John Hussey Delaval, 1st Baron Delaval (17 March 1728 – 17 May 1808), known as Sir John Delaval, Bt, between 1761 and 1783, was an English landowner and politician.

Background and education

Delaval was the son of Francis Blake Delaval, who inherited estates at

Ford Castle Ford Castle is a Grade I listed building situated at a shallow crossing point on the River Till, Ford, Northumberland, England. The castle dates from about 1278. The owner Sir William Heron was granted a licence to crenellate the castle in 133 ...

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 ...

from his mother Mary, née Blake, and at

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 from his uncle Admiral

George Delaval Vice-Admiral George Delaval (''c.'' 1667 – 22 June 1723), of Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, was a Royal Navy officer, diplomat and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1723. Family Delaval was of a junior branch of th ...

(1660–1723). John's mother was Rhoda Apreece, through whom John inherited

Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire Doddington Hall is, from the outside, an Elizabethan prodigy house or mansion complete with walled courtyards and a gabled gatehouse. Inside it was largely updated in the 1760s. It is located in the village of Doddington, to the west of the cit ...

. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

. Delaval bought his father's estates from his elder brother Sir Francis Blake Delaval (1727–1771) in exchange for an

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, ...

, and developed the farming resources at Ford and the coal and mineral resources at Seaton. His sister was

Rhoda Delaval Rhoda Delaval Astley (1 July 1725 – 1757) was an English aristocrat and artist. She was married to Edward Astley, with whom she had a daughter and three sons. Lady Astley studied painting with Arthur Pond, who painted her portrait. Seaton Del ...

, an artist and wife of Edward Astley.

Political career

Delaval served as

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

Berwick on Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

1754–1761, 1765–1774 and 1780–1786. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of

in the County of Northumberland, in the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1761, and in 1783 he was raised to the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

as Baron Delaval, of Redford in the County of Wicklow. In 1786 he was further honoured when he was made Baron Delaval, of Seaton Delaval in the County of Northumberland, in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself r ...

Personal life

Delaval's seat was at

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 Geo ...

, an 18th-century masterpiece by

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 Restora ...

. Lord Delaval gave artist William Bell his patronage, in return for a series of portraits painted of him and his family, and two views of

.Art UK Your Paintings William Bell
Delaval married twice but his only son predeceased him aged just 19, and the baronetcy and baronies became extinct on his death in 1808. He was buried in St Paul's Chapel,

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. He left his second wife Susannah Elizabeth a life interest in the Ford estate, after which it was to pass to his granddaughter Susan, and bequeathed his estates of Seaton Delaval and Doddington to his brother Edward Hussey Delaval (1729-1814). On the death of Edward in 1814, Doddington passed to Edward's wife and then to his daughter Sarah. Seaton Delaval passed to

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

, the son of his deceased sister Rhoda, who had been married to Sir Edward Astley of

Melton Constable Melton Constable is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 518 in 225 households at the 2001 census. The population had increased to 618 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of ...

in Norfolk.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delaval, John Hussey 1728 births 1808 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George III Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Burials at Westminster Abbey English landowners British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1780–1784 Whig members of the Parliament of Great Britain People from Seaton Delaval