The Husseys lived at Doddington, to which she was heir, a hall built by Thomas Tailor, Registrar to the Bishop of Lincoln in 1600 and designed by Robert Smythson. The Hall passed to the Hussey family by marriage, when the Tailor line died out. The Husseys were penalised by Cromwell for their Royalist support, and were considerably impoverished, such that the house was neglected until 1760, when Sir John Delaval restored it. Rhoda inherited the house from Sir Thomas Hussey of Doddington, her maternal grandfather, in 1749. She and Sir Francis did not move into Delaval Hall, which had not yet been completed by Sir George, until 1728. Accommodating their twelve children (eight sons and four daughters) into a house designed for a bachelor Admiral, was difficult, and some of them were sent to stay with relatives in other Delaval houses at Dissington and Ford. The unruly brood became unknown as the ‘Gay Delavals’, renowned for their exuberant lifestyle and theatrical productions.

Provenance: accepted in lieu of tax by H.M.Treasury and transferred to the National Trust in 2009

Text from National Trust website

Object description
Type: Easel painting
Location: Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland
Material: Oil on canvas
Artist: John Vanderbank the younger (1694 – 1739)
Date: circa 1725

Image Details
Date: 29 September 2023
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/30s
ISO: 640
Licensing: Image of a National Trust asset. This image cannot be licensed.