Records, publications, photographs and artefacts relating to James Watt:
James Watt, born at Greenock in 1736, was the son of a carpenter. He trained as an instrument maker in London and began to practise this trade in Glasgow. Watt soon developed a reputation as a high quality engineer and was employed on the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Caledonian Canal. He was also engaged in the improvement of harbours and in the deepening of the Forth, Clyde and other rivers in Scotland.
In 1763 he repaired the model of Newcomen's steam engine belonging to Glasgow University, and began experiments on properties of steam. The Newcomen engine was simple in design: it acted as a pump and a jet of cold water was used to condense the steam. Watt improved on this design by adding a separate condenser and a system of valves to make the piston return to the top of the cylinder after descending. He took out a patent for the separate condenser in 1769. He later adapted the engine to rotary motion, making it suitable for a variety of industrial purposes, and invented the flywheel and the governor.
In 1774 he went into partnership with Matthew Boulton to make steam engines at their works at Soho, Birmingham. The first engines were used in collieries and iron works and were the driving force behind the transformation of cotton spinning from a cottage to factory industry. Watt's inventive talents led him to patent a variety of machines and devices including a letter-copier and a smoke-consuming furnace.
James Watt died at Hatfield in 1819 and was buried in Handsworth Church. He had been elected Fellow by the Royal Society, Edinburgh, and London, in 1795, and awarded the degree of Honorary Doctor of Laws by Glasgow University.
Records are arranged chronologically according to provenance.
By appointment. Access to records in a fragile condition may be restricted.
Catalogue available in the Searchroom.
Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents. Permission to publish material from the Archive must be sought in advance from the University Archivist.
The Collection consists of records and artefacts collected by and gifted to the University and its predecessor institutions, in particular by the Watt Club.
Expected
The collection comprises copies and published works and a few original documents. For location of originals see below.
This, together with other secondary texts on James Watt, is available for consultation in the Archive.
