Family

He was of a junior branch of the Delaval family

Delaval

Delaval is the surname of a family of gentry/aristocracy in Northumberland, England, from the 11th century to the 19th century. Their main estate was the manor of Seaton Delaval...

, the son of George Delaval of North Dissington

Dissington Hall

Dissington Hall is a privately owned country mansion, now a wedding and conference centre, situated on the banks of the River Pont at North Dissington, Ponteland, Northumberland. It is a Grade II* listed building....

, Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

. His father left him a legacy of only £100 but he went on to make a large fortune from his naval and diplomatic career.

Naval career

He joined the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 and by 1693 had achieved the rank of 3rd lieutenant aboard HMS Lenox

HMS Lenox (1678)

HMS Lenox was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard on 18 April 1678.She was rebuilt at Deptford in 1701, remaining as a 70-gun third rate. In 1707, she had belonged to Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet...

. In 1698 he travelled to North Africa to negotiate the release of British prisoners and on his return as Captain Delaval in May 1700 he took command of the newly commissioned 4th rate man of war HMS Tilbury.

He commanded HMS Tilbury in the vanguard at the Battle of Malaga

Battle of Malaga

The Battle of Málaga was the largest naval battle in the War of the Spanish Succession. It took place on 24 August 1704, south of Málaga, Spain.-The battle:...

  in the War of the Spanish Succession

War of the Spanish Succession

The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...

 on 24 August 1704. He was promoted to Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 in 1718 and to Vice Admiral

Vice Admiral

Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

 in 1722.

Diplomatic and political career

His diplomatic career took him in 1705 to Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 with Lord Peterborough

Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough

Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough and 1st Earl of Monmouth, KG, PC was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the son of John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt, and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Carey, the second son of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth...

, in 1707 as Envoy to Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

 and Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, and in 1710 to Portugal as Envoy Extraordinary to the King of Portugal.

He served as the member for West Looe

West Looe (UK Parliament constituency)

West Looe was a rotten borough represented in the House of Commons of England from 1535 to 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1797 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

 in the first and second parliaments of George I

George I of Great Britain

George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....

 from 1715 to 1723, and was appointed Deputy Lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

 of Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

 in 1716.

Estates

In 1716 he purchased for £5000 the forfeited estate of the Shafto family

Shafto family

The Ffolliot family were established by the 14th century at Shafto Crag, Northumberlandand adopted the alternative surname of Shafto.-Shafto of Little Bavington, Northumberland:...

 at Bavington Hall

Bavington Hall

Bavington Hall is a 17th-century privately owned country house at Little Bavington in Northumberland. It is a Grade II* listed building.A tower house was recorded on the site in 1415, but this was replaced in the late 17th century by the Shafto family.The Shaftos acquired the estate when William...

, Northumberland, and in 1718 he bought the ancient seat of the Delaval family at Seaton Delaval

Seaton Delaval

Seaton Delaval is a village in Northumberland, England, with a population of 4,371. It is the largest of the five villages in Seaton Valley and is the site of Seaton Delaval Hall, the masterpiece completed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1727....

 from his impoverished cousin, Sir John Delaval, 3rd Baronet

Sir John Delaval, 3rd Baronet

Sir John Delaval, 3rd Baronet was an English politician.He was the fifth son of Sir Ralph Delaval, 1st Baronet and his wife Anne Leslie, daughter of the 1st Earl of Leven. Delaval succeeded his older brother Ralph as baronet in 1696.Delaval sat as Member of Parliament for Morpeth from 1701 until...

. He retained the services of the architect Sir John Vanbrugh and began an ambitious rebuilding of Seaton Delaval Hall

Seaton Delaval Hall

Seaton Delaval Hall is a Grade I listed country house in Northumberland, England. It is near the coast just north of Newcastle upon Tyne. Located between Seaton Sluice and Seaton Delaval, it was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1718 for Admiral George Delaval and is now owned by the National...

. He did not live to see the new house completed; in 1723, at the age of 55, he died as a result of falling off his horse. The site of the accident was marked by the erection of an obelisk

Obelisk

An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...

, the base of which survives to the west of the hall, next to the turning to New Hartley

New Hartley

New Hartley is a village in South East Northumberland, England, adjacent to Hartley, Seaton Delaval and Seaton Sluice. The village is just off the A190 road about north of Tynemouth and south of Blyth...

.

He left no issue. He restored Bavington Hall to the Shaftos by bequeathing it to George Shafto, who had married his sister. He left Seaton Delaval Hall to his nephew Francis Blake Delaval.