Overview:
This grand “party” house near the coast east of Newcastle was built by Vanburgh for Admiral George Delaval between 1719 and 1729. It was never fully completed and rarely used in it’s intended manner, both the architect and client dying before it was finished. The West Wing suffered a substantial fire in 1752 and was reconstructed by John Dobson in 1814-15 and the Main Hall was similarly gutted by fire in 1822. This part was re-roofed, but remained a shell.
The National Trust bought this grand Grade I Listed building in December 2009, opening to the public in 2010 and we have been undertaking gradual repairs and refurbishment with them since then to secure the stability, conservation and accessibility of the building for the future.
The work includes stone and urn replacement and repairs, reparations of internal statues, refurbishment and replacement of floor tiling, re-roofing, access improvements and window repair and replacement, all requiring great sensitivity and understanding both of the materials and history involved and of the ecology of the old building, acknowledging it and it’s surroundings as a habitat significantly for bats, jackdaws and falcons.