Sir Francis Blake Delaval KB (16 March 1727 – 7 August 1771) was a British actor, soldier and Member of Parliament. He had a privileged and aristocratic education at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and then Christ Church at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Early life

Delaval was the eldest son of Francis Blake Delaval (1692–1752), of

Seaton Delaval Hall Seaton Delaval Hall is a Grade I listed building, 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 i ...

, and Rhoda Apreece, heiress of

Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire Doddington Hall is, from the outside, an Elizabethan prodigy house or mansion complete with walled courtyards and a gabled gatehouse. Inside it was largely updated in the 1760s. It is located in the village of Doddington, to the west of the ci ...

. His father served as a Captain in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and represented

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

in Parliament.

Career

He succeeded to his father's estate in 1752. He added to it by building the

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

known as Starlight Castle, overlooking Holywell Dene which leads to

Seaton Sluice Seaton Sluice is a village in Northumberland. It lies on the coast at the mouth of the Seaton Burn (a small river), midway between Whitley Bay and Blyth, Northumberland, Blyth. The population of Seaton Sluice at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom ...

. It was allegedly built in a single day to win a wager. Little survives of it now apart from a single stone arch. Francis was an actor in a group led by

Samuel Foote Samuel Foote (January 1720 – 21 October 1777) was a Cornish dramatist, actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. He was known for his comedic acting and writing, and for turning the loss of a leg in a riding accident in 1766 to comedic oppor ...

. He was a gambler but could not afford that lifestyle.

Military career

His military career was of short duration. He took part in the

Raid on St Malo The Raid on St Malo took place in June 1758 when an amphibious British naval expedition landed close to the French port of St Malo in Brittany. While the town itself was not attacked, as had been initially planned, the British destroyed large a ...

, and received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

for his bravery when storming the

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

beach, although there were no French troops present to offer resistance.

Political career

He represented Hindon in Wiltshire in Parliament from 1751 to 1754, and

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

in Hampshire from 1754 to 1768.

Personal life

Delaval fell in love with a singer and actor named

Ann Catley Ann Catley (1745–1789), also known as Ann Lascelles, was an English singer, actress, and prostitute. Personal life Catley was born near Tower Hill, London, to hackneyed coachman and a washer woman. Mr. Catley spent his earnings only on himsel ...

in about 1760. She had been apprenticed to William Bates, who was a composer and singing teacher. Bates sold Ann's apprenticeship to Delaval. Bates was given money by Delaval to make up for any financial loss to him, but Catley's father could see that Ann had been sold. Aided by his employer, her father sued Delaval and Bates but to no benefit. Eventually the relationship with Delaval ended and Catley continued her career. ''Available in print, and online for subscribers''

Marriage

He married the wealthy (and much older) Lady Nassau Powlett ( Lady Isabella Tufton), daughter of

Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet, PC (30 August 1644 – 30 July 1729)G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, G ...

and widow of

Lord Nassau Powlett Lord Nassau Powlett (23 June 1698 – 24 August 1741) was an English army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1720 to 1734 and in 1741. Early life Powlett was the only son of Charles Powlett, 2nd Duke of Bolton by his ...

, but it was not a happy marriage. His wife filed a lawsuit against him because of adultery with an actress, Miss La Roche, for which Isabella unknowingly forked out £1500. His London townhouse was

11 Downing Street 11 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 11, is the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (who traditionally also has the title of Second Lord of the Treasury). The residence, in Downi ...

, now the official home of the

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

. He suffered a stroke, and was memorialized by his obituarist as "'the very soul of frolic and amusement (who) overbalanced a few foibles by a thousand amiable qualities". He left four illegitimate children but no legitimate ones and was succeeded by his younger brother

John Hussey Delaval John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

, later

Baron Delaval Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

In Popular Culture

A fictionalised version of Delaval appears in Zoe Gilbert's ''Mischief Acts''. In a portion of the story set during the early 1700s, Delaval attempts to seduce

by dressing as

Comus In Greek mythology, Comus (; , ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. Cup-bearer of the god Dionysus, he was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr. His mythology occurs only in later antiquity. Duri ...

, unaware that Catley is secretly the daughter of the Erl-King (in this story, the same figure as

Herne the Hunter In English folklore, Herne the Hunter is a ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. He is said to have antlers growing from his head, ride a horse, torment cattle, and rattle chains. The earliest ...

References

Footnotes

Sources

* *
The history of Parliament, section 1715-1754.

The history of Parliament, section 1754-1790.

Lotnotes by a painting of Francis Blake Delaval after Joshua Reynold. Bonhams, 5 September 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaval, Francis Blake 1727 births 1771 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People educated at Westminster School, London English male stage actors 18th-century English male actors