Explore the garden at Seaton Delaval Hall

Published:: 17 September 2023

A visitor playing with their dog in the South East Gardens in winter at Seaton Delaval Hall Northumberland | © Trevor Ray Hart

Discover the gardens at Seaton Delaval Hall. Explore the formal garden with its manicured lawns and topiary, stroll through the relaxed, wildflower-laden woodlands and uncover your playful side in the South East Garden. Enjoy family activities and stretch your legs on one of the walks across the wider estate.

Seaton Delaval Hall's Rose Garden Revival project

If you visit the gardens at Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland during January and February you may see some work taking place on our historic Rose Garden. Sadly in recent years it has fallen victim to a common garden problem - box blight.

To remedy this and make the garden more accessible, the National Trust appointed specialist landscape architects, Southern Green Ltd., to draw up plans to modernise it while keeping the essence of its earlier design. The plans involve replanting the hedges and opening up the pathways and seating areas, enabling you to get closer to the plants. There will be sympathetic under–planting to complement the roses and provide improved biodiversity to attract insects and pollinators plus a new, dedicated irrigation system.

We’re keeping the climbing wisteria along the garden’s wall, together with the historic ‘Ice cream’, ‘Iceberg’ and ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ rose varieties, which are at their best in late summer. Over the last couple of years, the National Trust’s Plant Conservation Centre has been growing the new yew hedging for us until it's ready to be planted here.

Work is now being carried out by local landscaping firm, W L Straughan to deliver the first year of the project, laying the new accessible paths and the garden's outer hedging. Our gardeners and gardening volunteers will be planting the roses. In 2026 the team here will plant the garden's interior hedging plus the under-planting. Please excuse the disruption while they carry out this important conservation work.

All removed, unusable plants will be shredded and composted, ready to return to support garden development.

We have funded this work thanks to a gift left for Seaton Delaval Hall in an anonymous donor’s will and generous donations from The Path Trust and the W A Handley Charity Trust. Opposite, you can see the proposed design, which our gardening staff and volunteer team will be working on.

See the designs

Slider with before and after images

The Rose Garden at Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland before its revival project — The rose garden at Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland before its revival | © Graeme Young

Plans for the Rose Garden's revival at Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland designed by Southern Green

Explore the garden in winter

At this time of year, the herbaceous growth is cut back and the trees are bare. You’ll see how this highlights the formal lines of the hedges and the geometry of the Parterre. This is also the best time of the year to catch glimpses of the Mausoleum from the South East Gardens, through the trees along the Sea Walk Walls.

The great weeping ash seems to come alive now as its long, bare branches clack together in the wind. By February, snowdrops carpet the woods and ice house and bright yellow aconites peep out from the borders.

Discover the Vanbrugh landscape

Designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, the landscape provides the same sense of drama and theatre as the Hall itself, and was a playground for the whole Delaval family.

Smaller spaces near the hall such as the Secret Garden and Privvy Garden provide shaded spots to rest and recharge with deckchairs and picnic spots available. On clear days enjoy the sweeping views north towards the Cheviot Hills. Look out for classic Vanbrugh design features around the Hall such as the obelisk, which draws your eyes out to the far southern landscape.

A couple explores the South East Gardens at Seaton Delaval Hall Northumberland | © National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart

The formal gardens

The Parterre

Discover the beautiful structure of the Parterre at any time of year, with its formal hedges, whitebeam ‘lollipop’ trees, fountain, urns and standard bay trees. And depending on the season you’ll be treated to bursts of colour from tulips, azaleas, lavender, geraniums and fuchsias.

Formerly a tennis court, it was created between 1950 and 1953 and was the first large-scale commission for garden designer James Russell, whose brief was to ‘Italianise’ the garden and who later became head gardener at Castle Howard.

The Weeping Ash

See the magnificent weeping ash tree, set in its own lawn and surrounded by herbaceous borders. We believe it was planted around the same time as the Hall was built. Sadly it lost a limb during Storm Arwen in 2021, but it still sits with pride of place in the formal gardens.

Rose Garden

Breathe in the aroma of the formal Rose Garden, which is in full bloom from mid-spring to late autumn. Each variety was chosen for its beautiful foliage and fragrant scent. Look out for the dark pink flowers of ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ and the creams and whites of 'Iceberg' and 'Ice Cream'.

Herbaceous borders

The herbaceous borders to the north of the Rose Garden come alive in early spring. They offer an ever-changing delight, from subtle yellow and pink flowers in spring to a vivid explosion of colour in summer lasting into autumn.

Privy Garden

Pull up a deckchair and relax in this peaceful spot, which was originally a private garden for Lady Hastings. Enclosed by yew hedging and unusual Ghent hybrid azaleas, there’s a small pond and the summer house where you can buy ice creams and light refreshments in summer.

Arboretum

The arboretum is planted with various trees and rhododendron bushes and it’s one of the most popular picnic spots in the garden. From here you can visit the Church of Our Lady but this isn’t managed by the National Trust, so be sure to check the opening times directly with the church before visiting.

Family enjoying the Follow The Star Christmas trail in the garden at Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland — The South East Gardens in winter at Seaton Delaval Hall | © National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart

Discover the South East Garden

Explore the recently transformed South East Garden, a thriving space where plants, trees and wildlife have the space to grow and flourish. Soak up the views across the wider landscape from here – we’ve reinstated the paths and sightlines using Vanbrugh’s 1781 estate plan as inspiration.

We’ve also reintroduced Lady Tyrconnel’s wildflower garden with a Tibetan cherry tree as its centrepiece. And don’t miss The Oval, once the location for many a ‘gay Delaval’ party. It’s now the perfect place for a quiet picnic or a spot of cloud gazing.

Hidden Pleasures

Look out for two installations designed by Studio Hardie in the South East Garden. The Mirror Cube and Dark Matter Cube capture the playful spirit of the Delavals. They were inspired by the way the garden was originally designed to conceal and reveal different views and features.

Work up an appetite at the Community Kitchen Garden

Stop by the Community Kitchen Garden and chat to the National Trust volunteers about what they're growing. Keep your eyes peeled for some unusual fruits and vegetables in the raised beds.

There’s also the Cutting Garden, where the Hall’s flower arrangements are created, a wildlife area and a herb garden.

The Parterre Garden at Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland

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