News Archive
December 2025
Cragside featured on Christmas television
Cragside has the world’s tallest planted Christmas tree – at 44.7 metres. It is a Giant Redwood festooned with 1,300 lights.
Cragside, William and Margaret Armstrongs’ home in Northumberland, was given pride of place in BBC TV’s Christmas Treasures of the National Trust – along with Cotehele in Cornwall and Coleton Fishacre in Devon. The programme is available on iPlayer.
This is what the BBC has to say: ‘High up on the Northumberland moors is Cragside, a Victorian arts and crafts mansion. Each year, the team takes inspiration from their history to prepare a magical festive experience for visitors, and this time they are getting set to present the Servants’ Ball – traditionally the one night of the year when the servants were allowed the run of the house.’
Cragside also celebrates the return to the house after a long absence of the grand piano bought by the Armstrongs in the 1880s – and the certification by Guinness World Records of the world’s tallest Christmas tree. Not to be missed!
Steam to Green: North East England’s energy revolution
The Steam to Green exhibition at Discovery Museum explores the story of energy in the North East by looking back to the industrial revolution – and by looking forward to the developments in green technologies now being pioneered across the North East region.
Discovery is Newcastle’s museum of science and industry, a wonderful repository of Tyneside’s proud history of invention and innovation, especially during the 19th century. The region was the birthplace not only of the railways but also of the steam turbine – developed by Charles Parsons – which revolutionised marine propulsion and made possible the generation of electricity on a vast scale.
The museum includes examples of William Armstrong’s advances in hydraulics and hydroelectricity, as well as an Armstrong Whitworth car dating from 1911.
Steam to Green features exciting hands-on displays of wind and solar power, historical science and engineering objects and even a ‘cutaway’ electric NISSAN Leaf car – all designed to showcase how the North East is leading the way in green technology.
Newcastle University is the exhibition partner, with Vattenfall as headline sponsor, and supporters including Reece Foundation, Headley Trust and The Art Fund.
November 2025
An Armstrong Whitworth car dating from 1911 is a prize exhibit in the Tyneside Challenge gallery of Discovery Museum. A later model produced by a successor firm was the hugely popular Armstrong Siddeley.
Discovery Nights
Going Underground, an event inspired by the mining heritage of North East England was held at Discovery Museum in October 2025. From poetry readings to ghost stories, the evening’s array of entertainments included a series of ‘electric tales’ told by Henrietta Heald about William Armstrong and Charles Parsons.