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The suite of rooms includes a steam bath, a cold plunge, a hot bath and a shower, as well as water closets and a changing room. They are the lowest and the first completed part of Norman Shaw’s first addition to the original house. His plan, which shows that modifications were still being made, is dated 5 May 1870, and Armstrong’s friend, Thomas Sopwith, recorded in his diary that ‘the Turkish Bath at Cragside was used for the first time on November 4th 1870′.

The baths were part of Lord Armstrong’s innovative provision of central heating for the whole house. The space occupied by the baths is cleverly situated between chambers with huge water-pipe coils, which, heated from the boiler to the north, were the source of hot air that was ducted up into the main house.*

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*From the National Trust guidebook to Cragside.

8 Comments CherryPie on Feb 21st 2014

Cragside

Cragside

Cragside

Cragside

16 Comments CherryPie on Feb 20th 2014

Rock Garden

Information about the rock garden can be found in this previous post of mine.

Rock Garden

Rock Garden

Rock Garden

16 Comments CherryPie on Feb 19th 2014

The Iron Bridge

The historic Iron Bridge within the grounds of Cragside was re-opened in 2009 for the first time in nearly 30 years.  The 19th century bridge spans the Debdon Burn and until that time the grade II listed bridge had been closed due to safety concerns.

It is now possible for visitors to walk across the bridge, providing magnificent views of the house and rock garden along with views of the Debdon valley with its waterfalls.

The bridge was manufactured in the Elswick Works and transported in bits to Cragside where it was constructed in situ. The bridge was designed by the owner of the estate, Lord Armstrong, who wished to provide walking access from the house to the formal gardens.

The Iron Bridge

The Iron Bridge

The Iron Bridge

8 Comments CherryPie on Feb 18th 2014

Fast Flowing

Genesis 6

12 And the Lord said: “Behold, I shall send a flood over the land, for I am sore weary of this gay marriage thing.

13 Not really.  It’s clearly nothing to do with that, it’s about climate change, though verily that shalt be denied by he who they call the Environment Secretary, for he shall say the badgers did move the goalposts.”

14 And the Lord did go out to a man who they called David of the Camerons, from the Land of Eton, who the people did call No-ideah, for  more often than not he had no idea what to do.

15 And the Lord said unto No-ideah: “Build thee an ark of gopher wood.  Actually, scratch that.  Just spend thee thy days saying thou hast been meeting with Cobra, which doth sound macho but meaneth nothing, while the floods do rise upon the land of the Levels.

16 Visit them not for 40 days and 40 nights, but allow thy briefers to blame the Environment Agency till the cuts do start to be mentioned and the man they call Pickles doth blunder.

17 And thou shalt wait until the floods do fall upon the lands of the Shires, yea, even unto the playing fields of Eton where the gym becometh waterlogged.

18 And only then, finally, shalt thou try and get a grip and shalt say: ‘enough of the blame!’ (for though realiseth thou is getting the blame thouself, thou and not the Environment Agency).

19 ‘Behold,’ thou shalt say, ‘austerity is over! I do suddenly overflow with money so that you may see me as leaderly and not turn your votes away from me’.  And there shall be no mention of the cuts that thou in thy foolishness has imposed on the Environment Agency which has basically caused this mayhem”

20 Thus spoke the Lord.  And through all the floods, George Osborne was never seen in the land.*

So endeth the lesson with additional food for thought…

from think Defence.

*Received via email

18 Comments CherryPie on Feb 17th 2014

People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.

Albert Einstein

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20 Comments CherryPie on Feb 16th 2014

Relaxing in the Garden

10 Comments CherryPie on Feb 16th 2014

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