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. In one of the lower rooms there is a small sealed coffin, no one knows what is inside, some say it is a beloved pet. 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.