Cragside Park House

Cragside Park House is a house built in 1864, with later 19th and early 20th-century extensions, for Lord Armstrong. The structure features squared tooled stone with raised tooled-and-margined quoins and dressings, along with timber-framed extensions that have pebble-dashed infill, all topped with red clay tile roofs.

On the east elevation, the main part of the house is one storey with attics and has two gabled bays. A central semi-octagonal porch is timber-framed and sits on a moulded stone plinth. The left-of-centre door is half-glazed above linenfold panels and is set under a basket arch, with a flat leaded roof and overhanging eaves. The flanking bays contain triple casement windows, with attic casements in widened openings. To the right of the left ground floor window is a small carved panel depicting Armstrong's trebuchet. There is also a set-back early 20th-century north wing that is timber-framed on a stone base.

The south elevation consists of three bays. The projecting centre has a triple casement window below and a plate-glass sash window under a shouldered arch in the gable above. To the right is an extruded canted former porch, which has a blocked pointed arch that holds a later casement, with blind slits on the returns. The side bays feature gabled roof dormers, with a double casement on the ground floor to the right, and a flat-roofed timber-framed extension to the left. The far left extension is also timber-framed, featuring metal-framed casements and a hipped roof.

The original house includes plate-glass casements set in chamfered surrounds, carved openwork bargeboards with finials and pendants, and three ridge stacks with diagonal shafts and moulded cornices.

Inside, the dining room is adorned with pitch pine panelling. There is a later 19th-century openwell stair with closed strings and splat balusters. One bedroom features a wash basin on a cast-iron stand that is painted to resemble wood. The larder or cheese room includes a slate table and De Morgan majolica tiles.

The house may have been designed by the unknown architect responsible for the 1864 Cragside, and it was frequently occupied by Lord Armstrong, who constructed several innovative ancillary works. It is listed for its historic interest.