Nestled in the Northumberland hills on a spectacular rocky crag, Cragside is one of the most extraordinary estates owned by the National Trust.
The house was closed temporarily in 2006 for essential rewiring and refurbishment, costing £1.5m. The 170 rooms are packed with historically important features that required special consideration. William Morris wallpapers were gently peeled away by conservators to clear the way for the electricians.
Over 400 light fittings were rewired and refitted by specialist electricians. The new heating system is designed to allow us to adjust the heat and humidity of each room to protect the delicate fabrics and contents of the house.
The house reopened in April 2007 and enjoyed a record number of visitors during the 2007 season – over 200,000. Visit us in 2008 and look carefully to spot where the work was done!
One man’s epic vision
Having made his fortune building everything from hydraulic cranes to ships, Victorian industrialist Lord William Armstrong created Cragside in the 19th century as a showcase to impress his clients.
Cragside was the first house in the world to be lit with hydro-electricity and the first to use Joseph Swan’s newly invented incandescent light bulbs.
He successfully dammed local rivers and diverted water to five man-made lakes built to hold the ‘fuel’ for his hydro-electric and hydraulic projects. Water from two lakes then dropped a vertical distance of 340ft (103m) to a ‘power house’, creating the necessary water pressure to drive the turbines that converted energy into electricity.
A tireless innovator, Lord Armstrong filled his house with all sorts of ‘newfangled’ devices. By the 1880s there was hot and cold running water, flushing toilets, a Turkish bath, an early form of telephone, a motorised cooking spit and even a passenger lift.
The estate’s equally groundbreaking features not only included the hydro-electric system, but also one of the largest rock gardens in Europe, with the most dramatic water cascades of the era, along with an elegantly engineered iron bridge.
Newspapers of the time christened Cragside ‘the palace of a modern magician’.
Cragside – illustrating the past and demonstrating the future
The £6m programme of work across the estate, between 2001 and 2010, still has key elements for us to complete.
Throughout 2008 there will be extensive and exciting work on the Iron Bridge, so that it may once again be opened to link the house and its formal gardens. Look out for the viewing platform once the work is in hand.
Also, we have plans to recreate and to develop hydro-electricity generation at Cragside. Visit the Power House to see demonstrations of Lord Armstrong’s technology.
For more about the significance of the engineering achievements at Cragside, take a look at the following 2007 interview with the Engineering Warden and the Head Gardener at that time.
A forward-looking undertaking in need of your support
Cragside is a unique example of British design and invention leading the world. Please help us with the next stages of restoration by making a donation.
Each new parapet stanchion for the Iron Bridge will cost around £800; the new decking planks will cost £120 for 10.
Make a donation to Cragside online or by telephone on 0870 458 4000. Or, for more information on the project funding needs, please contact Gillian Dodd on 01904 771962.
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