This leaflet celebratesJames Watt by linking his lifeand achievements toInverclyde and theeffects of histechnologies on its industrialdevelopment.

James Watt1736-1819

1736 Inverclydecouncil

In 1736 James Watt was born inGreenock.Then, the town was a herringfishing port and Watt’s family played anactive part in community life. Hisgrandfather had taught navigation andmathematics in Cartsdyke, an olderClyde fishing village which has becomepart of Greenock. His uncle, whopractised as a surveyor in Glasgow,produced the first survey of the RiverClyde. In the 1730s,Watt’s father, whohad been apprenticed as a carpenter anda shipwright, set himself up in businessin Greenock as a general merchant and aship owner.

1736

In 1755 Watt went to London to serve hisapprenticeship as an instrument maker. Hespent a year working for John Morgan,mastering in 12 months the craft whichnormally required three or four years training.

His first job was at Glasgow Universityrestoring astronomical instruments.When hisfirst shop opened within the Universityprecincts in 1757,Watt styled himself as‘Mathematical Instrument Maker to theUniversity’.

Watt was an unhealthy child and his parentswere responsible for most of his earlyeducation. It was not until he went to theGrammar School at the age of 13 that hismathematical ability became obvious. In theevenings he worked in his father’s Greenockworkshop making models and repairingnautical instruments.

1755

James WattIn 1769 Watt was granted a patentfor his methods of fuel economy in steamengines and he met Matthew Boulton, anEnglish manufacturer, with whom he wasto form a mutually beneficialpartnership.

In 1774 Watt moved toBirmingham taking the Kinneil enginewith him.The works at Soho, whichBoulton owned, were modern.Withskilled labour at his disposal, he soonmanaged to get the Kinneil engine

operating. Having solved this problem,Watt then developed methods ofadapting his beam engine with its up anddown or reciprocating motion toperform the circular motion required todrive machinery.The rotative engineopened up a new range of applicationsfor steam power in industries includingweaving, mining, milling, ceramics and iniron works.

In 1765 a model of a NewcomenEngine was given to Watt to repair. He hadalready experimented with steam powerand this gave him the chance to learn moreabout the subject. Although he did repairthe model, he was not satisfied with itsperformance, and devised a means ofincreasing its efficiency by using a separatecondenser.This overcame the problem ofheat loss in the alternate heating andcooling of the cylinder.

In the same year he was asked to design apumping engine for a mine at Kinneil. Itwas beset with financial and technicalproblems. In order to make money Wattturned to civil engineering and surveyingprojects. Between 1769 and 1774 he wasresponsible for improvements toGreenock’s harbour and designed the firsthorse driven pump to discharge water fromPort Glasgow’s dry dock. He also plannedand constructed two dams to provide awater supply for Greenock.

1765

and Inverclyde

In 1800 when Watt’s original patentexpired engineers who had beenrestricted by it were free to experiment.Even though Watt had always beensceptical about the use of steam enginesin ships, his work was taken forward byothers.The ‘Comet’, which was the firstseagoing commercial steamboat in Europewas built in 1812 by John Wood of PortGlasgow for Henry Bell. Boulton andWatt engines were used two years later inthe ‘Prince of Orange’ and the ‘PrincessCharlotte’ which were built by JamesMunn of Greenock.

Throughout his career,Watt also workedon inventions which were unrelated tosteam engines. One of the first was aperspective drawing machine and his lastwas for copying sculpture.The inventionswhich must have been of most value toWatt himself were the printing presseswhich he patented in 1780.These were ascrew down press and a roller presswhich could reproduce technical lettersand drawings from an inked original ontosemi-transparent paper.

1800

In 1816 Watt donated £100 to theMagistrates of Greenock to be spent onsetting up a Scientific Library. Hespecified that the books should coversubjects ranging from the properties offluids to the art of shipbuilding and thesewere added to the collections of theGreenock Library, which had beenfounded in 1783.When James Watt diedin 1819, the townspeople of Greenockcommissioned a marble statue of Watt bySir Francis Chantrey. James Watt’s sonoffered to provide a building to house thestatue and the collections of theGreenock Library.The site, in Greenock’sUnion Street, was donated by the ShawStewart family and the library opened in1837.The Watt Hall and McLeanMuseum were added in 1876.Today theWatt Library houses material relating toInverclyde local history and archives.

In 1908 the Watt MemorialCollege, which was endowed by AndrewCarnegie, was opened in the area ofGreenock where Watt had spent hischildhood. Marine engineering andnavigation were the main subjects taught,and as Greenock and PortGlasgow had busy docks,the college wasconvenient for seamenwho wanted to studywhile in port.The WattMemorial College closed in 1973 whenthe new James Watt College opened.This,along with the Waterfront Campus, offersa broad range of courses.

1816

1908

Prosperity in Inverclyde’s three main townsof Greenock, Port Glasgow and Gourockwas derived from the technology whichJames Watt did so much to develop.

Although the towns of Port Glasgow andGreenock were not noted for shipbuildingprior to the 19th century, both had yardsproducing fishing and sailing vessels.Change came quickly with the applicationof steam power to navigation.

By 1850, two thirds of Britain’s tonnagein iron steam ships was produced on theClyde. Many of the ships were built inGreenock and Port Glasgow where thetechnology required in constructing ironhulled vessels was very different from thetraditional methods used in buildingwooden sailing ships.

Industries closely associated withshipbuilding, such as engine works andsteering gear manufacturers becameestablished in Inverclyde and the boom inshipbuilding continued into last century.

By 1864, almost a quarter of Britain’ssugar refineries were in Greenock and PortGlasgow and these, as well as the textilemills, were directly and indirectlydependent on steam power.

Steam technology contributed to thedevelopment of Gourock as a Victorian

seaside town. It was the first ‘resort’ stopdown the river for the legendary ClydeSteamers and grew rapidly after 1890when the Caledonian Railway completedthe line from Glasgow.

In 1913 Demand for ships reached itspeak. Since then the decline continued,particularly since the 1950s.

In 1955, 27 new ships were launchedfrom Inverclyde’s yards, twenty years laterthe number was 10. In1864 there were 14sugar refineries, today there are none.

Textile mills and rope works have gone butnew industries have come to the area.

In 1951, I.B.M. United Kingdom Ltd.introduced the electronics industry toGreenock and has continued to expand.However many people have relied onInverclyde’s traditional industries whichhave been severely affected by worldwiderecession and the emergence of thirdworld competition.The community hassuffered the repurcussions of redundanciesand closures.

There are many analogies between Watt’stime and the present day. Inverclyde isonce again experiencing technologicalchange. It is hoped that this process ofchange will inspire enterprise andenthusiasm in Inverclyde’s people in theway the steam engine did 200 years ago.

Technological Change in Inverclyde

1756 Completed apprenticeship as instrument maker.

1763 Repaired model of Newcomen engine.

1765 Invented the Separate Condenser.Started work on the Kinneil pumping engine.Designed perspective drawing machine.

1769 Granted patent for a ‘New method of lessening the consumption of steam and fuel in fire engines’.

1772 Worked on improvements to Greenock Harbour.Carried out scheme to provide water supply for Greenock.

1773 Surveyed for canal route through the Great Glen.

1775 Extended his patent for 25 years.Partnership with Matthew Boulton was established.Kinneil engine taken to Birmingham where problems weresolved. Orders placed for first Boulton and Watt Engines.

1780 Patented two methods of reproducing drawings and letters.

1781 Patented methods of ‘rotary motion’.

1783 Set the standard unit of ‘horsepower’.

1800 Original patent expired.James Watt retired.

1816 Donated £100 to help set up a Scientific Library in Greenock.

Technological Change in Inverclyde

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For more information contact: 01475 715555

www.inverclyde.gov.ukInverclydecouncil