A rustic paradise

There was no tarrying in town today. After a hearty English breakfast (during which classmates expressed disdain for my letting the baked beans, sausage, mushrooms, eggs, and tomatoes co-mingle on my plate), we piled into a comfortable motorcoach for the not-too-long drive to Cragside. Once the home of inventor and businessman Lord William Armstrong, the house and estate is now part of the National Trust, a non-governmental organization that protects, maintains, and promotes historic places throughout the island, much like the Minnesota Historical Society and other state-level organizations do in the US.

The estate is expansive and amazingly beautiful, furnished by the impressive Craghill with uncountable observation points. The landscape includes one of the largest rock gardens in Europe, a pinetum, a children's labyrinth, and numerous bridges criss-crossing the stream at the bottom of the slope. Upon arrival, I plunged ahead of the slowly-dispersing group and was rewarded with a hour of exploration in complete solitude.

Also notable in the lands was a powerhouse, which used water power to generate electricity for the house, the first in Europe to install electric lights. The house itself was impressive in size and tastefully modest outside. No classical or Gothic ornament interfered with the idea that this was a rustic palace. Architect Robert Shaw instead implemented a pallet of stone, stucco, and half-timber that speaks of comfort and leisure. The inside, however, shows little such imagination and talent. Most of the rooms are simply boxes (now cluttered with historic decor), and the few rooms at the top of the house that strive for grandeur each have significant failures in the architectural language.

In some ways I think that all architects should pay a visit to Cragside. The poorly resolved interior should insight students to avoid such failings and the amazing grounds should remind them that landscape must not be neglected.