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 18th century Delavals are noteworthy for their colourful lifestyle, for the magnificent Seaton Delaval Hall and for the development of the little seaport of Seaton Sluice and a coal mine at Old Hartley.
The Delaval name derives from Laval, a town in the valley of the river Mayenne, in the département of Mayenne in old Maine, north-western France. An early ancestor, Guy de la Val I, built a castle there in the first half of the eleventh century. Following the Norman Conquest of England, the de la Vals settled in Northumberland. [1] At Seaton they built a small fortified dwelling near the existing Saxon church, which in 1100 Hubert de la Val rebuilt, bringing into being the present Church of Our Lady near Delaval Hall. [2]
It would appear that the initial fortified dwelling evolved into the mediaeval Seaton Tower, probably in the fourteenth century. This was extended in Tudor and Jacobean times to form a rambling manor house of considerable size. In the earlier eighteenth century, this was replaced by the present Seaton Delaval Hall (referred to locally as Delaval Hall), the third and last great mansion designed by architect and playwright Sir John Vanbrugh. This was devastated by a fire in 1822 but later restored – apart from the interior of the main block.
The Delaval surname died out on at least two occasions in the Middle Ages, but was re-adopted by lords of Seaton presumably because of the prestige attached to its Norman-French sound. The Delaval family played a prominent part in the life of the county of Northumberland; several served as High Sheriff of the county, others became Members of Parliament and some served as Border Commissioner (the northern edge of the county lies along the Anglo-Scottish border).
The fortunes of the Delavals of Seaton rose to their peak in the eighteenth century. However, with the death of Edward Hussey Delaval in 1814, the Delaval line died out, and the manor of Seaton Delaval and other estates passed to the Astley family of Melton Constable.
Edward Astley, 22nd Baron Hastings, a considerable landowner, spent many years restoring the Hall, before it became his permanent home until his death in 2007. His son and heir, Delaval Astley, 23rd Baron Hastings, faced with high death duties, sold the Hall to the National Trust.
The eighteenth-century Delavals of Seaton [3] were:
Lady Rhoda Delaval Astley, the daughter of Captain Francis Blake Delaval [4] and sister of Sir Francis Blake Delaval, [5] was an artist who painted Delaval family members. Many of the paintings are in the National Trust and located at Seaton Delaval Hall, which descended into the Astley line through her son Jacob. [4] [6]
Baron Hastings is a title that has been created three times. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in 1290, and is extant. The second creation was in the Peerage of England in 1299, and became extinct on the death of the first holder in c. 1314. The third creation was in the Peerage of England in 1461, and has been in abeyance since 1960.
Seaton Delaval Hall is a Grade I listed country house in Northumberland, England, 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; it is now owned by the National Trust.
Seaton Delaval is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Seaton Valley, in Northumberland, England, with a population of 4,371. The largest of the five villages in Seaton Valley, it is the site of Seaton Delaval Hall, completed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1727.
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.
Doddington Hall is, from the outside, an Elizabethan prodigy house or mansion complete with walled courtyards and a gabled gatehouse. Inside it was largely updated in the 1760s. It is located in the village of Doddington, to the west of the city of Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England.
Ford Castle is a Grade I listed building situated at a shallow crossing point on the River Till, Ford, Northumberland, England.
John Hussey Delaval, 1st Baron Delaval, known as Sir John Delaval, Bt, between 1761 and 1783, was an English landowner and politician.
There have been two baronetcies created for people with the surname Delaval.
Vice-Admiral George Delaval, of Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, was a Royal Navy officer, diplomat and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1723.
Edward Delaval Henry Astley, 22nd Baron Hastings, 12th Baronet Astley was an English peer and government minister. He had many interests, including politics, ballet, charity work, Italy, and renovating Seaton Delaval Hall.
Melton Constable Hall is a large country house in the parish of Melton Constable, Norfolk, England designed in the Christopher Wren style and built between 1664 and 1670 for the Astley family who owned the estate from 1235 until 1948. The core of the house is Elizabethan.
Edward Hussey Delaval was a British scholar and natural philosopher.
Sir Francis Blake Delaval KB was a British actor, soldier and Member of Parliament. He had a privileged and aristocratic education at Westminster School, Eton College and then Christ Church at Oxford University.
Captain Francis Blake Delaval was a Royal Navy officer and Member of Parliament.
Rhoda Delaval Astley was an English aristocrat and artist. She was married to Edward Astley, with whom she had a daughter and three sons. Lady Astley studied painting with Arthur Pond, who painted her portrait. Seaton Delaval Hall passed from the Delaval family to the Astley family through her descendants.
George Manners Astley, 20th Baron Hastings, 10th Baronet Astley became the heir to the Hastings barony upon the death of his unmarried brother in 1875.
William Bell was an English painter who specialised in portraits. A prize-winning student at the Royal Academy of Arts, influenced by Sir Joshua Reynolds, he achieved eminence in his native area, the North East of England. His best-known works are portraits of Sir John Delaval and his family, which are in the collection of the National Trust at Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland. Bell's portrait of Robert Harrison, 1715–1802, is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Delaval Thomas Harold Astley, 23rd Baron Hastings, is an English peer, actor, and farmer.
Lieutenant-colonel Sir Jacob Henry Astley, 5th Baronet was an English landowner and Member of Parliament.
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