Inspired by our #WomensHistoryOnMyWalk campaign to encourage people to explore more women’s history locally, volunteer Raeesa Mukhtar writes about two key women in Ilford’s history: one, an educated woman of the 17th-century, who mixed in powerful circles; the other, a 19th-century philanthropist who supported many local causes.

I'm very lucky to live near to the award-winning Valentines Park in Ilford, Redbridge. Spanning 130 acres, there is so much to see from ornamental gardens, to lakes and wildlife. One part I cannot miss whenever I visit is the Grade II-listed Valentines Mansion. Built in around 1696, it has been beautifully restored so that visitors can step back in time and see the Georgian rooms, elegant period features and stunning stained glass windows.

Inspired by others’ sharing #WomensHistoryOnMyWalk, I wanted to delve further into the history of the mansion, and was really interested to learn that the first and last occupants were women. Here’s what I discovered:

Valentines Mansion today © Image & Design Ian Halsey MMXV www.flickr.com/photos/iancvt55/17579878324

Elizabeth Tillotson

In 1696 the Valentines Estate was purchased by Elizabeth Tillotson after the death of her husband, and the house was built for her by her son-in-law. Looking at the mansion now in all its beauty, it’s hard to imagine that at the time ‘the house was not a grand affair’ but was 'suitable for a lady in her social position’ (1). To me this suggests that contrary to what we might perceive today, at the time it was considered merely a modest home family home. Perhaps this is because Elizabeth is noted to have been ‘a lady of quality and status but not wealth’ (2). This intrigued me so I wanted to find out a bit more about her and what kind of life she had led before moving to Valentines.

Elizabeth seemed to have always been surrounded by people of political and intellectual significance – perhaps the most powerful in England at the time. Her father was Doctor of Divinity at Oxford, her maternal uncle was Oliver Cromwell and her husband was the future Archbishop of Canterbury - just imagine the conversations at the dinner table! I’d like to think Elizabeth was able to join in and contribute as her father ensured the continued education for not only his son but also both his daughters in his will. In her own will, Elizabeth is noted to have shown a ‘tendency to favour women’ as she left most of her husband’s literary estate to her granddaughter. She herself also oversaw the publication of her husband’s sermons (3).

Another notable relationship that further tied Elizabeth to prominent figures of her time, was her friendship with Mary Beale, ‘one of the most prolific and commercially successful British portrait painters of the late 17th century’. Mary formed one third of a band of female professional artists working in London (4). Elizabeth received Mary’s Discourse on Friendship in 1666 which, apart from a 250 word note on how to paint apricots, was her only known writing (5). In it Mary argued ‘for the equality of husband and wife in marriage — a radical concept at that time’ (6). It is thought that as Elizabeth was a woman who ‘moved within the academic, religious and literary elite’, she was the ‘ideal recipient’ (7).

Elizabeth’s friend, the painter Mary Beale (1633 - 1699). Portrait from the collection of St Edmundsbury Borough Council - Moyse's Hall Museum. Sadly we have been unable to locate any depictions of Elizabeth herself. — Elizabeth’s friend, the painter Mary Beale (1633 - 1699). Portrait from the collection of St Edmundsbury Borough Council - Moyse's Hall Museum.

Sadly we have been unable to locate any depictions of Elizabeth herself.

Sarah Ingleby

Sarah Ingleby was the last private resident of Valentines Mansion. She was brought up by her aunt and uncle who purchased the mansion and it was left to her upon their death:

1838: A fourteen year old Sarah moves into the mansion with her aunt and uncle who had just purchased the property.
1850: Sarah gets married and moves to Edgbaston, Birmingham.
1861: Her aunt dies which prompts Sarah and her family to return to the mansion to live and care for her uncle.
1870: The mansion is left to Sarah after her uncle dies.
1906: Sarah dies after spending the remainder of her life at the mansion.

Noted as ‘a great benefactor of Ilford’ (7), there are many examples of Sarah’s generosity and hospitality which benefited people from all political and religious backgrounds. Possibly the greatest evidence of this is that she was the President of the Ilford Philanthropic society for a number of years (8).

Many of Sarah’s actions prove that ‘unlike many grand ladies taking on such a position she was not just a figurehead’ (9). Two of her most prominent achievements were in education and health for the local area:

A school on Beehive Lane was rebuilt in 1870 by Sarah for the children of her estate workers (10).
Sarah was ‘instrumental in providing a nurse for the Beehive District’ who also lived at Valentines with Sarah when she fell ill with influenza ‘so for once she was the beneficiary of her own generosity’ (11).

On her death, local newspapers (the Barking, East Ham & Ilford Advertiser, Upton Park and Dagenham Gazette) wrote on Saturday 06 January 1906: ‘The sad announcement will cause keen regret among all who intimately knew the deceased lady, and by many thousands who have benefited through her kindness of heart. She was always a great friend to the poor, and was over ready to render assistance to any movement which had for its object the relief of the distressed…She also closely associated herself with the Ilford Philanthropic Society, and was always willing to throw open the charming grounds in which Valentines stands’ (12).

Sarah had already sold part of the park to Ilford Urban District Council which opened as Central Park in 1899. After her death her son gave the house and remaining areas of the grounds renamed as Valentines Park in her memory (13).

Sources and further reading

Author

Raeesa Mukhtar has lived in Ilford for the past 17 years. She joined the East End Women’s Museum as a Steering Group member in 2019, and says that since then her interest in local history has grown massively! Along with volunteering, Raeesa works full-time for a children's charity which also has a deep-rooted history in East London.