Healing climate harm at Cragside, Northumberland

The first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity and full of Victorian gadgets and innovations, Cragside in Northumberland has always been at the forefront of modern living. But now, climate change has started to catch up with this pioneering place. More frequent and intense rainfall is overwhelming the house’s drainage system and beginning to find its way inside of the Arts and Crafts mansion.
Most affected is the drawing room with its immense, two-story high, ornately carved marble fireplace. Rainwater is pushing salts that are in the stonework of the house through to the decorative marble and plasterwork of fireplace inside, causing its surface to deteriorate, meaning urgent work is needed to save this irreplaceable piece of architecture from crumbling away. A two-stage project is currently underway to stabilise and future-proof the fireplace against climate-change, conserving it for future generations.
As conservation work continues, Cragside is once again looking to the future - this time by looking to its past. Originally built by architect Lord Armstrong and his wife Lady Margaret, this pair of innovators created Britain’s original smart home when Cragside became the first house in the world to be illuminated by hydroelectricity, generated by its man-made lakes. A project in 2014 gave the estate the ability to yield enough energy from water to light the whole house by installing an Archimedes Screw, which works at an angle and allows water to pass between the Tumbleton Lake and the burn below. This converts the power of the water flowing through it into electricity, a never-ending source that now illuminates the whole house and sends excess power back to the National Grid. Watch this video to discover more.
For more on how the National Trust is tackling climate change at the places in its care visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tack...
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[@djavakhov8253]

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[@thesolitarycyclist9005]

Surely "William, Lord Armstrong"?

[@ianjthompson4715]

Maybe all those redundancies shoulld never been made by the National Trust with lots of expert working for years. Sorry but that is how I feel

[@nationaltrustcharity]

Hello Ian, Today there are 106 curatorial roles in the Trust, compared to 51 five years ago. Coronavirus led to a £213m overall drop in income for 2020/21. This necessitated a major reorganisation, and the loss of around 1,700 jobs. But losses in curatorial and conservation roles were smaller than in other areas. Only four curators were made compulsorily redundant, while six others chose to take voluntary redundancy.
Each region or nation has a Senior National Curator who combines a curatorial specialism with a leadership role. Other regional curators work across portfolios of properties. The 27 most significant houses now have a dedicated and expert Property Curator who sits on the property’s leadership team. A team of 16 specialist National Curators support areas including architectural history, pictures and sculpture, decorative arts, books and libraries, and dress and textiles.
We are ambitious for the future of the houses and collections in our care. They have changed throughout their history and will continue to evolve. New research will lead to additional layers
of interpretation; curators will continue to ensure that we tell the rich history of each place as fully as possible.