Underhill, Grade II* listed house in Low Fell, England
Underhill is a four-storey sandstone house on Kells Lane in Low Fell, Gateshead, topped with a mansard roof that has three parallel ridges. The roof is finished with decorative tiles, and the overall proportions of the facade are typical of Victorian domestic architecture in the region.
Sir Joseph Wilson Swan, the inventor of the incandescent light bulb, lived and worked in this house from 1869 to 1883, carrying out experiments in electric lighting on the premises. It was during this period that the house became the first private home in England to be lit by electricity.
A blue plaque on the front of the house marks it as the first home in England to use electric lighting inside. Standing in front of it today, it is easy to forget how strange and new that glow must have looked to the neighbors at the time.
The building is a privately owned listed property, so visiting from the outside along Kells Lane is the usual way to see it. The facade and the plaque on the front wall are clearly visible from the pavement without needing to enter.
Engraved glass in the north entrance lobby still carries the monogram of Sir Joseph Wilson Swan, left behind as a personal mark inside the house. It is one of the few physical details that directly connects the inventor to the interior of the building.
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