 He devised a method of treating cotton to produce 'parchmentised thread' in the early 1880s and obtained British Patent 4933 that same year.From this year he began installing light bulbs in homes and landmarks in England.His house, Underhill, Low Fell, Gateshead, was the first in the world to be lit by a lightbulb and also the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectric power.