Skip to content

Introduction
Old Photographs — Seaham album
Other Towns and Villages
Seaham Histories
Modern photographs of Seaham

» Seaham Hall

Seaham Hall

[Show slideshow]

The building at top left is St Mary's vicarage, this was built around 1830 on the site of a former vicarage though much enlarged.To the right of the vicarage is the 7th century St Mary's Church which was possibly built on the site of an earlier wooden church. At the centre is Seaham Hall during conversion to a hotel, in 1792 the Milbanke's demolished their Seaham Cottage on this site and built a grand hall. The square section left of centre is I believe their original hall which was much enlarged by the Londonderry's shortly after they acquired the estate in 1821. During the course of the extensions they swept away the village inn and the various cottages surrounding the green. At the same time they moved the Home Farm from it's original location to the south of the Hall to it's present location at bottom right of photograph.Photograph 1999/2000 Copyright FlyingFotos www.seahamfromtheair.co.uk

Seaham Hall around 1900. The great English poet Lord Byron arrived in 1814 to woo and win the Milbankeâs talented daughter, Anne Isabella. The villagers disliked the morose and moody Byron, too much given to silent walks along the beach to the Featherbed Rock, or westward along the village road later called âByron's Walkâ. The doomed marriage took place not in the Church, but in the upstairs drawing room of Seaham Hall on 2nd February, 1815. Within a year the couple had parted.

Seaham Hall c 1900. In 1821 the Milbankes sold the twin Estates of Dalden and Seaham to Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry and his coal heiress wife, Frances Anne Vane Tempest. Soon they were to found and develop Seaham Harbour. But in the next thirty years the Londonderrys would demolish the old village, add two wings to the Hall, extend and enclose the grounds and have their own private station. From 1837 onwards, royalty, the rich and the humble were all entertained there.

Detail from previous photograph

Seaham Hall in 1859 / 60.In 1776 Sir Ralph and Lady Judith Milbanke left Dalden Hall to live in the Old Seaham Manor house, known as âThe Cottageâ, which they demolished and rebuilt in 1792.The new house forms the central part of the present hall, it was fronted by the village green, Home Farm and Pack Horse Bridge across the dene. Adjoining the Hall to the east was the village inn, roses clustering around its lattices. A few cottages, the vicarage and Glebe Farm straggled down past the Church.

The Londonderrys entertain almost 3000 Durham City schoolchildren in 1911. During WW1 the hall became an auxilliary war hospital, in 1927 a tuberculosis sanatorium. In 1815 Lord Byron married Annabella Milbanke here.

Detail from previous photograph

Seaham Hall Hospital in the 1950's. Loaned to the military from 1915 until 1919 as a hospital, eventually in 1927 it was donated to Durham County Council for use as a Sanatorium for women and children, opening in 1928. It closed as a hospital in 1978 to become first a hotel and then in 1988 a nursing home until 1995. Now a world class hotel.Lord Londonderry leased Seaham Hall to Durham County Council in 1927 for use as a sanatorium. In 1932, the two pavilions, nurses' home and an operating theatre were added. Major surgery for pulmonary tuberculosis was begun in 1953. General chest surgery was started at Seaham in 1959, when tuberculosis was declining. The first heart operation was performed in February, 1960; hypothermic surgery followed In 1961, and when open heart surgery was introduced in 1964 the ultimate objective in the development of Seaham Hall Hospital as a cardio-thoracic unit was reached.Extension of the existing theatre premises, improvements to the ward facilities and the provision of a biochemical laboratory were necessary for the more advanced techniques of open heart surgery. This project was completed in 1964.The hospital, within easy reach of the Regional Centre in Newcastle, was well situated for cardiac surgery. Set in clean surroundings and exempt from the cross-infection of a general hospital, Seaham was singularly free from the sepsis so disastrous to cardiac surgery patients.The staff, both medical and nursing, were indebted to the Cardiac Surgery Unit of the Post Graduate Medical School of London whose help in the establishment of this Unit was been inestimable.

Committee of Seaham Cycling Club outside Seaham Hall c 1910, Lord and Lady Londonderry centre front, Malcolm Dillon at left.

Yorkshireman Thomas Garthwaite and his wife, staff at Seaham Hall. Thomas was born in 1825.

Frank Garthwaite born 1847 (son of Thomas Garthwaite) and his son Charles Garthwaite born 1890's, both gardeners at Seaham Hall. Photograph before WW1.

Ruben Garthwaite born 1890, a gardener at Seaham Hall, photograph 1905.

Charles Garthwaite, son of Frank a gardener at Seaham Hall. Photo 1905

Gardener at Seaham Hall, 1930s?

Lady Londonderry entertains 3930 of her pitmen, dockers and railwaymen at Seaham Hall in 1857. Seaham townsfolk were allowed to walk freely on the paths and pleasure grounds of the Hall between sunrise and sunset. Around the turn of the century the annual flower show and fair, the Cyclists Meet, reviews of the famous Volunteers Brigade, Londonderry Schools Battalions, scouts and guides were all great occasions. In 1919 the 7th Marquess entertained 10,000 of his workers and their wives at a huge garden fete.

Seaham Hall when used as a military hospital during WW1. Lady at centre is a matron.Occasion not known, possibly "friends of the hospital" or similar.

Seaham Hall Hospital in the 1950s. Loaned to the military from 1915 until 1919 as a hospital, eventually in 1927 it was donated by the Londonderry family to Durham County Council for use as a Sanatorium for women and children, opening in 1928. It closed as a hospital in 1978 to become first a hotel and then in 1988 a nursing home until 1995. Now a world class hotel.

Seaham Hall c 1910.

Seaham Hall, date not known but probably c1910

Seaham Hall in 1899.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Recent Posts
- A journey through life 16th August 2015
- Up the Ladder 16th August 2015
- Emmanuel Reed 16th August 2015
- Seaham Streets 1841-1891 14th August 2015
- Seaham news paper 1857 14th August 2015
- Pub Lists 7th July 2015
- Wreck of the lovely Nelly- 1861 9th June 2015
- A Tale in a bottle 9th June 2015
- A Tale in a bottle 9th June 2015
- Seaham Colliery 9th June 2015
- Ancestors 9th June 2015
- Russian Cannon 8th June 2015
- Interviews 8th June 2015
- Seaham Colliery Dissaster 8th June 2015
- Seaham Colliery 1873 8th June 2015
Recent Comments
- carol white on Hawthorn
- adminuser on Other Towns and Villages
- adminuser on Southsheilds
- bob on Russian Cannon
- adminuser on Introduction
- adminuser on Introduction
- christine bell on Introduction
Categories
- Collieries (3)
- Dissasters (1)
- Docks (1)
- Family and memories (5)
- Good reading ..History (7)
- Industry (5)
- Londonderry (1)
- Military (3)
- ModernSeaham (1)
- Seaham Hidtory (2)
- Seaham History (6)
- Seaham industry (1)
- sport (1)
- surrounding towns (1)
- Uncategorised (17)
- unknown pictures (1)
Archives
Meta

Introduction
Old Photographs — Seaham album
Other Towns and Villages
Seaham Histories
Modern photographs of Seaham

www.east-durham.co.uk Zentek Design www.zentek.org.uk/wp/

| Powered by Mantra & WordPress.