Bavington Hall is a 17th-century privately owned country house at Little Bavington in

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 ...

. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

. A

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

(Little Bavington Tower) was recorded on the site in 1415, but this was replaced in the late 17th century by the Shafto family. The Shaftos acquired the estate when William Shafto married the Bavington heiress in the 15th century.''Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland'' (1839) p1358 Google Books In 1716 William Shafto and his son John were attainted for their part in the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire ...

and the estate was forfeited and sold by the Crown to 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 ...

. On his death Delaval restored the property to the Shafto family by bequeathing the estate to his brother-in-law George Delaval Shafto (

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

1739 and

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 o ...

for

1757–74). Significant alterations and improvements to the three-story, seven-bayed house were carried out in 1720, 1851 and 1930. The Shafto family sold the property in 1994. The present owners offer holiday accommodation in cottages in the grounds. The grounds contain a grotto, statues and other features which are Grade II listed.

References

{{Authority control Grade II* listed buildings in Northumberland