Danson House London

This Palladian villa was built by John Boyd, an East India Company director, in 1766. Saved from demolition in 1995, the house was painstakingly renovated based on mid-19th-century watercolours by Sarah Johnston. The house now serves as the official Register Office for the London Borough of Bexley and is only open on Sunday. The English-style garden and surrounding park are a delight and the tearoom (open daily 9am to 5pm) in the one-time breakfast room serves wholesome food. It's a 20-minute walk southwest from the Bexleyheath train station. Highlights include the dining room’s reliefs and 17 wall paintings celebrating love and romance; the chinoiserie salon; the library, with a fair few 'decorative' books; the music room, with its functioning organ; the dizzying spiral staircase; and the original Victorian kitchens.