02/07/10 - Rothbury and Cragside

Before leaving Rothbury, we paid a visit to the Coquetdale Arts Centre and an Aladdin’s cave of a shoe shop, both of which left my companion considerably poorer.

We spent the rest of the day at Cragside, the home of Victorian inventor Lord Armstrong.  The gardens inspired by his wife Margaret were magnificent,

but the main draw was the house.  Built in 1863 as a holiday home, it soon became the Armstrongs’ principal residence and is particularly remembered for being the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity.  Lord Armstrong, keen to put his inventions to practical use, also equipped his home with hot and cold running water, central heating and domestic aids which included lifts to lighten his servants’ loads, electric gongs to announce meals, automatic turnspits and even an internal telephone system.