Seaton Delaval Hall

Seaton Delaval Hall stands near the Northumberland coast, between Seaton Sluice and Seaton Delaval. The Grade I listed country house was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1718 for Admiral George Delaval. It is the last country house Vanbrugh designed and is regarded as one of his finest works. The Admiral did not live to see its completion, which took place in 1728. The house has had an unfortunate history, including a damaging fire in 1822 that gutted the central block. The hall’s 18th-century gardens are Grade II* listed, and the estate park covers 400 acres. The west wing once housed a lofty vaulted kitchen, now a salon, and the east wing contains stables inspired by Hopetoun House near Edinburgh. A stone mausoleum stands half a mile east of the hall, erected by Lord Delaval to his only son, who died in 1775. The mausoleum is now ruinous, with its lead roof gone. Visitors find the hall’s English Baroque architecture striking, with a centre block portico and flanking wings. The cour d’honneur, a great open courtyard, measures 180 feet by 152.5 feet. An 18th-century copy of a 16th-century Italian marble statue of David and Goliath stands in the forecourt. The walled garden includes a south-facing orangery designed by William Etty, and two obelisks mark significant sites on the estate. A legend tells of a white-clad figure, the White Lady, said to appear at a first-floor window.