Admiral George Delaval (1668–1723), MP by Godfrey Kneller

Vice-Admiral George Delaval (''c.'' 1667 – 22 June 1723), of

Seaton Delaval Seaton Delaval is a village 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. In 2010 the armed robbery of ...

, Northumberland, was a Royal Navy officer, diplomat and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1715 to 1723.

Family

Delaval was of a junior branch of the Delaval family, the son of George Delaval of North Dissington,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. His father left him a legacy of only £100, but he went on to make a large fortune from his naval and diplomatic career.

Naval career

Delaval joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and by 1693 had achieved the rank of 3rd lieutenant aboard HMS ''Lenox''. In 1698 he travelled to North Africa to negotiate the release of British prisoners and concluded a treaty with

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in 1700. On his return as Captain Delaval in May 1700, he took command of the newly commissioned 4th rate man of war HMS ''Tilbury''. He commanded HMS ''Tilbury'' in the vanguard at the Battle of Málaga in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

on 24 August 1704. He was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in 1718 and to vice admiral in 1722.

Diplomatic and political career

Delaval's diplomatic career took him to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in 1705, with Lord Peterborough. In 1707 he was envoy to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

and, in 1708, concluded an agreement with

Ismail Ibn Sharif Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif ( ar, مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف), born around 1645 in Sijilmassa and died on 22 March 1727 at Meknes, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672–1727, as the second ruler of the Alaouite dynasty. He was the sev ...

, the Sultan of Morocco, not to molest each other's ships. He went to Portugal for three years in 1710 as Envoy Extraordinary to the King of Portugal. Delaval was returned unopposed as Whig

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

West Looe West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

at the 1715 general election. In 1716, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of

. He was returned unopposed for West Looe again at the 1722 general election. In Parliament, he voted with the Government in all recorded divisions.

Estates

In 1716 Delaval purchased for £5000 the forfeited estate of the

Shafto family The Shafto family is an alternative surname for the Ffolliot family, who were established in the 14th century at Shafto Crag, Northumberland and adopted the alternative surname of Shafto. Shafto of Little Bavington, Northumberland In the 15th ce ...

Bavington Hall Bavington Hall is a 17th-century privately owned country house at Little Bavington in Northumberland. It is a Grade II* listed building. A tower house (Little Bavington Tower) was recorded on the site in 1415, but this was replaced in the late 1 ...

, Northumberland, and in 1718 he bought the ancient seat of the Delaval family at

from his impoverished cousin,

Sir John Delaval, 3rd Baronet Sir John Delaval, 3rd Baronet (7 November 1654 – 4 June 1729) was an English politician. He was the fifth son of Sir Ralph Delaval, 1st Baronet and his wife Anne Leslie, daughter of the 1st Earl of Leven. Delaval succeeded his older brother R ...

. He retained the services of the architect

Sir John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restorati ...

and began an ambitious rebuilding of

Seaton Delaval Hall 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 ...

. He did not live to see the new house completed; in 1723, at the age of 55, he died as a result of falling off his horse. The site of the accident was marked by the erection of an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

, the base of which survives to the west of the hall, next to the turning to

New Hartley New Hartley is a small village in South East Northumberland, England, adjacent to Hartley, Seaton Delaval and Seaton Sluice. The village is just off the A190 road about north of Tynemouth and south of Blyth. History The village is historic ...

. Delaval left no issue. He restored Bavington Hall to the Shaftos by bequeathing it to George Shafto, who had married his sister. He left

to his nephew Francis Blake Delaval.

References

* Delaval Family Papers and Delaval Hastings Manuscripts. Northumberland Record Office
Ships of the Royal Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaval, George 1667 births 1723 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall Ambassadors of Great Britain to Portugal People from Seaton Delaval British military personnel of the War of the Quadruple Alliance British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Military personnel from Northumberland