Cragside
| Cragside | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Type | Country house |
| Location | Rothbury, Northumberland |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 55°18′49″N 1°53′08″W / 55.31361°N 1.88556°WCoordinates: 55°18′49″N 1°53′08″W / 55.31361°N 1.88556°W (grid reference NU0702) |
| Completed | 1863 |
| Renovated | 2007 |
| Owner | National Trust |
| Grounds | 400 hectares (1.54 sq mi) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Richard Norman Shaw |
| Designations | Grade I listed |
| Website | |
| www |
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Cragside is a country house in the civil parish of Cartington, near Rothbury in Northumberland, England. It was the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power. Built into a rocky hillside above a forest garden of just under 1,000 acres, it was the country home of armaments manufacturer, Lord Armstrong, and has been in the care of the National Trust since 1977. The property was eventually opened to the public in 1979.
Cragside, named after Cragend Hill above the house, was built in 1863 as a modest two-storey country lodge, but was subsequently extended to designs by Richard Norman Shaw, transforming it into an elaborate mansion in the Free Tudor style. At one point, the building included an astronomical observatory and a scientific laboratory. The Grade I listed house is surrounded by one of Europe's largest rock gardens, a large number of rhododendrons and a large collection of mostly coniferous trees. One variety of rhododendron is named after Lady Armstrong.
In 2007, Cragside reopened after undergoing "total refurbishment."
Lord Armstrong spent much of his time as a child in Rothbury to get away from industrial Newcastle to alleviate his ill health. He returned to Rothbury after not having a holiday for many years and decided to build a modest house on the side of a moorland crag. The original house was completed in 1863 by an unknown architect but was transformed by architect Richard Norman Shaw between 1869 and 1884 into an imposing mansion. Cragside is an example of his English Gothic style. The interiors are of national importance for its collection of furnishings, furniture (much designed especially for Cragside), and fine and decorative arts, including work by many other outstanding designers of the age, such as John Hancock and Albany Hancock and William Morris.
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