New-look museum is a Dagenham knockout

Published: 6:02 PM July 12, 2010

Updated: 6:55 AM October 14, 2020

BEAUTIFUL weather and a fun programme of events turned the re-opening of Valence House Museum into a roaring success. Visitors flocked to the manor house to watch Dagenham-bred boxer Kevin Mitchell, the current British super-featherweight champion and rec

BEAUTIFUL weather and a fun programme of events turned the re-opening of Valence House Museum into a roaring success.

Visitors flocked to the manor house to watch Dagenham-bred boxer Kevin Mitchell, the current British super-featherweight champion and recent WBO interim lightweight world contender, cut the tape and punch through a paper door to reveal part of the borough's history in all its new-look splendour.

Kevin donated a pair of his boxing gloves to display in the celebrity section of the communities' gallery at the attraction in Becontree Avenue, Dagenham.

Deputy Mayor Cllr John Davis welcomed the large crowd of visitors who poured into the building to examine historic relics of the borough.

These included the Dagenham Idol, a typical Becontree Estate kitchen from the 1930s and Mahatma Gandhi's spinning wheel, a remainder from his visit to Kingsley Hall, Dagenham, in 1931.

Deputy Mayor Cllr Davis said: "The turnout was tremendous and I'd like to thank visitors for making it such a memorable day.