6 April 2011Last updated at 09:33

Innovator's Cragside home showcases historical gadgets

An exhibition at Cragside in Northumberland, showcases some of the inventions that have shaped our modern lives over a century later. The Palace of the Modern Magician exhibition is inspired by Cragside's own Victorian creator, Lord Armstrong, who invented the hydraulic crane.

Cragside was the first house in the world to be lit by hydro-electricity and had running water, a lift and central heating thanks to Armstrong's ingenuity. This Kodak camera made in 1889 joins several inventions in the exhibition which have influenced modern life - including a tin opener, sewing machines and a Morse key and telegraph machine.

Jack Charlton with Rothbury Football Club players Craig Sutton and Richard Hooks

Ashington's football legend Jack Charlton opened the exhibition with football players Craig Sutton and Richard Hooks - they modelled Victorian and modern-day football strips from the collection to show the progress made from the old fashioned knitted jerseys worn in the early days of the game.

Many of the items in the exhibition are more than 100 years old and are football and fishing-themed - both passions of Jack Charlton. This is Forster Hardy's fishing kit invention which dates to 1891.

Kate Hunter, Cragside's events manager, said: "If Cragside can be regarded as the place where modern domestic living began, then the 19th Century creations that will be on display in the house alongside their contemporary counterparts can be seen as the things which have shaped our leisure, work and social lifestyles."

Katherine Williamson, Cragside's house steward, said: "We thought it would be fascinating to put Lord Armstrong's achievements into context alongside other contemporary cutting edge creations that more than 100 years later are still evolving and influencing the way we live."

The new exhibition runs from 5 April - 3 May. It is named "the palace of a modern magician" after the property was referred to this name by one visitor back in the 1880s.

Tyne & Wear

Innovator's Cragside home showcases historical gadgets

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