If you’re not careful, you could miss Seaton Delaval Hall – which seems impossible when you look at it. Sir John Vanbrugh’s architectural masterpiece sits on the side of The Avenue, 15 miles from the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, imposing with its central hall and two wings. Yet plenty of people drive straight past it, surprised by its sudden appearance, says Emma Thomas, its general manager.
In 1718, Admiral George Delaval commissioned Vanbrugh, the architect of Castle Howard, to build him a mansion. The resulting “playhouse” has two reception rooms on the ground floor and bedrooms upstairs.
The mansion was built on a bastioned mount, which looks from a distance like cushioned rolls of stone...