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Cragside House & Gardens is best known for being the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectric power. Built between 1869 and 1895, the estate was very technologically advanced, with a focus on Victorian gadgets for efficient modern living. Now a National Trust property, the house and surrounding estate is a museum. Located near Rothbury in Northumberland, the Victorian country house is the former home of industrialist, philanthropist and inventor William Armstrong, the 1st Baron Armstrong.
The place has been described as ‘Britain's original smart home’. During Armstrong’s residence, the country house was full of the latest gadgets dreamed up by Armstrong. This includes early versions of the dishwasher, incandescent lightbulbs, a hand-operated ‘dumb waiter’, a water-powered roasting spit and an assortment of labour-saving inventions.
Electricity in the house had to be turned on. A phone line was kept in the Butler's Pantry, which was connected to the Office of the Keeper of the Electric Light at the Power House. Whenever power was required to light up different rooms, a signal was sent.
Whilst Armstrong was responsible for innovation and engineering, his wife, Lady Margaret Armstrong, provided engineering experience, plus the overall design and vision.
Cragside’s exterior is mock Tudor and has been a Grade 1 listed building since 1953. The inside, furnished in the Victorian style, contains a kitchen (complete with butler’s pantry and apartment), a Turkish bath suite (the steam from which provided heating for the house), a library overlooking the glen, dining room, drawing room, billiard room, Owl Suite (where guests slept) and the gallery.
Armstrong also utilised the house for holding social gatherings, which were located in the Gallery (also his museum room) and the Drawing Room. Many notable names were welcomed to Cragside in Armstrong’s time there.
In the late 19th century, Cragside hosted King Chulalongkorn of Siam (Thailand), two future Prime Ministers for Japan and King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (then the Prince and Princess of Wales).
After Armstrong’s death in 1900, his heirs struggled to maintain the financial upkeep for the estate. Most of the house’s extensive art collection was sold off. In the 1970s, the site was at risk off being sold off to build luxury accommodation, in an attempt to pay an impending inheritance tax bill.
However, in 1977, the National Trust purchased the building. In the last fourty-five years, they have worked hard to renovate the interior and keep the site maintained as a fascinating museum.
Over the years, the site has developed into a woodland of over 7 million trees, including the Pinetum area which boasts a collection of some of the UK’s biggest conifers. The estate also provides a safe place for some of the last red squirrel colonies in England.
Visitors can wander amongst the Pinetum trees, relax in the rhododendron-filled Rock Garden, and view the changing seasons in the three-tiered Formal Garden, where you can explore the Italian Terrace or stare in wonder at the Clock Tower. You can even travel around the whole estate by car on the Carriage Drive.
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