Seaton Delaval Hall

Early history The Delaval family had owned the estate since the time of the Norman Conquest. Admiral George Delaval bought the estate from an impoverished kinsman, Sir John Delaval, in 1717. George Delaval had made his fortune from capturing prize ships while in the Navy, and had also served as a British envoy during the reign of Queen Anne. In 1718, he called on architect Sir John Vanbrugh to advise him on how to modernise and enhance the existing mansion. Upon viewing the site, Vanbrugh felt he could do nothing, and advised complete demolition of all except the ancient chapel near to the mansion, which is now the parish church of Our Lady. James Mewburn (c.1680-1731) of Lookout Farm House, Seaton Sluice was the steward and clerk of works in charge during this time. Vanbrugh's advice was taken and the construction work was completed in 1728, five years after the death of the Admiral. On completion, the Admiral's nephew Francis Blake Delaval (the elder) inherited the property, and moved in immediately. . The southwest wing at left may never have been built; the southeast wing at right was destroyed by fire in 1822. In 1775, the Newcastle portrait artist William Bell made two paintings of the Hall, depicting the north and south fronts with some artistic licence, including wings that were never actually constructed. Bell also painted portraits of many of the residents of the house at the time, earning him the patronage of Lord Delaval, a younger son of the above-mentioned Francis Blake Delaval. In 1822, the central block was gutted by a fire said to have been caused by jackdaws nesting in the chimneys of the section of the south-east wing closest to the main house. The house was partially restored by the architect John Dobson between 1862 and 1863, when the central block was re-roofed, although it remained a shell internally. More modern times The hall was opened to the public for the first time in 1950. Further restoration was completed in 1959 and the early 1960s, However, the house was to remain unoccupied until the 1980s when, after a period of 160 years, Edward Delaval Henry Astley, 22nd Baron Hastings moved into the west wing. The hall opened to visitors again after the National Trust announced, in December 2009, that its appeal had been successful. The hall was closed to visitors in 2018 as part of a £3.7 million refurbishment project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. In October 2021, the hall was one of 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million injection into the government's Culture Recovery Fund, specifically for its sea-walk walls and corbels. ==Architecture and layout==

envisaged the house. The statues on the pediments were never executed. Engraving by Colen Campbell, from his Vitruvius Britannicus. statues at first-floor level are permanently affixed to the walls; the missing ceiling was destroyed in the fire of 1822. The roof is modern. The style of architecture is known as English Baroque, based on the Palladian style introduced into the UK by Inigo Jones. The design is of a centre block portico, or corps de logis, 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 seven bays of sash windows above a ground floor arcade. Between the two wings is a cour d'honneur, a great open courtyard long and broad. . Also in the estate park is a stone mausoleum, about half a mile east of the hall, which once had a majestic dome, now gone, but which retains a portico resting on huge monolithic columns. The mausoleum is surrounded by a circular ha-ha, a stone-faced ditch. It was erected by Lord Delaval to his only son, John, who died in 1775 aged 19, "as a result of having been kicked in a vital organ by a laundry maid to whom he was paying his addresses". No-one was ever buried in the mausoleum, which was never consecrated, and the unfortunate John Delaval was buried in St Peter's Doddington, Lincolnshire. The mausoleum is now ruinous and its lead roof has gone. Also to the east in the walled garden is a south-facing orangery, designed by the architect William Etty, who collaborated with Vanbrugh. It has five glazed arches separated by Doric demi-columns. The statue in the forecourt in front of the house is a lead figure of David, with empty sling, lightly poised above the crouching form of Goliath, who has his thumbs doubled inside his palms. This is an 18th-century copy, possibly by John Cheere, of a 16th-century Italian marble by either Baccio Bandinelli or a follower of Giambologna. The statue has been repositioned from one of the corner bastions of the garden. A large obelisk 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. This second obelisk marked the site where Admiral George Delaval was killed in a fall from his horse in 1723, before his new hall had been completed. Only the pedestal of the obelisk survives. == 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 ==

Image:Seaton Delaval Hall - all from NW with tree.jpg|From the north-west Image:Seaton Delaval Hall - all from NW.jpg|From the north-west Image:Seaton Delaval Hall - most from N.jpg|From the north Image:Seaton Delaval Hall - main block from N.jpg|Central block from the north ==References==