Seaton Delaval Hall
Seaton Delaval Hall is a country house on the coast just north of Newcastle upon Tyne , between Seaton Sluice and Seaton Delaval in the English county of Northumberland . It was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1718 and built for Admiral George Delaval . Today it belongs to the National Trust . English Heritage has listed it as a Grade I Historic Building.
The house has had an unfortunate history since it was completed in 1728. Neither the architect nor the client saw the completion. It then belonged to a number of heirs who only lived there temporarily. The worst, however, was that the central building was destroyed by fire in 1822 and only the surrounding walls have been standing since then.
history
The Delaval family has owned the property since the time of the Norman conquest of England . Admiral Delaval bought it from an impoverished relative, Sir John Delaval . Admiral George Delaval had made his fortune during his membership in the Royal Navy by raising ships under award law and had also served as British envoy in Queen Anne's reign . In 1718 he brought in the architect John Vanbrugh to advise him on the expansion and modernization of the existing manor house . When he saw the property, Vanbrugh realized that there was actually nothing he could do for his client and advised the complete demolition of all buildings with the exception of the old chapel by the manor house, which is now the parish church of Our Lady .
Delaval took his advice and the new building was completed in 1728, two years after the Admiral's death. The new mansion was the last mansion Vanbrugh designed, but it is considered his finest work. After the Admiral's death, his nephew Francis Blake Delaval the Elder inherited the property and moved in immediately.
In 1775 the portrait painter William Bell made two paintings of the house, one from the north facade and one from the south facade. Bell also painted portraits of many of the house's residents at the time. This earned him the patronage of Lord Delaval , the younger son of the aforementioned Francis Blake Delaval.
In 1822, the central block was destroyed by a fire allegedly caused by jackdaws nesting in the chimneys of part of the south-east wing adjacent to the central block. This wing was subsequently torn down. Today you can still see various openings, which are now glazed, from which you can see where the south-east wing was connected to the central block.
The house was restored by the architect John Dobson in the years 1862–1863: The central block received a new roof, but the shell remained inside. Today you can still clearly see the traces of fire in the knight's hall, which was originally 9 meters high, but is still open to the roof today and has blackened walls and statues of muses .
During the Second World War the country house was used to accommodate German prisoners of war who had to work as farm workers on the neighboring farms.
After the Second World War
Further restoration work was carried out in 1959 and the early 1960s, e.g. B. the replacement of the windows in the central block, the restoration of the upper floor gallery in the main hall and the laying of new floors in the piano nobile . But the house remained uninhabited until the 1980s. Then - for the first time in 160 years - another Delaval moved in, namely Edward Delaval Henry Astley, 22nd Baron Hastings, in the west wing. He lived there until his death in 2007.
Then Delaval Astley, the new 23rd Baron Hastings , who had to pay a lot of inheritance tax, decided to look for a buyer for the country house. On September 1, 2008, the National Trust made an offer of £ 6.3 million for the country house, gardens and property. In December 2009 the National Trust announced that it had won the bid and that the purchase was perfect. The country house was opened to the public again on May 1, 2010.
Architecture and layout
The architectural style is known as "English Baroque" and is based on Palladianism introduced in the United Kingdom by Inigo Jones . Vanbrugh developed the style from the more decorative and architecturally lighter Baroque of continental Europe.
The country house consists of a central block - also known as the corps de logis - which houses the parade rooms and other important rooms, and two flanking wings. The wings each consist of a central part with three bays crowned by an ornamental gable, and seven bays to the left and right of it with sliding windows on the upper floor and arcades on the ground floor.
In the west wing there were originally subordinate rooms and living quarters for the servants. The wing, which was damaged in an earlier fire but has been restored according to original plans, differs from the other buildings in its grand colonnade and had a high-vaulted kitchen that is now a salon. In the east wing are the stables , a 20 meter long chamber of palatial construction with boxes and feed troughs made of stone. Between the two wings there is a large courtyard, 55 meters long and 46.5 meters wide.
The exterior of the country house is still a perfect example of English Baroque, but the interior parade rooms are still unrestored after the fire.
Also in the 160 hectare park is a stone mausoleum about 800 meters east of the manor house, which once had a majestic dome, but which no longer exists today. But it has a portico that rests on huge, monolithic columns. This mausoleum was built by Lord Delaval for his only son, John , who in 1775 at the age of 19 "died as a result of a kick in a vital organ by a laundress who was paying his respects." No one was actually buried in this mausoleum that was never blessed either. The unfortunate John Delaval is buried in St. Peter's Church in Doddington in Lincolnshire .
The mausoleum is now in ruins, its lead roof has disappeared. Also to the east of the fenced-in garden is the south-facing orangery , designed by the architect William Etty , who worked with Vanburgh. It has five glazed arches, separated by Doric half-columns. The statue shows a slender David with an empty slingshot, who stands slightly above the arching figure of Goliath, who has placed his thumbs on each other in his palms, a Northumbrian defense against witchcraft.
A large obelisk dominates the fields south of the manor house; the stump of a second is on the north side of the road that goes by the mansion, near the curve to New Hartley . This second obelisk marks the spot where Admiral George Delaval died after falling from his horse in 1723 before the new mansion was completed. Only the base of the obelisk is still preserved today, half hidden behind trees. It is not listed as a historical building.
Legend
Like many big old houses in England, Seaton Delaval Hall is said to have its spirit. Family biographer Francis Askham reports:
"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. " (Eng .: “There is a window on the first floor of the north facade of Seaton Delaval Hall, which when looking from a certain point in the forecourt looks like a figure dressed in white is standing there. According to legend, this is the white one Woman, a girl who fell in love with the Delaval heir and died of a broken heart because marriage was not allowed. ” )
Gallery images
Manor house from the north
Manor house from the northwest
Manor house from the northwest
Manor house from the north
Central block from the north
Individual evidence
- ^ Seaton Delaval Hall . Images of England. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ William Bell paintings . Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ Seaton Delaval Hall: Save it, Shape it . National Trust. ( Memento of the original from November 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
- ^ National Trust saves stately home . BBC News. December 16, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ F. Askham: The Gay Delavals . Jonathan Cape, 1955.
swell
- Education Committee of the County of Northumberland as a memento of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and a reminder of your loyalty to Her Majesty and to the beautiful County of Northumberland. 1953.
Web links
- Seaton Delaval Hall . National Trust.
- Seaton Delaval Photograph Album . SeatonDelaval.org.uk
- The Seaton Delval Hall . SeatonDelaval.org
Coordinates: 55 ° 4 ′ 56.3 " N , 1 ° 29 ′ 47.8" W.