Art UK is delighted to announce the launch of Valence House Museum's guide on the Bloomberg Connects app.

The Bloomberg Connects app is a free digital guide where you can explore content from many diverse cultural organisations. Wherever you are in the world, you can access a range of content, either to add to your experience viewing the gallery in person, or to enjoy from the comfort of your own home. Valence House Museum's guide is a new addition to the app.

The Valence House Museum guide on the Bloomberg Connects app

Valence House Museum in East London tells the story of Barking and Dagenham from pre-history to the present day – all from a moated medieval manor house.

The guide celebrates fascinating stories and artefacts from the local area. For example, did you know about Barking and Dagenham's connection with the 1966 World Cup? As the guide explains, the England team featured four members from Barking and Dagenham: 'So you might be tempted to say that England didn't win the World Cup – Barking and Dagenham did!'

Head to The WOW! Factor section of the guide to discover more interesting stories from the local area, including its connection with William the Conqueror, and to learn about Dagenham's 'Magic Bullet'.

The guide also features a selection of highlighted objects from the collection, including an example of the fascinating material named Fordite.

This colourful material is also known as Dagenham Agate. The enamel pieces are a by-product of the car-painting process at the Ford factory during the 1970s, where paint was allowed to harden until it could be cut into pieces and polished. With car-painting techniques now changed, Fordite is no longer produced. This has led some to consider Fordite rarer than diamonds!

You can also discover a sculpture by A. J. Baldwin, created to pay homage to the Ford Motor Company's connection to Dagenham.

Visit the guide's Events section to find out about upcoming activities for children and families, activities for adults and exhibitions. Valence House Museum's current exhibition is called 'Looking Dandy!'. Through a display of portraits from the Fanshawe collection, visitors can discover more about how the fabrics, silhouettes and accessories have changed over the centuries in men's fashion.