A Brief History of Valence House

In 2021 Valence House commissioned Dr Nick Holder and Anna Mason to produce a historical narrative for Valence House, using existing knowledge and new research. The result was an extensive and comprehensive document detailing the history of Valence House and its estate from the 1250s through to the present day.

For a small rural estate that was not of high status, Valence is exceptionally well-documented and it is very rare to find this degree and depth of evidence. The documentary record adds to the importance of Valence House, revealing so much about its ownership, occupation, layout and use from around 1250 to the present day - detailed records kept by the church and more recently by LBBD and its predecessors.

The story of ownership and tenancy of the Valence Estate is complex, though present understanding leaves few gaps. Several former owners and tenants of the house and estate are of high historical significance, several with royal connections, including Agnes de Valence, after whom the manor is named.