Cragside facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cragside |
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"Truly the palace of a modern magician" – the Victorian periodical The World describes Armstrong and his house
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| Type | House |
| Location | Rothbury, Northumberland, United Kingdom |
| Built | 1869–1895 |
| Built for | William Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Cragside |
| Architect | Richard Norman Shaw |
| Architectural style(s) | Tudor Revival |
| Governing body | National Trust |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name: Cragside | |
| Designated | 21 October 1953 |
| Reference no. | 1042076 |
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Listed Building – Grade II*
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| Official name: Iron Bridge Across the Debdon | |
| Designated | 25 August 1987 |
| Reference no. | 1042033 |
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Listed Building – Grade II*
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| Official name: Clock Tower 110 Metres North East of Cragside Park House | |
| Designated | 22 December 1981 |
| Reference no. | 1354750 |
| Official name: Cragside park and gardens | |
| Designated | 1 January 1985 |
| Reference no. | 1001046 |
| Grade | I |
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Cragside is a fantastic old country house in Northumberland, England. It was built in the Victorian style, looking a bit like an old Tudor house. This amazing home belonged to William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, a super smart inventor and businessman. He started a big company called Armstrong Whitworth that made weapons.
Armstrong was a true genius. He invented the hydraulic crane and the famous Armstrong gun. But he also loved to invent things for his home! Cragside was the very first house in the world to be lit up using water power. It was incredibly high-tech for its time. The architect, Richard Norman Shaw, even said it had "wonderful hydraulic machines that do all sorts of things."
Around the house, Armstrong built lakes and dams. These powered a sawmill, a laundry, and even early versions of a dishwasher and a dumb waiter (a small elevator for food). He also had a hydraulic lift and a water-powered rotisserie for cooking! In 1887, Armstrong was given a special title and became Baron Armstrong of Cragside. He was the first engineer or scientist ever to become a Lord.
The original Cragside was a small hunting lodge built by Armstrong between 1862 and 1864. In 1869, he hired architect Richard Norman Shaw to make it much bigger. Over two building phases, from 1869 to 1882, they turned the house into something truly grand. One architect, Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel, called it "one of the most dramatic compositions in all architecture."
Armstrong filled Cragside with an amazing art collection. He and his wife supported many famous 19th-century British artists. Cragside also became a place where Armstrong did business. Important guests, like the Shah of Persia, the King of Siam, and future Prime Ministers of Japan, visited. They were often customers for his inventions and products.
After Armstrong passed away in 1900, his family found it hard to keep up the huge house. In 1910, many of his best artworks were sold. By the 1970s, there were even plans to build houses on the estate to help pay taxes. But in 1971, a historian named Mark Girouard said Cragside was the most important Victorian house to save. In 1977, the National Trust bought the house. Cragside has been a special Grade I listed building since 1953 and opened to the public in 1979.
Contents
History of Cragside
William Armstrong's Early Life
William Armstrong was born on November 26, 1810, in Newcastle upon Tyne. His father was a corn merchant. William first trained to be a lawyer. He moved to London before he was twenty. In 1835, he returned to Newcastle and married Margaret Ramshaw. Armstrong was very interested in science. He started doing experiments with water power (hydraulics) and electricity.
In 1847, he decided to leave law and start a manufacturing business. He founded W. G. Armstrong and Company near Newcastle. By the 1850s, his design for the Armstrong gun helped his company become one of the biggest in the world. His work was very important for Britain's military, especially after the Crimean War. In 1859, he was made a knight and became the main supplier of weapons to the British Army and Navy.
The First Cragside: A Small Hunting Lodge
Armstrong spent a lot of his childhood in Rothbury. He went there to escape the busy city of Newcastle and for his health. In 1862, after not having a holiday for over fifteen years, he returned to the area. While walking with friends, he loved the spot where Cragside now stands.
He bought some land and decided to build a simple house there. He planned for about eight to ten rooms and a stable. The house was finished in the mid-1860s. It was a two-story hunting lodge. Even though it wasn't fancy, it was built and furnished to a very high standard.
Cragside Becomes a "Fairy Palace"
Armstrong hired a Scottish architect named Richard Norman Shaw to expand Cragside. Shaw was very talented. He had studied with famous architects and won important awards. The connection between Armstrong and Shaw began when Armstrong bought a painting that was too big for his city house. A friend suggested Shaw could design an extension. After that, Shaw was asked to make the hunting lodge at Rothbury much bigger.
This started the amazing transformation of Cragside between 1869 and 1884. For the next 30 years, Cragside was the most important place to Armstrong. He once said, "had there been no Cragside, I shouldn't be talking to you today—for it has been my very life."
A historian named Andrew Saint says Shaw sketched the whole design for the "future fairy palace" in just one afternoon! This happened while Armstrong and his guests were out hunting. Shaw worked on the house for over 20 years. Armstrong kept changing his mind and wanted to keep the original lodge. This sometimes made things tricky between them. But Shaw was a great architect and manager, and Cragside turned out to be incredibly powerful and unique.
Cragside was not just Armstrong's home. It was also a huge display for his growing art collection. His best paintings were in the drawing room. Shaw also turned the museum into a gallery for pictures. A very special painting was Chill October by John Everett Millais. Armstrong bought it in 1875. Both Chill October and another painting, Jephthah's Daughter, were sold in 1910.
Cragside was also important for Armstrong's business. Many important visitors came from all over the world. These included leaders from Japan, Persia, and Siam. They came to meet the man who supplied their armies and built their navies. The Shah of Persia visited in 1889, and the Crown Prince of Afghanistan came in 1895. Two future Prime Ministers of Japan also visited.
In August 1884, the Prince and Princess (who later became King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of Denmark) visited Cragside. This was a huge moment for Armstrong. Their arrival was celebrated with ten thousand lamps and many Chinese lanterns in the trees. Fireworks lit up the sky, and a huge bonfire was lit on the Simonside Hills.
Three years later, Armstrong was made Baron Armstrong of Cragside. He was the first engineer and scientist to receive such a high honor. He was also given the freedom of the City of Newcastle. The mayor noted that one in four people in the city worked for Armstrong's companies!
After Armstrong: 1900 to Today
Armstrong passed away at Cragside on December 27, 1900, at 90 years old. He was buried next to his wife in Rothbury. His gravestone says he was famous for his science and loved for his kindness to the poor. His great-nephew, William Watson-Armstrong, inherited Cragside and Armstrong's money.
However, Watson-Armstrong made some bad financial choices. This led to many of the great artworks being sold in 1910. By 1972, the house and estate were in danger of being sold off for housing developments. This was to pay a large inheritance tax bill.
In 1971, a historian named Mark Girouard told the National Trust that Cragside was the most important Victorian house to save. In 1977, the National Trust bought the house and grounds.
In 2007, Cragside reopened after a big 18-month renovation. This included rewiring the entire house. It is now one of the most popular places to visit in North East England. The National Trust continues to restore the house. In 2016, Armstrong's electrical room, where he did experiments, was reopened. He even wrote a book about his electrical experiments in 1897. The Trust also plans to restore Armstrong's old greenhouses.
Cragside's Architecture
Cragside is a great example of architect Shaw's Tudor revival style. One guide called it "the most dramatic Victorian mansion in the North of England." The entrance was called "one of the most dramatic compositions in all architecture." Some people say the house feels a bit spread out. This is because Armstrong kept adding to it over many years.
The historian J. Mordaunt Crook believes Cragside was one of the few truly "avant-garde" (ahead of its time) country houses built by wealthy Victorian businessmen. The house has a German feel to it. This is interesting because Armstrong's biggest rival, Alfred Krupp, built a very different style of house in Germany.
The location of Cragside is very dramatic. It sits on a narrow ledge. To make more space for the house, they had to blast away parts of the rock face. Armstrong loved solving these kinds of technical challenges. His own company, Elswick Works, helped with the construction. The site is so steep that the drawing room, which is on the first floor at the front, is level with the rock face at the back!
The house has been a special Grade I listed building since 1953. This means it's very important. The inside of the house is almost exactly as it was in Victorian times. It has original furniture, art, and decorations. Many famous designers like William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones worked on it.
Kitchen and Service Rooms
The kitchen at Cragside is very large for a Victorian house. It shows off Armstrong's "technical cleverness." It had a dumb waiter and a spit that both ran on water power. An electric gong would announce mealtimes. When the Prince and Princess of Wales visited, royal caterers used the kitchen to prepare an eight-course meal!
Off the kitchen, there's a Victorian Turkish bath. This was very unusual for a private home. It had a plunge pool. It probably showed off Armstrong's amazing water supply as much as it was used. The steam from heating the bath also helped heat the house.
Library and Dining Room
The library is considered "one of the most welcoming Victorian rooms in England." It was finished in 1872. It has a large bay window with great views of the bridge and glen. The room has oak panels, and the fireplace has pieces of Egyptian onyx that Armstrong collected.
The library originally held some of Armstrong's best paintings. Many were later moved or sold in 1910. The highlight was Follow My Leader by Albert Joseph Moore. This room is considered "Shaw's greatest domestic interior." The dining room next to the library has a "Gothic" fireplace with a cozy inglenook (a seating area inside the fireplace).
A painting of Armstrong shows him sitting in the inglenook with his dogs. The fireplace has a carving that says "East or West, Hame's Best." The stained glass in the windows of the inglenook was made by William Morris. Other beautiful stained glass was installed in the library and gallery.
Owl Suite
The Owl rooms were built early on and were for important guests. They are named after the carved owls on the wood and the bed. The room is paneled in American Black walnut wood. The Prince and Princess of Wales stayed in these rooms during their visit in 1884. Other bedrooms had wallpaper designed by William Morris. The National Trust has reprinted these wallpapers using the original methods.
Gallery
The gallery was originally Armstrong's museum room. It was built between 1872 and 1874. It led to the observatory in the Gilnockie Tower. Later, it became a path to the new drawing room and was used to display pictures and sculptures. Its lighting was very clever. It had twelve overhead lamps, and eight more could be powered by electricity from the dining room lamps when they weren't needed there. Armstrong loved the lighting, saying the lamps looked "most beautiful and star-like."
Drawing Room
The drawing room was built in the 1880s. By then, Armstrong lived only at Cragside. This room has a huge marble fireplace, said to weigh ten tons! It was designed by Shaw's assistant, W. R. Lethaby. One writer called it "surely the world's biggest inglenook." The room's overall look is "sensational," with a top-lit ceiling and fancy Jacobethan plasterwork. Some people found it a bit too much, calling it "flamboyant." By this time, Shaw was working for very rich clients, and this room shows a grander, more opulent style.
Billiard Room
The billiard room was added in 1895. It replaced a laboratory where Armstrong did electrical experiments. The billiard table and furniture were supplied by a company called Burroughes and Watts. The billiard room and the nearby gun room were places where people could smoke. Before this, smoking wasn't allowed in the main rooms. A painting shows the Prince of Wales and Armstrong smoking cigars on the terrace because of this rule.
Cragside's Amazing Technology
After his first visit in 1869, architect Shaw wrote about Cragside's "wonderful hydraulic machines that do all sorts of things." Armstrong built five new lakes on his estate by creating dams. In 1868, a water-powered engine was installed. In 1870, Armstrong put in a Siemens dynamo. This was the world's first hydroelectric power station! The generators were constantly improved to meet the house's growing electrical needs. In 2014, a new screw turbine was installed. It's 17 feet long and can provide about 10% of the property's electricity.
The electricity was first used to power an arc lamp in the picture gallery in 1878. In 1880, this was replaced by Joseph Swan's incandescent lamps. Swan said this was "the first proper installation" of electric lighting. Historic England calls Cragside the "first (house) in the world to be lit by electricity derived from water power."
Cragside was a pioneer of home automation. It was one of the first private homes to have a dishwasher, a vacuum cleaner, and a washing machine. Experts say Cragside was "the place where modern living began." The kitchen spit was also powered by water. The conservatory had a self-watering system for plants. Telephones were installed, connecting rooms in the house and other buildings on the estate. A plaque at Armstrong's other home says his new technologies "freed... much of the world from household drudgery."
Grounds and Estate
Cragside is named after Cragend Hill above the house. It has a huge rock garden with many rhododendrons. One rhododendron is even named after Lady Armstrong, who helped design the gardens. There are also many tall conifer trees. One Scots pine is the tallest in Britain, at 131 feet! Over a hundred years later, these "great, dark trees form a protective barrier" around Armstrong's home.
Armstrong kept buying land. By the 1880s, the gardens and grounds were about 1,700 acres. The entire estate, including his farms, was over 15,000 acres! It's said that Armstrong planted over seven million trees. The estate is also a safe place for some of England's last remaining red squirrel colonies.
A special iron bridge crosses the Debdon Burn in the glen (a narrow valley) north-west of the house. Armstrong designed it, and it was built at his Elswick Works in the 1870s. It's a special Grade II* listed structure and was restored by the National Trust. The gardens themselves are listed as Grade I.
The Clock Tower, which helped keep time on the estate, is also very old. It might have been designed by Armstrong himself. Like the bridge, the Clock Tower is a Grade II* listed building. The formal gardens, where Armstrong's big greenhouses once stood, have now been bought by the National Trust.
Media Appearances
Cragside has been shown in many TV shows. These include programs on the Open University, BBC One's Britain's Hidden Heritage, and ITV's Inside the National Trust. The 2017 movie The Current War was partly filmed at Cragside. The house was also used as inspiration for Lockwood Manor in the movie Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
See also
In Spanish: Cragside para niños
