Spirits of a grand old building

10:49am Thursday 20th September 2007

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A mansion house which has been the subject of reported ghost sightings was opened to the public for a series of heritage days.

THE Acacia mansion house on Dartford High Street is a 19th-century Grade II-listed building which was built between 1851 and 1868.

It holds a large central staircase and Tuscan roof supported by grand pillars.

The building is set within manicured lawns and striking flower beds alongside the river Darent.

It is currently used for conferences and has proved popular for weddings, with the house providing the perfect backdrop for photographs.

The building, formerly used as a corn mill, has been the subject of ghostly rumours in recent years.

Dartford council sport and facilities manager Frank Brown has been responsible for the upkeep of the site for 14 years.

He said: "There have been lots of stories over the years from security staff.

"There was a real flurry of sightings five or six years ago when the drug company GlaxoSmithKline owned the building following its corn-milling days.

"Security staff used to report seeing people on CCTV walking in rooms, but would fail to find them when they investigated.

"A former cleaner at the house also reported seeing a Victorian woman in the house."

It is thought the site of the mansion house has been used as a cornmill since the early 13th Century.

The first registered name on the house's records is that of flour miller Henry Colyer.

In 1898 he leased the house, mill and grounds as a social club for employees of the drug company Burroughs Wellcome & Co.

This company was later to be bought by GlaxoSmithKline, which took ownership of the entire Acacia Halls site, including the mansion house.

The house was used by staff as a social club and the company eventually purchased the buildings in 1924.

In 1962, the mill building was destroyed in a fire, with only the ground floor surviving.

The eastern end of the current ballroom and bar was then built on the site of the old mill.

Dartford Council bought the entire Acacia Halls complex in 2005 and a £500,000 renovation project ends early next year.

There is already a new lift in the nearby Acacia ballroom and new equipment for the fitness centre.

Future additions include new toilets for disabled visitors as well as redecoration, rewiring and roof repairs.

Heritage days at the site ran from September 13 to September 16 and gave visitors the chance to see a range of buildings in addition to Acacia Halls.

These included the orangery at Ingress Abbey on The Avenue in Ingress Park, and the Hawley Manor Dovecote and ice house on Hawley Road.

Dartford Council's cabinet member for culture and leisure, Councillor Patsy Thurlow, said it was great residents could see the mansion for themselves.

She said: "Ghosts or no ghosts, the Acacia mansion house is a wonderful building which has a rich history within the borough.

"Our heritage days gave residents an opportunity to take a closer look at some really interesting areas of the borough's history.

"The walks and visits made an entertaining day out."