Old Photograph Hamilton Street Greenock Scotland

Old photograph of shops and people on Hamilton Street in Greenock by Glasgow, Scotland. James Watt was born on 19 January 1736 in Greenock. His father was a shipwright, ship owner and contractor, and served as the town's chief baillie, while his mother, Agnes Muirhead, came from a distinguished family and was well educated. Both were Presbyterians and strong Covenanters. Watt's grandfather, Thomas Watt, was a mathematics teacher and baillie to the Baron of Cartsburn. James was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1781, which was fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world. While working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow, Watt became interested in the technology of steam engines. He realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy by repeatedly cooling and reheating the cylinder. Watt introduced a design enhancement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. Eventually he adapted his engine to produce rotary motion, greatly broadening its use beyond pumping water. Watt attempted to commercialise his invention, but experienced great financial difficulties until he entered a partnership with Matthew Boulton in 1775. The new firm of Boulton and Watt was eventually highly successful and Watt became a wealthy man. In his retirement, Watt continued to develop new inventions though none was as significant as his steam engine work. He died in 1819 aged 83.



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Old Photograph Crofters Clipping Sheep Isle Of Skye Scotland

Old photograph of Crofters clipping Sheep on the Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. In 1830 potato blight caused the crops to fail so tenant farmers, crofters, on Isle of Skye could not pay their rent. In turn the landowners who often also owned properties in London, could not maintain their standard of living. Sheep farming at that time was more profitable than tenants who couldn't pay rent so tenants were evicted. This was known as the Highland Clearances. Many crofters emigrated to America, Canada and Australia.



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Old Photograph Clason Kirk Carmunnock Scotland

Old photograph of people outside Clason Kirk in Carmunnock within the boundary of Glasgow, Scotland. Originally the Clason Memorial Mission Hall, the kirk was built in 1865 after the breakaway from the established Church in 1843. It was named for the Reverend Patrick Clason, a former minister of Carmunnock Parish Church, who became a supporter of the breakaway Free Church of Scotland. In 1924, after the building had ceased to function as a church, it became the Clason Hall, providing for Carmunnock Parish Church organisations and events. In 2004, the Reid Hall, a further extension, designed to be in keeping with village architecture, was added to the west side of Clason Hall.



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Old Photograph Whitelaw Fountain Coatbridge Scotland

Old photograph of the Whitelaw Fountain in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The fountain is dedicated to Alexander Whitelaw, industrialist and partner in the local firm of Gartsherrie Iron, who in 1872 organised the relocation of the railway line away from the main street to create a civic space. Alexander Whitelaw, born 1823, died 1879, was a Scottish ironmaster, philanthropist and Conservative Member of Parliament for Glasgow from 1874 until his death. He was born in 1823 in Drumpark in Monklands and was educated at Grange School, Sunderland, England, and then took some time to study mining. In 1846 he married Barbara Forbes Lockhart of Cambusnethan which established a marital connection to the Baird family. The Baird family founded the iron smelting firm of William Baird and Company, in which Whitelaw became a managing partner. The Baird family acquired the Gartsherrie coal fields in 1826 and the mansion and estate in 1834. Through his philanthropy, he left endowments to churches and schools, including helping to found the Gartsherrie Academy, and for the 1863 to 1864 session he was Vice President of the Academy. Whitelaw's interest in education led him to become Chairman of the Glasgow School Board in 1873. Whitelaw was a Conservative and represented Glasgow as an MP from 1874 until his death in 1879.



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Old Photograph Glasgow Road Blantyre Scotland

Old photograph of shops and buildings on Glasgow Road in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Blantyre is loosely divided in half by Main Street, High Blantyre. At the west end is Priory Bridge, named after the former priory to the north which was home to monks from around 1235. There is also Coatshill and the village, the oldest industrially developed part of Blantyre. Glasgow Road continues south via Springwell and eventually joins to Burnbank.





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