Seaton Delaval is a village in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, England, with a population of 4,371. The largest of the five villages in

Seaton Valley Seaton Valley is a civil parish at the south eastern corner of Northumberland, consisting of four villages lying between Cramlington, Blyth, Northumberland, Blyth and Whitley Bay. The largest village is Seaton Delaval, while Seaton Sluice is on ...

, it is the site of

Seaton Delaval Hall Seaton Delaval Hall is a 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 in 1718 for Admiral Geo ...

, completed 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 ...

in 1727. In 2010 the armed robbery of Jimmy's Fish Bar featured in news coverage of

Raoul Moat The 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt was a major police operation conducted across Tyne and Wear and Northumberland with the objective of apprehending fugitive Raoul Moat. After killing one person and wounding two others in a two-day shooting ...

's crime rampage.

History

The name 'Seaton Delaval' was first attested as 'Seton de la Val' in 1270. 'Seaton' simply means 'sea town', referring to the village's nearness to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

. The land was held by the Delaval family, who took their name from Laval in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

in France. Their descendants are still major landholders in the area today and the current Lord Hastings is Delaval Astley, 23rd Baron Hastings. The folk song ‘

Blackleg Miner "Blackleg Miner" is a 19th-century English folk song, originally from Northumberland (as can be deduced from the dialect in the song and the references in it to the villages of Seghill and Seaton Delaval). Its Roud number is 3193. The song is on ...

’ mentions the village: ::::''Oh, Delaval is a terrible place ::::They rub wet clay in the blackleg's face. ::::And around the heaps they run a foot race, ::::To catch the blackleg miner! ::::So divint gan near the Seghill mine. ::::Across the way they stretch a line, ::::To catch the throat and break the spine ::::Of the dirty blackleg miner!''

Governance

From 1974 the village was part of the Blyth Valley borough, but as part of the

2009 structural changes to local government in England Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a "two-tier" system of counties and districts. In five s ...

responsibility was transferred to

Northumberland County Council Northumberland County Council is a unitary authority in North East England. The population of the non-metropolitan unitary authority at the 2011 census was 316,028. History It was formed in 1889 as the council for the administrative county of ...

. The village is in the NE25 post code area and the coastal town of

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around e ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

. Unlike other parts of Northumberland, Seaton Delaval and the surrounding villages use the Tyne and Wear 0191 area code.

Geography

The village is centred on the intersection of two main roads: the A192 road running from North Shields to Morpeth and the A190 road running from the Dudley village bypass to Seaton Sluice. These main roads are lined by terraced housing from the turn of the 20th century but large post-war and 1970s house development is predominant. There are small pockets of more recent housing and a new estate of houses was completed in 2012. Nearby villages include: *Holywell * Seghill * Seaton Sluice * New Hartley

Economy

The village has its own independent

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

, the Seaton Valley Co-Operative Society, which runs a small

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

and

off-licence A liquor store is a retail shop that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors – typically in bottles – usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (i ...

. There are also several

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ti ...

s and

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s, such as The Keel Row pub/restaurant on Foreman's Row, Hastings Arms on Wheatridge Row and the Victoria and Albert Inn on Seaton Terrace. The other, mainly independent, stores include a regionally renowned

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

parlour (Arrighi's, often incorrectly pronounced "Riggy's"), a pine furnishing store, a

florist Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related su ...

and a garage. The Victoria and Albert Inn was formally 2 separate inns With the Victoria dating back to 1839, the 2 were merged to form The Victoria and Albert Inn. In 2012 local residents put up a brave fight and took on Tesco and prevented them from changing their pub to a Tesco Express store. In 2019/2020 the Victoria and Albert underwent a major refurbishment. The Seaton Terrace is now the premier social club in the Village after the demise of the "Top Club". The club has over 850 members and has recently because solvent again, paying off over £250,000 worth of debt and was due to celebrate its "Independence Day" on July 4 after getting its deeds back. The club has been known for its nightlife over the years and has hosted some top local acts like the Sleaze Sisters, Digits, Queen's of Noise, Jason Isaacs and the Fontains as well as world-renowned Bay City Roller, Eric Faulkner.

Coty Coty may refer to: *Coty, Inc., an American beauty products manufacturer *Coty Award, the Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (1943-1984) by Coty, Inc. *COTY, abbreviation for Car of the Year awards People * François Coty (1874–1934), perfum ...

has a factory in the village following a merger of between Procter and Gamble and Coty for the acquisition of their beauty business, once the independent Shultons factory. Shultons formerly manufactured Old Spice aftershave before Procter & Gamble's acquisition of the brand. The factory is now employed in the manufacture of Clairol hair dye products, including Nice 'n Easy, as well as the

Hugo Boss Hugo Boss AG, often styled as BOSS, is a luxury fashion house headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, accessories, footwear, and fragrances. Hugo Boss is one of the largest German clothing companies, ...

fragrance range along with a number of other products.

Landmarks

, taken into the care of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

in 2009, is around east of the village off the A190.

Transport

A railway line, now used only for freight, runs to the North of the village. A railway station was opened in 1841 but was closed to passengers in 1964. There are bus links to nearby

Cramlington Cramlington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, 6 miles (9 kilometres) north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of its city centre. The name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxons. T ...

and Blyth as well as to

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

Education

The village is served by five main schools: *Seaton Delaval Parent/Toddler Group *Seaton Delaval Pre-school (ages 2 – school) *Seaton Terrace Nursery (closed/demolished) *Seaton Delaval Community First School (previously "The Station School" before being moved to the same site as Whytrig Middle as part of Northumberland County Council's switch from three to two-tier education) *Holywell Village First School *Whytrig County Middle School (moved on to the site of Astley High School as of September 2014) * Astley Community High School (including Sixth Form and Adult Education)

Religious sites

There are a number of

Christian church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...

es in the village: *The Church of Our Lady (

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

) *Elsdon Avenue United Reformed and Methodist Church *Holy Trinity, Seghill (

)

Culture

The Seaton Delaval Arts Centre, a small auditorium hosting musical and drama entertainment, often locally produced, is housed in the former Salvation Army Hall in the centre of the village.

Notable residents

Ralph Delaval Admiral Sir Ralph Delaval (c.1641–c.1707) was an English admiral. He was a member of a junior branch of the Delaval family of Seaton Delaval, Northumberland. He was born at North Dissington, Ponteland, Northumberland, which estate he ultimate ...

– Admiral *

George Delaval Vice-Admiral George Delaval (''c.'' 1667 – 22 June 1723), of Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, was a Royal Navy officer, diplomat and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1723. Family Delaval was of a junior branch of th ...

– Admiral and builder of

Noel Forster Noel Armstrong Forster (15 June 1932 – 7 December 2007) was a British artist who trained at King's College Newcastle a part of Durham University, graduating in 1957. Forster was born in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland and attended to Gosfo ...

– Artist and teacher * John Gardner – Thriller writer, continued James Bond books *

Ivor Gurney Ivor Bertie Gurney (28 August 1890 – 26 December 1937) was an English poet and composer, particularly of songs. He was born and raised in Gloucester. He suffered from bipolar disorder through much of his life and spent his last 15 years in ps ...

– Poet and composer *

Ray Kennedy Raymond Kennedy (28 July 1951 – 30 November 2021) was an English footballer who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal and Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s. Kennedy played as a forward for Arsenal, and then played as a le ...

– Arsenal and Liverpool footballer * Laura Pidcock - Former Labour MP for North West Durham * England football internationals Clem Stephenson and his brother George were both born in Seaton Delaval * Billy Wilson professional footballer

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and

Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is a professional football club based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, which compete in . They are also known as ''Pompey'', a local nickname used by both HMNB Portsmouth and the city of Portsmouth; the ''Pompey'' nick ...

* Gordon Parker - Novelist, Playwright and Literary Critic

References

External links

Arts centre
– A building saved by the Community for the Community and now a modern Community Arts Venue
A Seaton Delaval WebsiteA Seaton Delaval History WebsiteResidents Association Official WebsiteAstley High SchoolThe Keel Row, Pub & Dining, Website
(Accessed: 27 November 2008) {{Authority control Villages in Northumberland