Na zijn favoriete ontbijt - bacon&eggs - wilde hij graag naar Cragside, het Victoriaanse huis gebouwd door William Armstrong (wapen industrieel, filantroop en uitvinder van de hydraulische kraan).
Wij zijn lid van the National Trust aan wie in de jaren '70 dit landgoed werd vermaakt. Het was voor de familie onbetaalbaar geworden.
Aangezien het huis in de steigers staat en de foto's veel te donker zijn, heb ik mijn blog uit 2022 erbij gepakt.
↑Op de knieën tuinieren. Ieder onkruidje wordt er met de hand uitgetrokken.
Het is een donker huis en de flits is verboden.
Dus moet ik foto voor foto bijwerken waardoor de scherpte verminderd.
↓Naar de kelder.
Victoriaanser kan niet.
↓De bovenverdieping
The Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, on one of the terraces
In August 1884, as part of a grand tour of their northern dominions, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their five children travelled on the royal train from London to Rothbury, where they disembarked to stay with Sir William and Lady Armstrong at Cragside. This unprecedented visit to the house of a commoner took place after the royal family had declined an invitation from the Duke of Northumberland to stay at Alnwick Castle in favour of spending three nights at the home of the world-famous engineer.
The Prince and Princess of Wales (the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) performed many tasks during their tour of the north, including the formal opening of Jesmond Dene as a public park and an inspection of the Elswick Works. But the highlight was the sumptuous banquet at Cragside on the night of their arrival, topped off by a magnificent firework display and lighting of beacons on the nearby Simonside Hills.
Some 20 extra male waiters had been employed, and Lady Armstrong had engaged the best London caterers and made sure that the prince would be well supplied with his favourite champagne. The menu for the first dinner included oysters, clear turtle soup, paté de foie gras, stuffed turbot, roast haunch of venison, grouse, and iced chocolate soufflé. What delighted the visitors about Cragside more than anything else were the domestic gadgets created by Armstrong himself, including the hydraulically operated elevator, roasting spits in the kitchen and a gong to summon them to meals. Most exciting, of course, were the electric lights that blazed out from the windows at night.
The royal visit was memorialised in an album of evocative paintings by the local artist H. H. Emmerson, recording everything from the arrival at Rothbury station to the reception of the princes and princesses by Lady Armstrong in the Cragside drawing-room.
Three years later, in Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee honours of 1887, Sir William Armstrong was raised to the peerage as Baron Armstrong of Cragside, becoming the first engineer to join the House of Lords. His elevation was followed by a series of visits from prominent foreign rulers keen to inspect the magician’s palace, as well as to do business with its legendary owner. They included the Shah of Persia, the Crown Prince of Afghanistan, and Li Hung Chang, the viceroy of the Emperor of China.
De "gewone" eetkamer was te klein voor het prinselijk paar en hun vijf kinderen - vandaar dat Armstrong deze kamer liet ontwerpen.
Marmer kwam uit Italië, werd bewerkt in Londen en per schip vervoerd naar Amble, Northumberland.
Ik heb het nodige achterwege gelaten, zoals de zaal met uitvindingen.
Buiten stond er een rij mensen te wachten. Blijkbaar heeft mijn, dinsdag geuite, bezwaar over overvolle kamers effect gehad. Mondjesmaat werden bezoekers toegelaten.
↓Toevallig reden we langs deze overblijfselen.
Het bleek ooit een belangrijk, zwaar bevochten kasteel te zijn geweest.
