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,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

from his mother Mary, née Blake, and at

Seaton Delaval Seaton Delaval is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Seaton Valley, 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, comple ...

, Northumberland from his uncle Admiral George Delaval (1660–1723). John's mother was Rhoda Apreece, through whom John inherited Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

. 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 based on a contract with a lump sum of money. Insurance companies are common annuity providers and are used by clients for things like retirement or death benefits. Examples ...

, and developed the farming resources at Ford and the coal and mineral resources at Seaton. His sister was Rhoda Delaval, an artist and wife of Edward Astley.

Political career

Delaval served as Member of Parliament 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 recor ...

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 Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

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 repla ...

Personal life

Delaval's seat was at

Seaton Delaval Hall Seaton Delaval Hall is a Grade I listed building, 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 i ...

, 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 Restorat ...

. 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 Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. He left his second wife Susannah Elizabeth a life interest in the Ford estate, 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, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

, 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 parishes in England, civil parish in the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It covers an area of and had a population of 518 in 225 households at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 200 ...

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 Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Burials at Westminster Abbey 18th-century 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