Before our time
The lake's had a few looks.
Old photographs of the park, the mansion and our boathouse — back when the boathouse still had a thatched roof.
Valentines Mansion itself is the oldest thing here by far — a Grade II* listed house built around 1696–97, long before the park existed as a public space around it. Exactly when the lake and boathouse took their current form is a question for the photos themselves rather than us: Jeff's got a stack of old prints and postcards of the park and the boathouse through the years, including a much older version of the building with a thatched roof, and this page is where they'll live.
For the documented history of the mansion itself — room by room — the Friends of Valentines Mansion are the real source and go into far more depth than we could here.
The boathouse
Then and now
Same spot on the lake, a very different roofline — the thatched-roof version goes here once it's scanned in.
The thatched-roof boathouse goes here once it's scanned in.
Add another old boathouse photo here.
Add another old boathouse photo here.
Around the park
The mansion, the lake, the crowds
Anything older than a few years counts — postcards, family photos with the lake in the background, whatever's kicking about in a drawer.
Add an old park or mansion photo here.
Add an old park or mansion photo here.
Add an old park or mansion photo here.
Add an old park or mansion photo here.