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| Palace of a modern magician to glow once more with his water-powered light | Palace of a modern magician to glow once more with his water-powered light |
| (21 days later) | |
| William Armstrong's Cragside home in Northumberland celebrates its 150th birthday this year by reinstalling a hydroelectricity system originally established by the house's first owner. | William Armstrong's Cragside home in Northumberland celebrates its 150th birthday this year by reinstalling a hydroelectricity system originally established by the house's first owner. |
| Cragside, which now belongs to the National Trust, was built over more than 20 years from 1853, mostly by the architect Norman Shaw, in a partially Tudor style. Set in the Northumberland landscape near the market town of Rothbury, it was called by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner "the most dramatic Victorian mansion in the North of England." He added: | Cragside, which now belongs to the National Trust, was built over more than 20 years from 1853, mostly by the architect Norman Shaw, in a partially Tudor style. Set in the Northumberland landscape near the market town of Rothbury, it was called by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner "the most dramatic Victorian mansion in the North of England." He added: |
| The site is Wagnerian – and so is Shaw's architecture | The site is Wagnerian – and so is Shaw's architecture |
| The new hydro system will provide enough energy to light the house again. Andrew Sawyer, who is the National Trust's conservation and interpretation officer at Cragside, said: | The new hydro system will provide enough energy to light the house again. Andrew Sawyer, who is the National Trust's conservation and interpretation officer at Cragside, said: |
| Lord Armstrong was an exceptional man with a genius mind and the prospect of bringing his vision for Cragside into the 21st century is a dream come true. Hydroelectricity is the world's most widely used form of renewable energy, so we are looking forward to sharing this very special part of its heritage. In the year of building dreams at Cragside, as well as powering the house by Hydroelectricity once more, later in the year we plan to open a new exhibition in the house which tells how the Armstrongs ensured their dreams had a legacy. | Lord Armstrong was an exceptional man with a genius mind and the prospect of bringing his vision for Cragside into the 21st century is a dream come true. Hydroelectricity is the world's most widely used form of renewable energy, so we are looking forward to sharing this very special part of its heritage. In the year of building dreams at Cragside, as well as powering the house by Hydroelectricity once more, later in the year we plan to open a new exhibition in the house which tells how the Armstrongs ensured their dreams had a legacy. |
| The Tyneside industrialist ploughed some of the vast profits from his Elswick armaments works – which employed 25,000 people at its height - into building his huge "palace of a modern magician". In the 1860s, Armstrong dammed streams on the estate to create three lakes. He originally used water power to run a spit for roasting in the kitchen, as well as laundry equipment and a lift, and one of the country's first flushing lavatories. | The Tyneside industrialist ploughed some of the vast profits from his Elswick armaments works – which employed 25,000 people at its height - into building his huge "palace of a modern magician". In the 1860s, Armstrong dammed streams on the estate to create three lakes. He originally used water power to run a spit for roasting in the kitchen, as well as laundry equipment and a lift, and one of the country's first flushing lavatories. |
| By 1878 he had installed a turbine and dynamo to power an arc lamp in the house's gallery, making Cragside almost certainly the first house in the world with electric light, powered by the world's first hydro-electricity station. The early arc lamps were highly unsatisfactory and were replaced in 1880 by 45 of Joseph's Swan's newly invented incandescent bulbs – not cheap at 25/- each. In October 1880, electric light had first been publicly demonstrated by Swan at a lecture at Newcastle's Lit & Phil, of which Armstrong was the president. Although Swan's house in Gateshead can claim to be the world's first to be lit by electric bulbs, Swan himself wrote about installing his lights with Armstrong: | By 1878 he had installed a turbine and dynamo to power an arc lamp in the house's gallery, making Cragside almost certainly the first house in the world with electric light, powered by the world's first hydro-electricity station. The early arc lamps were highly unsatisfactory and were replaced in 1880 by 45 of Joseph's Swan's newly invented incandescent bulbs – not cheap at 25/- each. In October 1880, electric light had first been publicly demonstrated by Swan at a lecture at Newcastle's Lit & Phil, of which Armstrong was the president. Although Swan's house in Gateshead can claim to be the world's first to be lit by electric bulbs, Swan himself wrote about installing his lights with Armstrong: |
| As far as I know, Cragside was the first house in England properly fitted up with my electric lamps. It was a delightful sensation for both of us when the gallery was first lit up | As far as I know, Cragside was the first house in England properly fitted up with my electric lamps. It was a delightful sensation for both of us when the gallery was first lit up |
| The house had Pre-Raphaelite pictures and stained glass alongside a large number of pictures of dogs and works which Pevsner rather sniffily says show "what was permissible to the Victorian nobleman in the way of erotica." Amongst his better paintings were two important Turner watercolours, and Millais' Chill October, for which he paid £945 at Christie's in 1875 and which was much admired by van Gogh, who wrote in 1884 | The house had Pre-Raphaelite pictures and stained glass alongside a large number of pictures of dogs and works which Pevsner rather sniffily says show "what was permissible to the Victorian nobleman in the way of erotica." Amongst his better paintings were two important Turner watercolours, and Millais' Chill October, for which he paid £945 at Christie's in 1875 and which was much admired by van Gogh, who wrote in 1884 |
| I for my part always keep thinking about some English paintings - for instance Chill October by Millais. | I for my part always keep thinking about some English paintings - for instance Chill October by Millais. |
| The collection was mostly dispersed after Armstrong's death. Chill October was sold again in 1991, fetching £370,000 at Sotheby's – it now belongs to Andrew Lloyd-Webber. | The collection was mostly dispersed after Armstrong's death. Chill October was sold again in 1991, fetching £370,000 at Sotheby's – it now belongs to Andrew Lloyd-Webber. |
| Also taking place at Cragside in 2013 is an exhibition, Captured on Camera, which will show images from a personal photograph album of Lord Armstrong's great nephew and his family, who took over as owners of Cragside when Lord Armstrong died. In June, a number of temporary artworks will be installed at various locations on the Cragside estate as part of the Festival of the North East. The artworks will "give a modern interpretation of the pioneering vision of Lord and Lady Armstrong." | Also taking place at Cragside in 2013 is an exhibition, Captured on Camera, which will show images from a personal photograph album of Lord Armstrong's great nephew and his family, who took over as owners of Cragside when Lord Armstrong died. In June, a number of temporary artworks will be installed at various locations on the Cragside estate as part of the Festival of the North East. The artworks will "give a modern interpretation of the pioneering vision of Lord and Lady Armstrong." |
| Alan Sykes is the Guardian Northerner's roving arts specialist and a sheep farmer in the high Pennines. He Tweets here. | Alan Sykes is the Guardian Northerner's roving arts specialist and a sheep farmer in the high Pennines. He Tweets here. |
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