Posts

Showing posts from May 18, 2010

GHOSTS, CURSES AND PARTIES

Im pleased to see that Delaval hall has re-opened It's doors to the public. Delaval hall is a Grade 1 listed country house in Northumberland, designed by Jon Vanbrugh in 1718 for Admiral George Delaval. Ive been fascinated by this building for years and Ive been looking forward to a peep inside. There is a mandatory ghost(s), a curse, a lineage stretching to William the Conqueror, a royal mistress, a bed hopping MP who blasts bribes from a canon, and a sex starved heir who died from a kick in the bollocks ! It boasts more scandals than a sunday tabloid ! What more do you want right on your doorstep. The most interesting one for me, was Admiral George Delaval. The Admiral met his death after falling from his horse. Today the base of an obelisk to be found just off the tree fringed avenue to the west of the hall marks the place where he was unseated. Legend has it that his foot was trapped in a stirrup, the Admiral was dragged across fields and died at the very spot marked by a
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image