Hugh Percy (c1714-1786), 1st Duke of Northumberland, was born Hugh Smithson, son of Langdale Smithson. He changed his surname to Percy on his marriage in July 1740 to Lady Elizabeth Seymour (1716-1766), daughter of Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset. His wife was Baroness Percy in her own right, and an indirect descendant of the Percy family that had held the Earldom of Northumberland for several centuries. In 1766 Hugh Percy was created 1st Duke of Northumberland. The Duke and Duchess were patrons of Robert Adam, whom they employed to create neoclassical interiors for Northumberland House and Syon House in London. They retained Adam to work on Alnwick Castle, their seat in Northumberland, in the “Strawberry Gothic” style, but his work was removed in the 19th century.