This place is not much to look at but is of some historical significance as the world’s first hydroelectricity plant.
It supplied Cragside, the home of Sir William Armstrong who, apart from being the first international arms dealer, was also interested in water powered devices.
Armstrong inventing the hydraulic accumulator and jigger, among other things, familiar from exploring the Liverpool docks - some of his kit is still there.
Cragside is a tourist attraction run by the National Trust, and various hydraulic widgets are on display in the house and grounds.
This powerhouse is about the only thing that isn’t open to the public, probably because it’s on the wrong side of a road and adjacent to an unsightly sawmill cum scrapyard operation.
History. I couldn’t find pictures of the inside but according to the available information there ought to be either one or two water turbines:
Northumberland County Council, 2003: “Debdon dam was built in 1878, the lake formed and the power house built alongside. This square, stone building incorporated two Thompson Vortex turbines, supplied by the Williamson brothers of Kendal; one (at 6hp) drove a Siemens dynamo to provide the basic supply; the second (at 9hp) drove a breaking machine, but could also be used for power generation. Transmission was through overhead copper wires, running on telegraph poles for 1500 yards (1371m) to the house [Cragside]. En route, it supplied the joiner's shop, where a small Siemens dynamo acted as a motor to drive equipment. The first electric light in Cragside was powered by this system.”
Historic England, 1987: “In the north wing is a Thompson double vortex turbine by Williamsons of Kendal (with maker's plate). In 1881 Lord Armstrong coupled the turbine to a Siemens horizontal generator to produce the first hydro-electric power source in the world; this lit the first arc lamps in Armstrong's museum at Cragside, and later Joseph Swan's newly-invented incandescent lamps.”
A map showing probable locations of the turbine inlet pipes (dotted blue lines) - the fall from the lake to the powerhouse is quite modest, about 10 yards.
Photos are phone.
The side nearest the lake where one of the water pipes goes in - I don’t know what the cylinder with the domed lid was for.
Round the back where the water came out it becomes apparent that this turbine has gone completely leaving just an empty pipe.
However nearby are the pair of outlet pipes from a double vortex turbine, mounted with its axis at floor level.
The wheel sticking out the top is the turbine’s throttle, adjusting the angle of guide veins inside - there was no governor mechanism in early turbines.
Water came in from the side of the building controlled by a valve whose casing has cracked.
There was no sign of a generator, just a belt driven grinding wheel.
The only other things of interest were a couple of old woodworking machines.
The first one looks like some type of planer or thicknesser although I didn’t notice a manufacturer’s name.
Behind is a manual mortiser, made by Alexander Mathieson & Son who made lot of woodworking tools.
By 1887 this powerhouse had been replaced by one at Burnfoot, which took water under much higher pressure from another artificial lake on the estate.
This is on the tourist ‘hydro trail’ and contains the next iteration of the system - from memory the generator out of shot at the bottom was an earlier one, perhaps from the Debden powerhouse.
If you’re interested in hydraulic stuff, more of this, as well as more high-end Victoriana, can be found at Bamburgh Castle, Armstrong’s other residence.
It supplied Cragside, the home of Sir William Armstrong who, apart from being the first international arms dealer, was also interested in water powered devices.
Armstrong inventing the hydraulic accumulator and jigger, among other things, familiar from exploring the Liverpool docks - some of his kit is still there.
Cragside is a tourist attraction run by the National Trust, and various hydraulic widgets are on display in the house and grounds.
This powerhouse is about the only thing that isn’t open to the public, probably because it’s on the wrong side of a road and adjacent to an unsightly sawmill cum scrapyard operation.
History. I couldn’t find pictures of the inside but according to the available information there ought to be either one or two water turbines:
Northumberland County Council, 2003: “Debdon dam was built in 1878, the lake formed and the power house built alongside. This square, stone building incorporated two Thompson Vortex turbines, supplied by the Williamson brothers of Kendal; one (at 6hp) drove a Siemens dynamo to provide the basic supply; the second (at 9hp) drove a breaking machine, but could also be used for power generation. Transmission was through overhead copper wires, running on telegraph poles for 1500 yards (1371m) to the house [Cragside]. En route, it supplied the joiner's shop, where a small Siemens dynamo acted as a motor to drive equipment. The first electric light in Cragside was powered by this system.”
Historic England, 1987: “In the north wing is a Thompson double vortex turbine by Williamsons of Kendal (with maker's plate). In 1881 Lord Armstrong coupled the turbine to a Siemens horizontal generator to produce the first hydro-electric power source in the world; this lit the first arc lamps in Armstrong's museum at Cragside, and later Joseph Swan's newly-invented incandescent lamps.”
A map showing probable locations of the turbine inlet pipes (dotted blue lines) - the fall from the lake to the powerhouse is quite modest, about 10 yards.
Photos are phone.
The side nearest the lake where one of the water pipes goes in - I don’t know what the cylinder with the domed lid was for.
Round the back where the water came out it becomes apparent that this turbine has gone completely leaving just an empty pipe.
However nearby are the pair of outlet pipes from a double vortex turbine, mounted with its axis at floor level.
The wheel sticking out the top is the turbine’s throttle, adjusting the angle of guide veins inside - there was no governor mechanism in early turbines.
Water came in from the side of the building controlled by a valve whose casing has cracked.
There was no sign of a generator, just a belt driven grinding wheel.
The only other things of interest were a couple of old woodworking machines.
The first one looks like some type of planer or thicknesser although I didn’t notice a manufacturer’s name.
Behind is a manual mortiser, made by Alexander Mathieson & Son who made lot of woodworking tools.
By 1887 this powerhouse had been replaced by one at Burnfoot, which took water under much higher pressure from another artificial lake on the estate.
This is on the tourist ‘hydro trail’ and contains the next iteration of the system - from memory the generator out of shot at the bottom was an earlier one, perhaps from the Debden powerhouse.
If you’re interested in hydraulic stuff, more of this, as well as more high-end Victoriana, can be found at Bamburgh Castle, Armstrong’s other residence.
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