Lou is the owner of Cragend Farm with her husband Shaun, and deals with everything from Holiday Accommodation inquiries to egg collection from the chickens; she is the social media and web design finger-tapper.
This Gilkes Turbine was invented by Lord Armstrong of Cragside and Henry Watson of Newcastle in the 1880's to power milling, threshing, and grinding machines in the Machine Room at Cragend Farm.
It is linked by underground pipes to the Silo on the south-east side of the farm, which powered a Jig that lifted 32 x 1 tonne weights to make silage for the cattle on the farm.
It was powered by a 100 foot drop of water from the Blackburn Resevoir on the Cragside Estate which is now drained.
Find Out More About Cragend
Cragend Farm has a interesting and diverse history, from technical innovations to historic buildings. Tied in closely to the neighbouring Cragside Estate home of Victorian inventor and industrialist Lord Armstrong.