Extraordinary Craigside near Rothbury in Northumberland, designed by Richard Norman Shaw in phases between 1869–1895 for William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, founder of the Armstrong Whitworth armaments firm. An industrialist, scientist, and inventor of the hydraulic crane and the Armstrong gun. Famous for its inventive use of modern gadgets run by hydroelectric power, what makes Craigside so splendid for me is its magnificent Elysian setting pitched on the cascading hillside, and the hugely complex but brilliant composition of the three dimensional forms that create an otherwise very English “Neuschwanstein”. This remarkable house is only spoiled by the National Trust’s insistence on crass props decorating the interior like a stage set and, on our visit, by overcrowding caused by unnecessarily restrictive opening hours and poor crowd management. It may also be time to thin a few of the magnificent Douglas firs planted by Lady Armstrong, which, whilst superb specimen trees, rob Craigside of light and of the fantastic views that were a defining reason why the house was sited on the crag to begin with. The truth is that if ever there was a house which made you want to be a weekend guest in its heyday, rather than a twenty first century tourist, this is it.
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