Women, Art and Patronage: The Delavals of Seaton Delaval Hall

The generation of the Delaval family known as the 'Gay Delavals', or the 'mauvais ton' of eighteenth-century society, were fashionable trend-setters, patronising art and literature and forging the north-eastern industrial landscape. But little attention has been paid to the women of the family who shaped eighteenth-century culture and politics by patronising the arts and funding political propaganda for the press. This project will uncover the significance of the Delaval women at a time when the family seat, Seaton Delaval Hall, managed by project partner the National Trust, faces a major overhaul of its interpretation through a £7.8m conservation project.