Researching John Vanbrugh in Northumberland

Seaton Delaval Hall

In March, I had the chance to visit Newcastle for the first time, and to take a look at the nearby Seaton Delaval Hall, undoubtedly one of the masterpieces of English Baroque architecture. For those that don’t know the history of this house: it was commissioned by Admiral George Delaval from Sir John Vanbrugh in the 1720s and inhabited by generations of his eccentric, theatrical family (nicknamed the ‘gay Delavals’). Sadly, in 1822, the central block was gutted by a fire, supposedly caused by nesting jackdaws, but restoration work followed and today the property is in the care of the National Trust.

It was somewhat ironic, then, to arrive and be asked to wait in the car park because of a fire alarm. Thankfully, nothing was amiss and we were eventually given access to the grounds. My first thought on seeing the building is that it’s very similar to Blenheim Palace, although much smaller! I particularly love the banded rustication which makes the whole structure look as if it’s on springs.

We started off by having a look at the chapel, where a guide explained a great deal about the Delaval family’s history. He also revealed that when Vanbrugh built the Hall, he created a mound for the building, which meant the level of the chapel was too low, so a step had to be put in (this reminded me of Nicholas Rowe’s poem about the architect building ‘Duke's houses upon very odd hills’).

The house itself is fascinating, and, although the fire was a tragedy, in some respects it has enlightened us about 18th-century building techniques and the materials which Vanbrugh favoured. For example, everything intended to be on show is made from stone, while brick is used in places that would not be seen. Archaeological excavations in the basement have also revealed a temporary brick floor (probably salvaged from the original building) in the basement, which was later covered with flagstones. The construction of a temporary floor for builders has also been observed in the work of Sir Christopher Wren, who was Vanbrugh’s mentor.

Meanwhile, the central hall - decorated with statues in niches - is magnificent and strongly reminiscent of a Roman bath house. There are more surprises in the stairwell, when you realise that the staircases are eliptical instead of round: an example of Baroque illusion!

Final tip for writers

I just wanted to end with a quick tip for recording impressions on research trips. I use Google Keep on my phone to store all my notes. You can type into it, use voice typing or even use it like a Dictaphone (this is not an affiliated link, I am genuinely recommending it because I’ve found it useful). If you use Google Docs to write your manuscript, you can open Keep back on your desktop - in the same window as your Google Doc. Because I save photos to my notes as well, it’s fantastic when you sit down to write because, with one click, you can have notes and images alongside your manuscript, rather than searching through folders or physical notebooks.

Do you use any nifty tool to help capture your impressions when you’re on a research trip? If so, please let me know in the comments!