Seaton Delaval Hall Analysis

John Vanbrugh designed Seaton Delaval Hall in 1718 in the English Palladian style, a style wholly influenced by Andrea Palladio, a Venetian architect in the 1500s. Andrea Palladio wished to capture the beauty of Romanesque buildings, however Palladio’s “direct studies of antiquity, ” were of “enormous ruins ”, which weren’t initially stunning due to their decrepit nature. Upon further inspection, Palladio claimed that they were “much more worthy of observation than at first I had imagined,2” as he struck upon the notion that their beauty lay in the proportional relationships between the elements and not the decorative features long ruined. For example, within his ‘Four Books of Architecture’ he denotes his inspiration for arches comes partly
Whilst Inigo Jones’ remodelled St. Pauls Cathedral in this style “with one of the grandest classical porticoes in Europe,3” his Covent garden church “seemed to make for the first time since the Reformation a striking Protestant statement.3” Palladio’s ‘I Quattro Libri Dell'architettura’ gives thorough explanations of many different proportional relationships, and so Palladianism is able to be adapted and implemented for a variety of scales and purposes - an accessible design style for accessible functions. Seaton Delaval Hall, however, was not designed with accessibility in mind, but very much designed for Admiral Delaval – Vanbrugh even designed ‘porthole’ windows in the top floor, which was designed to replicate the poop deck of a ship. It was almost as if the Admiral wished to feel at war with the locals. To some extent this effect was achieved, the people of Seaton were so against the construction of the hall that they allegedly placed a curse upon it, haunting the building and its inhabitants. The subsequent tumultuous existence of the hall may suggest that Palladian buildings are not suitable to be built disregarding context, and that Vanbrugh was ignorant in his application of
So that he is like to have a very fine dwelling for himself, now, and his nephew thereafter.’ ” Seaton Delaval Hall is unique in that Vanbrugh exerted complete control over the design, whereas his other notable projects - Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace - had been dictated by other architects and more authoritarian clients. It is interesting that the source denotes that Vanbrugh believed he was designing the building for longevity, not just for Admiral Delaval, but beyond. As, - looking retrospectively - the Hall has not endured well. Even for the Admiral’s nephew, the building had to be remodelled, a Westerly Wing constructed, and interior spaces divided in order to accommodate family life. The top central window of Seaton Delaval Hall was filled with bricks, as the once perfectly symmetrical square room was awkwardly adapted, and the meticulous Palladian balance disturbed. Tavenor writes that “Hawksmoor [one of Vanbrugh’s peers] and Vanbrugh both evolved styles which, monumental and dramatic as they are, had no progeny, ” and so it could be inferred that Palladianism is ephemerally