Building conservation & restoration at Seaton Delaval

Liz Fisher

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"We've got quite a story to tell here at Seaton Delaval. I'm Liz, the Assistant Director, Operations and my patch covers the North and East part of Yorkshire & the North East.

It's fair to say that Seaton Delaval Hall is one of the North East's greatest historical and architectural treasures. For the last two years, we've been campaigning to save the Hall, gardens and just over 400 acres of the estate for the public to enjoy forever. And, thanks to amazing public support, we've done it!

We'll be throwing its magnificent doors open in March and we're expecting a lot of visitors. Actually, that's a bit of understatement! In the run up to the acquisition, more than a hundred thousand people contributed time, money and ideas. And that included schoolchildren, local businesses, voluntary organisations, community groups and individuals.

So, what are we going to do with this wonderful place? Really, that's for you to decide. In our talks with the community, people were really keen to make the Hall and its grounds fun and family friendly. Things like community activities, history walks, even medieval banquets were suggested. As Conservation Services Manager, you'll have a pivotal role to play. You'll explore exciting, imaginative ways to involve people in how we develop our plans to interpret the collection, conserve the chattels and building, as well as look to new ways to replace the properties services like electricity, gas boilers and sewage systems.

You'll lead a multidiscipline team bringing skilled specialists together to make things happen. It's no small feat. But then again, you wouldn't want it any other way."