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.
Cragside and Lord William Armstrong Magician of the North
There have been many books written about Lord Armstrong over the years:
Henrietta Heald 'William Armstrong Magician of the North'
ISBN 978-1-9047944-9-3 2010 Page 130
"Tumbleton Lake was formed by damming Debdon Burn lower down, creating a head of water to serve the pump house of 1866, where pumps driven by a hydraulic engine provided water to Cragside house. Meanwhile the main course of Black Burn (Blackburn) was dammed to form the largest of the five lakes, which was used for boating and fishing as well as the provision of hydraulic power to Cragend Farm."
We now know that Cragend Farm has a 1883 Gilkes Turbine, a 1887 Gilkes turbine and a 1884 Hydraulic Armstrong hoist to create silage and provide power for many other agricultural purposes.
Professor John Wrightson wrote in newspaper articles in 21st January 1888:
We read that "as indicating the versatility of Sir William’s genius it may be well to remark that by a combination of hydraulics and electricity it is his intention to cultivate all his arable land by means of a fixed electrical engine charged by means of revolving magnets activated by water power."
We know the 30HP No 490 can generate 20kwh electricity, which is more powerful than the No 572 at Cragside at 24HP 17 KWH, but at this point can not prove that he actually did generate electricity at Cragend Farm, although he wanted to.
Armstrong by Kenneth Warren
ISBN: 978-1-4520-6529-1 2010 Cragend Farm is mentioned Page 179-180
"Armstrong decided to provide himself with a much greater head of water to drive his turbine. Accordingly the Black Burn crossing the former moor land to the east of the steep slopes which overlooked the house, was dammed and its waters channelled into two new high level reservoirs, The Nelly Moss Lakes. From here, the fell to the newly built Burnfoot Power House. This head of water not only generated electricity for lighting the house, but also was used for miscellaneous duties around the estate. For instance, the mid 1890's it powered compression in the silo at Crage End Lower Farm (Cragend Farm) 190 feet below the lake."
In 2010 it was not known that the Blackburn Lake was in fact where the water for Cragend Farm came from. This was discovered by Shaun & Lou Renwick in 2011.
P Dickson 'Water power at Cragside' 1987 National Trust magazine
Transformation: Lord Armstrong's Cragend Farm by Lou Renwick
ISBN: 9781835972076 2024
The Cragend Farm Armstrong Machinery Page 27
The British Engineerium Statement Page 75
"...as such .[Cragend Farm Hydraulic Silo] ...it represents probably one of the finest purpose built agricultural buildings in the world."
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.
Wonderful Dog Friendly B&B and self catering cottage, Amazing unique historic site, (featured on TV: Matt Baker’s Travels with Mum & Dad North East)
Original Cragside Architecture and Machinery. Celtic Camp and Ducal Border Reiver settlement, remodelled by Victorian Lord Armstrong of Cragside as his show case for hydraulic machinery.
ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT in ABOUT US.