Cragside Northumberland
Cragside near Rothbury in Northumberland was the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectric power, a remarkable Victorian country house built by the engineer and arms manufacturer William Armstrong from 1863 onward in which the application of the most advanced technology of the age to every aspect of domestic comfort created a house of extraordinary innovation. The National Trust manages Cragside, whose combination of the pioneering technology, the extraordinary Victorian garden landscape of rock garden and exotic planting and the Armstrong collections makes it one of the most interesting and most distinctively characterful National Trust properties in the north of England.
Armstrong built Cragside in the wooded gorge of the Debdon Burn, exploiting the natural water resources of the stream system to power the hydraulic and electrical systems that made the house famous. By 1880 the house had electric arc lighting powered by a hydroelectric system on the adjacent lakes, predating any other domestic electrical installation in the world. The range of hydraulic machinery installed at Cragside, from the kitchen spit to the hydraulic passenger lift, created a domestic environment of technological sophistication that astonished visitors in its day.
The rock garden, one of the largest Victorian rock gardens in the world covering several hectares of the gorge slope, was planted by Armstrong with rhododendrons, azaleas and other acid-loving plants in a display that at its June peak is one of the most spectacular garden experiences in Northumberland.