Seaton Delaval Hall and Gardens Private Tour
Report by Mike Hopper
It was fitting after Professor Cannon’s recent talk about the Delaval Family that the Society should visit Seaton Delaval Hall, the family’s northerly seat. Commissioned by Admiral George Delaval and designed by Sir John Vanburgh, neither unfortunately lived to see its completion in 1728.
Notable features outside the main residence are the formal gardens, laid out in 1947 by James Russell and revitalised by the late Lady Hastings; the restored Ice House; and the Coach House, containing practical, if not particularly grand, coaches and carts. The East Wing boasts very impressive stables which were turned into a Laundry for two Catherine Cookson films. The first floor was used to house P.O.W. s, who used most of the floor-boards to make wooden toys and carvings to sell and send money back home.
The West Wing was occupied by the Hastings family in the 1980s until Lord Hastings’s death in 2007. These rooms offer an insight into the lifestyle of the last residents, while the portraits, spanning 3 centuries, give depth to names and facts about this fascinating family, especially in the long yellow painted Gallery, not usually open to the public.
The National Trust have done an outstanding job in opening up the Hall in record time and receiving over 100,000 visitors to date, well above expectations. Many thanks to the National Trust, Terry Stewart and his volunteers for providing a most interesting and rewarding evening.
At the time of writing this report, concerns regarding the long term future of the contents of the house have yet to be resolved with the present Hastings family.
City and County
November 2011
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