Seaton Delaval Hall, part of the British Manor Series.
On June 28, we arrived at Seaton Delaval Hall at 15:20, and filled up the car on the way. The manor is owned by the National Trust, and tickets cost £13. We have a membership card, so we can visit for free. From the map, the manor building and garden are highly symmetrical. Seaton Delaval Hall was once the residence of the Delaval family (also translated as Delaval), and was built in 1718 and completed 10 years later. The Delaval family had owned the manor land since the Norman Conquest (beginning in 1066), but had never been a prestigious family until the 18th century, when a small branch of the family produced a famous admiral, George Delaval, who became a member of the family. George Delaval made his fortune by capturing prize ships during his naval service and served as a British envoy during the reign of Queen Anne. In 1717, George bought the estate from a destitute relative, Sir John Delaval. The following year, he visited the architect Sir John Vanbrugh and asked him for advice on renovating the existing house. After inspecting the site, Vanbrugh told George that he was unable to renovate the old manor and suggested that it be completely demolished and rebuilt. The admiral accepted the architect's advice and asked him to design and build it. John Vanbrugh was famous at the time for designing and building Howard Manor and Blenheim Palace, and this manor was the last country house he designed and is considered one of his finest works. Unfortunately, neither Vanbrugh nor Admiral George lived to see the completion of the manor house and gardens, and the project was completed by his nephew, Captain Francis Delaval. Even more unfortunate, in 1822, a fire burned the manor house to a shell. After the fire, the manor house was partially restored several times, but the restoration of the manor house interior seemed to be limited to adding bricks and filling holes, and the remaining carved beams and painted buildings, and the two rows of incomplete niche statues on the walls of the hall, made it easy to imagine the splendor and luxury of the past. In 2008, the manor was placed under the jurisdiction of the National Trust. The garden is rectangular, nearly 100 meters long and about 40 meters wide, and is extremely regular and symmetrical. After visiting Seaton Delaval Hall for more than an hour, we left at 16:30 and drove to our accommodation for the night, a former seminary dormitory converted into a hotel on the western outskirts of Durham. Seaton Delaval