There has been a dwelling in Valentines Park since 1600, the foundations for the building that we see today was built around 1696 by James Chadwick, the son-in-law of John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury. In the early 1700's the house was owned by the Finch family, who subsequently built a number of other "Valentines" in Australia. In 1754 Sir Charles Raymond purchased the estate and reconstructed the house. His family crest can be seen bearing the date 1769 on the rainwater heads around the property. Raymond made his fortune as a Captain with the East India Company, also appointed High Sherriff of Essex in 1771 and created a Baronet in 1774. After Raymond's death in 1788 the estate was briefly owned by Donald Cameron until 1797 when it was split up and the mansion with 174 acres was bought by Robert Wilkes. Over the next two hundred years it was lived in by a number of other families, one of which was the Ingleby family around 1870. It is said that the spirit of the daughter of the Ingleby's still roams the mansion today and has been seen on numerous occasions. Mrs Ingleby also passed away in this very building and is renowned for having a great love of Valentines, perhaps she doesn't wish to leave? The Mansion today is mainly disused and the only visitors are the security guards that watch over the place. These guards have experienced strange happenings, including hearing heavy footsteps on the top floor only to find nobody there. Past visitors to the Mansion have felt uncomfortable in certain areas and cold spots are frequent, in fact some of the guards won't patrol certain areas alone.

This was my first investigation joining Ashley Knibb and the team of the Farsight Paranormal Research Society. Ash had attended investigations alongside me with both Paranormal Tours as well as our ISP group, and I was honoured to help out in his own personal project called the Farsight Files. Ash founded the group in March 2009, and I liked the idea of his format, the intention of which to thoroughly investigate the paranormal utilising the scientific, historical, spiritual and individual angles. For the first major Farsight investigation the recently re-modelled Valentines Mansion was the venue, a location I had investigated with Paranormal Tours some years back when the building was all but a derelict shell. The original plan for the night was to undertake controlled experiments in each of the vigil areas including glass divination, the famous Ganzfield Experiment, as well as attempts at provocation along with the more traditional linked séances and attempts at simply asking out for activity. We were also joined by fellow ISP members Liz and Ian, and made use of the ISP CCTV system, locking off cameras on the stairwell and upper corridors. We also filmed the entire investigation, as Ash's aim was to create an Amateur TV-style show documenting our investigation. This approach will prove to be very useful as it presents to others in a simple media format the achievements of the investigation whilst also giving us a permanent record of the event to assist in refining our methods and approach.

With all good intentions aside the investigation proved to be something of a disappointment, which was not a result of the format or lack of experience and enthusiasm, but mainly due to one of those all too predictable nights where simply nothing seems to happen no matter how hard you try. To be fair the mansion had become somewhat sterile since its refurbishment, as what were once derelict and dark corridors and rooms were now replaced with modern contemporary decor more befitting an art gallery or studio apartment. The investigation team was also restricted with regards the locations we could investigate, as hot spots from previous investigations such as the top floor rooms and cellar were now off limits. We are yet to review all of the CCTV and audio footage, so hope springs eternal that we may yet have captured something, but despite the lack of activity at Valentines the night was an enjoyable and worthwhile experience. It may be that all we discovered that night was that the psychological affect of a derelict and dark building may hold more answers as to why in previous investigations activity was recorded, as the location as it stands today is one which would suggest that it held little more than a few memories and some rather intriguing artwork. From the perspective of the local community the renovation was undoubtedly money well spent, however from the perspective of a paranormal investigator the building has now lost much of its former charm and appeal.