Seaton Delaval Hall
Encyclopedia
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is near the coast just north of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. Located between Seaton Sluice
Seaton Sluice
Seaton Sluice is a village in Northumberland. It lies on the coast at the mouth of the Seaton Burn, midway between Whitley Bay and Blyth. It has a population of about 3,000 people.- Early history :...
and 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....
, it was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
in 1718 for Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
George Delaval
George Delaval
-Family:He was of a junior branch of the Delaval family, the son of George Delaval of North Dissington, Northumberland. 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:...
and is now owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Since completion of the house in 1728, it has had an unfortunate history. Neither architect nor patron lived to see its completion; it then passed through a succession of heirs, being lived in only intermittently.
History
The Delaval family had owned the estate since the time of the Norman conquest. Admiral Delaval, having made his fortune from bounty while in the navy, purchased the estate from an impoverished kinsman. (He had also served as a British envoyEnvoy (title)
In diplomacy, an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary is, under the terms of the Congress of Vienna of 1815, a diplomat of the second class, ranking between an Ambassador and a Minister Resident....
during the reign of Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
.)
Calling on the services of architect John Vanbrugh in 1718, the Admiral had originally wanted to modernise and enhance the existing mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
. But upon viewing the site, Vanbrugh felt he could do nothing and advised complete demolition of all except the ancient chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
near to the mansion, which is now the parish church of Our Lady. The works were completed in 1728, completed two years after the death of the Admiral, with the resulting new mansion the last country house Vanbrugh designed – it is regarded as his finest work.
On completion, the Admiral's nephew Francis had inherited the property, and moved in immediately. However, in 1822 the Centre Block was gutted by fire, said to have been caused by jackdaw
Jackdaw
The Jackdaw , sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly sedentary, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are...
s nesting in the chimneys of the section of the east wing closest to the main house. This wing was subsequently demolished and various openings can still be identified to show where it joined the Centre Block. The house was partially restored in 1862–63, when the central block was re-roofed, although it remained a shell internally. The effects of the fire are clearly visible in the great hall, originally 30 feet (9.1 m) high but still open to the roof, with blackened walls and muse statues.
Recent times
Further restoration was completed in 1959 and the early 1960s, including replacement of windows in the central block, restoration of the upstairs gallery in the main hall and paving of the floors on the piano nobilePiano nobile
The piano nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture...
. However, the house was to remain unoccupied until the 1980s, when after a period of 160 years, Edward Delaval Henry Astley, 22nd Baron Hastings
Edward Astley, 22nd Baron Hastings
Edward Delaval Henry Astley, 22nd Baron Hastings, 12th Baronet Astley had many interests, including politics, ballet, charity work, Italy, and renovating Seaton Delaval Hall....
moved into the west wing. It became his permanent home until his death in 2007.
The new Baron Hastings, burdened with a large Inheritance Tax
Inheritance Tax (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, Inheritance Tax is a transfer tax. It was introduced with effect from 18 March 1986 replacing Capital Transfer Tax.-History:...
bill, decided to seek a buyer for the Hall, and on 1 September 2008 the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
launched an appeal for £6.3m to bring the hall, with its gardens and grounds, into the Trust's custody. In December 2009, the Trust announced that its appeal had been successful, and the purchase having gone through, the Hall opened to visitors again on 1 May 2010.
Architecture and layout
English Baroque
English Baroque is a term sometimes used to refer to the developments in English architecture that were parallel to the evolution of Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London and the Treaty of Utrecht ....
, based on the Palladian style introduced into the UK by Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
. Vanbrugh evolved the style from the more decorated and architecturally lighter continental baroque popular in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
The design is of a centre block portico, or corps de logis
Corps de logis
Corps de logis is the architectural term which refers to the principal block of a large, usually classical, mansion or palace. It contains the principal rooms, state apartments and an entry. The grandest and finest rooms are often on the first floor above the ground level: this floor is the...
, containing the state and principal rooms, between two flanking wings. The wings have a centre projection of three bays, crowned by a pediment, either side of which are 7 bays of sash windows above a ground floor arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
.
The west wing originally housed secondary and service accommodation. Damaged in an earlier fire but restored to the original plan, it is distinguished by a great colonnade and boasted a lofty vaulted kitchen, now a salon. The east wing contains the stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
s, a sixty-foot chamber of palatial design, with stalls and mangers of stone fit. Between the two wings is a great open courtyard 180 feet (54.9 m) long and 152.5 feet (46.5 m) broad.
While the exterior is still a perfect example of English baroque at its finest, the interiors of the state rooms remain unrestored from the fire.
Also in the 400 acres (161.9 ha) estate park is a stone mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
, about half a mile east of the hall, with a majestic dome and a portico resting on huge monoliths. It was erected by Lord Delaval to his only son, John, who died in 1775 aged 20, “as a result of having been kicked in a vital organ by a laundry maid to whom he was paying his addresses”. The mausoleum is now ruinous and its lead roof has gone. Also to the east in the park is an orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
crowned by cherubs and leaden statuary groups; one of these shows a slight figure of David, with empty sling, lightly poised above the crouching form of Goliath, who has his thumbs doubled inside his palms, a Northumbrian precaution against witchcraft.
A large 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...
commands the fields to the south of the hall; the stub of a second can be found on the north side of the road running past the hall, next to the turning for 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...
. This second obelisk marked the site where Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
George Delaval
George Delaval
-Family:He was of a junior branch of the Delaval family, the son of George Delaval of North Dissington, Northumberland. 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:...
was killed in a fall from his horse in 1723, before his new hall had been completed. Only the pedestal of the obelisk survives, half-hidden by trees; it is uninscribed.
Legend
As with many big old houses, Seaton Delaval Hall is alleged to have a ghost. According to family biographer, Francis Askham:
There is a first-floor window on the North front of Seaton Delaval where, so it would seem from one particular part of the forecourt, a white-clad figure is standing. This, according to legend, is the White Lady, a girl who fell in love with the Delaval heir and died of a broken heart because the marriage was forbidden.
See also
- John VanbrughJohn VanbrughSir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
- Dilkusha KothiDilkusha KothiDilkusha Kothi is the remains of an eighteenth-century house built in the English baroque style in the quiet Dilkusha area of Lucknow in India. Today there are only a few towers and external walls as a monument, though the extensive gardens remain...
- constructed in India in around 1800 for Gore OuseleyGore OuseleySir Gore Ouseley, 1st Baronet GCH , was a British entrepreneur, linguist and diplomat. He was born in 1770 and died at Hall Barn Park, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in 1844...
, on the banks of the Gomti near LucknowLucknowLucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
. Now lies in ruins.