Seaton Delaval Hall appeal is now going at a gallop

Mar 28 2009 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

A CUT of the ticket sales from a popular day of horseracing is to be donated to an appeal to save a historic Northumberland home.

Race-goers on Seaton Delaval Trophy Day, the first day of the Northumberland Plate Festival, will be supporting the National Trust’s campaign to buy Seaton Delaval Hall.

A percentage of the ticket sales will go towards the target of £6.3m which the Trust need to raise through the public.

The trustees of the National Trust have promised £6.9m to provide an endowment to care for the hall and parkland in perpetuity.

And anyone buying premier enclosure tickets for the race day at £19 or all-inclusive hospitality tickets at £161 will be helping the cause.

Tracey Skinner, sales manager at Newcastle Racecourse, said: “What the National Trust are doing is fantastic and it’s great that we can support it in some way. Seaton Delaval Hall is something the North East is proud of and the appeal has already got a lot of support.

“We were keen to do something for the region and give a percentage of each ticket to the appeal.

“All people need to do is ring up, make the booking and say ‘Save Seaton Delaval Hall’ when they are buying their tickets.”

She said, at this stage, the racecourse could not yet confirm exactly what percentage of ticket sales will be going to the appeal.

Sadie Parker, acting communications and marketing manager for the National Trust, said the support of the racecourse was a welcome boost.

“It’s great to see local businesses doing something to help save the hall.

“The public have really pulled out the stops and given us a total of nearly £2.8m.

“The public have definitely been doing their bit and it’s brilliant to see corporate bodies doing theirs.

“It’s a huge event in the North East and it’s a way people can have a nice day out and, at the same time, support the campaign. We would really like to encourage other businesses to come forward and think of ways in which they could support the appeal.”

This year, the Seaton Delaval Trophy Day will be on Thursday June 25.

It is set in the 812-acre High Gosforth Park Estate, which has seen horseracing since 1882.