A History of Valence House

Thomas Bonham

The Valence estate has a complicated history of ownership and tenancy. Unlike the neighbouring Parsloes manor, which was owned by the Fanshawe family for hundreds of years, Valence has had many owners and tenants.

During the 17th century one occupant of Valence House achieved a form of notoriety in Dagenham parish and further afield. His story illustrates interesting aspects of life on the manor estate at this time.

In 1635, the Valence estate belonged to a rich and powerful religious body called the Dean and Chapter of Windsor. In this year Ann Henshawe sold the lease of the agricultural estate to her brother Thomas Bonham, a prosperous London merchant. He became an eccentric tenant farmer and his activities soon appeared in local records.

In 1636, his character was revealed to the Dagenham parishioners. He had attacked Richard Hammond of Dagenham which resulted in his being bound over and being charged with 'having threatened to knock Hammond on the head with a pistol; or shooting with his piece, whereby he was in fear of his life'.

His farming techniques were considered to be odd, even in the 17th century. When one of his tenants took him to court because he did not maintain estate fencing, Bonham made no defence.

He believed that he had the right to hunt, and had even made holes in the fencing deliberately to allow royal deer entry and exit to his farmland. He also converted 120 acres of good arable land into a rabbit warren, insisting that this increased the commercial value of the estate.

The Valence estate was confiscated by the Parliamentarians, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the English Civil War. Thomas Bonham was appointed as Captain of a Trained Band in 1634. In 1649 Essex was controlled by the Parliamentarians and a committee was set up to dispose of confiscated estates.

Thomas Bonham made discreet enquiries to the Dean and Chapter of Windsor regarding how he might be of service. They informed him that buying the estate from them would do them a favour, hinting at financial remuneration, Bonham purchased the Valence Estate for £16,000.

After the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the question of remuneration was raised again as the lease came to an end. The owners, however, had had their eyes opened to the high value of the estate by a Parliamentarian survey. They completely ignored the remuneration issue and insisted upon drawing up a new lease which contained very favourable terms for the Dean and Chapter of Windsor. Poor Bonham found himself to be an aggrieved party in much debt.

His troubles continued unabated. In 1654 he was back in court when Thomas Cawdle was bound over to keep the peace towards Bonham. There were problems regarding the dowry of his daughter Ann, Thomas refused to pay £1,500 to his son-in-law and spent a week in Colchester Gaol along with his wife.

The Puritan vicars of Dagenham were in perpetual dispute with Thomas Bonham for non-attendance at church plus his refusal to pay Easter tithes. His wife even revealed that she skimmed the milk before making the tithe cheeses.

Thomas was a fascinating character, his quarrelsome and litigious character were somewhat redeemed by his artistic sensibility. It is clear from the inscription his Dagenham tomb bears that modesty was not his prime virtue:

'Stay wayfarer! Lest you be ignorant who is buried here, it is worth your u'bile to know that it is Thomas Bonham Esquire, Lord of Valentia in Essex. He was an agreeable poet and yet sublime, a shining ray of genius, an ornament of polite literature and a happy model of elegance. He is ever to be praised and can never, alas, be sufficiently lamented. This marble cannot contain his other virtues, nor indeed scarcely would the quarry itself from which it is hewn.'

He died in May 1676, in the 73rd year of his age.

The Bonham Coat of Arms