fine details.
ReplyDeleteAwesome staircase, beautiful interiors.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful house with gorgeous interiors. The staircase is out of the world kinds.
ReplyDeleteLove those stair wells.
ReplyDeleteNot a huge fan of country houses - much prefer to be outside - but this one does look pretty remarkable.
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
PS: you picked my mood in Brighton!
Great interior but absolute stunning staircases. Great shots. I like them
ReplyDeleteLove, marriage and fine dining! That man got his priorities right. What a stunning country retreat.
ReplyDeleteHi! The elliptical staircase is very cool. I feel weight of the history. I enjoyed your the red house post too. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi! The elliptical staircase is very cool. I feel weight of the history. I enjoyed your the red house post too. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWow...incredible. And lots of historical value. But the staircase? Dizzy-fying.
ReplyDeleteWow what a great house. Such opulence in those days. It is wonderful that its was saved and restored.
ReplyDeleteThat is indeed a magnificent house - the elliptical staircase is very unusual.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful house, and beautifully restored. I would love to find a magnificant staircase like this and spend some time trying to photograph it for best effect! As for the library, I would have installed more bookcases and many more books! :)
ReplyDeleteYour photos are lovely.
I remember from when I lived in the area that there is a junction on the A2 (I think) called the Danson Interchange. I often wondered why. Perhaps it's because of this house?
Thank you for sharing this beautiful house with us! It is a real treasure. Did you walk up all these stairs (outside) to get to the entrance?
ReplyDeleteThese two homes are really national treasures!
ReplyDeleteYou gave us a wonderful tour of that magnificent home, Fun60. The staircase, the kitchen and the organ were three of the treasures in it that really stood out for me. I wonder if the artist that did the water colours had any idea how important her work would be in verifying the accuracy of the reproductions.
ReplyDeleteYou gave us a wonderful tour of that magnificent home, Fun60. The staircase, the kitchen and the organ were three of the treasures in it that really stood out for me. I wonder if the artist that did the water colours had any idea how important her work would be in verifying the accuracy of the reproductions.
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