William Armstrong: Magician of the North

by Henrietta Heald

William Armstrong was a brilliant and charismatic figure of the 19th Century – a self-made man whose achievements are now being more widely recognised. Inventor, scientist, engineer, and an early advocator of renewable energy, he built a pioneering house in Northumberland in the North East of England called Cragside, the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity.

Armstrong's industrial powerhouse Elswick Works on the Tyne employed over 25,000 people in its heyday manufacturing hydraulic cranes, warships and armaments.

He was a visionary who was loved, and hated, and feared in equal measure. While he brought great fame and fortune to his native Newcastle upon Tyne, and to his country as a whole, he was condemned in some quarters as 'a merchant of death' for his manufacturing of weapons of war.

'This intimate, authoritative portrait reveals as never before the extraordinary achievements of a multi-faceted Victorian giant.' David Kynaston

'An excellent book – hugely enjoyable.' Alexander Armstrong

Genres: History, Biography

511 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some one who has lived in Jesmond, just down the Dene from Armstrong's Newcastle home this book is a gem. The book includes an interesting account of how Armstrong visited the Lead Mill at Allendale just over the river from our house in Allenmill Cottages.
But the main interest is in the skillfull development of weaponry and ships at the Elswick Works in Newcastle.
Although those works are no longer with us the Cragside country house he built and developed are available for us to visit. I will be going again after reading this book. WIll I see the electric lamps in the library which connected via a pool of Mercury? I know I will see the ponds made for the hydro electricity - his was the first house in the world with Hydro electric powered light.
I think Henrietta Heald struggled to get inside the mind of this important man but it was smoothly scripted.
Shame we did not have more pictures and diagrams of his inventions.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are surprisingly few books about such a towering figure in Nineteenth Century Britain, this account covered the whole of his life in an engaging way. But why, [oh why!], did the author keep repeating herself with numerous repetitions of events that were already covered, also long packages being pasted from other works, was she paid by the word?

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

As the author wrote this book due to noting being able to find anything to satisfy her hunger for the subject I was struck by how many references to other books on the subject she makes. Had I read up on Armstrong previously I feel I would've been very disappointed in this book, but as someone new to Armstrong's life I feel this book encourages me to read the many books referenced within.

I felt this was trying too hard to be too much to too many. In the end it became a somewhat dry summary of a man and his business, a man who I feel had much more character than comes across. He lived a long time, and achieved a great deal, any attempt to capture it all in one book will have to be brief in many regards. A few small sections made me feel like I was getting to know the man, only to have it followed by another fast forward that took away his magic.

An interesting read for those of us relatively new to the topic, but ultimately lacking the depth and spark to bring him truly alive.

[Tony Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone interested in the north east and its people should read this.

[Mur McEwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having recently visited Cragside, Armstrong's "country retreat", I was prompted to read this thorough and comprehensive biography about his life and times, the second half of the 19th century, with Industry (capital I) in full steam. Armstrong comes across as innovative, entrepreneurial, and at the forefront of many of the innovations of the time. Industrial relations were in their infancy; planning laws, environmental considerations and climate change had not been thought of ~ so were not part of this industrialist's considerations at all. He just seemed to "let rip" and get on with things, and make vast amounts of money in the process. Much of this money went into creating Cragside and its environs out of a previously bleak and barren hillside; also, latterly, Bamburgh Castle and surrounding area. I thought of him, in many respects, as a kind of Elon Musk of his day. Interesting to compare what Armstrong and Musk (along with Bezos and suchlike) do with their vast wealth.