Catalogue description Records of James Watt (1736 - 1819)

The records of James Watt consist of correspondence, notebooks, ledgers and accounts, surveys and reports, drawings, patents, legal papers, printed material, covering 1727 to 1822.
The range of subject matter is huge. Much relates to the development of science and mechanical engineering, both in Britain and in Europe. While the majority of correspondence and papers concerning the engine business are to be found in the Boulton & Watt collection, the personal letters here frequently discuss both business and social matters.

Correspondence
There are nearly 5,000 letters to and from Watt, from 1761 to 1819, which document many aspects of his life and work and provide much information about his contemporaries and society. The letters cover all aspects of life: health, family, friends, current events, politics, scientific experiments and inventions, money, travel, domestic life, education, food, industry etc. In the 'Incoming' correspondence there are four named series ('Glasgow'; 'Doctors'; Firm'; and 'Miscellaneous'), and two other sequences, one of 'Family' correspondence, and one of 'Other' correspondence.

The family correspondence has two bundles of letters from his father, 1761 to 1773; one bunle from Margaret Watt, 1761 to 1773; four bundles from Ann Watt, 1779 to 1796, (not consecutive); two mixed bundles from the four children 1778 to 1796; and seven bundles from James Watt jr., 1781 to 1801. Watt jr.'s correspondence then continues in the 'Firm' series. James Watt jr.'s letters include details of his education in Bersham in 1784, and in France and Germany from 1784 to1788. They also include letters from his travels as an agent for the Walkers in Italy. As the correspondence from Watt to Watt jr. survives for the same period in Watt jr.'s records [see MS 3219/6/1] together they form a complementary sequence.

The 'Glasgow' series of letters includes four bundles for the years 1774 to 1801 from Gilbert Hamilton and Robert Muirhead, and then six bundles of letters from them and from others in Scotland up to 1819. No letters have been found for the years 1802 to 1803. Hamilton (died 1808) was married to Ann Watt's sister, Catherine, and handled much of Watt's business in Scotland. Robert Muirhead was Watt's cousin on his mother's side. The correspondence includes information about Watt's business role in the Delftfield Pottery at Glasgow, of which Gilbert Hamilton was chairman, and balances for Delftfield are also present. Gilbert Hamilton also became Watt's agent in Scotland for the sale of the copying press. Bleaching and textiles are frequent topics because of the textile businesss of James McGregor, father of Ann Watt. By the early 1800s there is more news of property purchases and gardening that are being undertaken. and Watt's own interests in fruit trees etc is reflected.

The 'Doctors' series of letters consists of three bundles covering 1794 to 1798, and mostly concerns the development of the pneumatic apparatus for the breathing of pure oxygen, a treatment developed by Thomas Beddoes in Bristol, for which Boulton & Watt manufactured the apparatus. Watt gave advice to Beddoes on writing the instruction booklet which was printed by Pearson in Birmingham. It was Beddoes who persuaded Watt to design the rotative couch and mention of that is also made. The network of scientific and medical friends which existed can be seen in the attempts to raise subscriptions for the Pneumatic Institution which Beddoes opened in 1798
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The 'Firm' series of letters consists of eight bundles of letters covering the dates 1804 to 1819. These letters are largely from James Watt jr., John Woodward and John Mosley. Watt jr.'s are mostly about business matters, but family, friends, and the Welsh estates are also mentioned. The letters from Mosley and Woodward are from the London office of Boulton &Watt and are mostly about financial matters.There are also letters from Matthew Boulton and Matthew Robinson Boulton.

The 'Miscellaneous' series comprises seventeen bundles of letters with the covering dates 1796 to 1819. The bundle label 'Miscellaneous' seems to be the only unifying factor. The letters are from friends, business acquaintances, European correspondents, and cover a range of subjects from canals to toothache.

The remaining fifty-one bundles of 'other' incoming correspondence are for the most part smaller bundles and deal with one person, such as Joseph Black, John Roebuck, Jonathan Hornblower, William Withering etc. or a particular subject, such as the Monkland canal or the Carron company. The dates covered are 1761 to 1819. The letters between John Roebuck and James Watt and between John Roebuck and Matthew Boulton, [MS 3219/4/58,59,67], deal with the transfer of Roebuck's share of the partnership in the steam engine improvements to Matthew Boulton. The correspondence with Clagget concerns musical instruments. The letters from Jonathan Hornblower concern steam engines in Cornwall, and those from Jabez Hornblower concern disputes over the erection of an engine at Penrhyndee. MS 3219/4/115 is a bundle of letters from doctors specifically about Gregory's illness and treatments, 1802 to 1804. MS 3219/4/98-100, and 102, are letters from French correspondents, including Jean André De Luc, Aimé Argand (about his lamp patent), and Claude Louis Berthollet, about chemistry, bleaching etc..

The outgoing correspondence forms a complete sequence from 1780 to 1819. There are eight letter books consisting of copy press letters which have been pasted into the volume. In addition, there are loose copy press letters from 1777 when the initial trials of the press were made, where the quality is variable as experiments were still being undertaken with inks and papers. There are also two bundles of letters, one from Watt to Joseph Black and one from Watt to Josiah Wedgwood, which were returned to Watt after the death of the recipient.

Notebooks, cash memoranda, account books and other notebooks.
There are eighteen diary notebooks each kept for one to two years, from 1768 to 1787; fourteen cash memoranda books, but not a consecutive series, from 1761 to 1808; three account books, again not consecutive, for 1757 to 1803; and eight other notebooks which were used to record scientific experiments etc. from c.1755 to 1818.
The diary notebooks generally give a day-to-day account of the travel and work of James Watt. The first group was kept while Watt was involved in canal surveys in Scotland. Later there are details of individual steam engines and experiments and some accounts of expenditure. In the cash memoranda books, there are two cash books with details of Watt's visit to France from November 1786 to January 1787. The first account book covers household and personal expenses in Glasgow, the second concerns Cornish business and the third is a general business account book. There are ledgers concerning the Welsh estates (1798-1813) and other miscellaneous accounts, which are can be found in the sections headed 'Records relating to the Wyeside and Welsh estates' and in 'Personal papers'.

The eight 'other' notebooks have notes on the surveying of land, on making instruments, on steam and engines etc. There is one notebook specifically concerned with the development of ink and paper for the copying press and there are two notebooks on scientific experiments, latent heat, copal varnish etc.

Records relating to instrument making.
The records for Watt's occupation as an instrument maker are mostly financial. There are two waste books, four ledgers, five bundles of receipted bills, two journeymens' books and four bundles of discharged accounts, an account book with inventory, and three other bundles of accounts and letters, covering the years 1757 to 1770. These illustrate the work and sales from Watt's shop in Trongate, Glasgow. As well as scientific instruments, Watt made and sold musical instruments, and miscellaneous small items. The surviving inventory of the shop is from 1759.

Records relating to surveying.
The records of Watt's own work as a surveyor cover the years 1767 to 1774. They consist mainly of manuscript and printed reports and drafts; letters; field books surveys and calculations. They include an account book which has details of Watt's expenses and wages for surveying from 1769 to1774. The work was mainly for canals in Scotland but also included bridges and harbours. Watt's major enterprise was the Monkland canal, constructed from1770-1773, where he not only carried out the surveys but was also responsible for the actual construction of the canal, and for the labour force. The result is a remarkable series of accounts and receipts, for tools, and for workers and subcontractors. There are also reports by others, such as John Smeaton on Aberdeen harbour, John Golborne on Port Glasgow dock etc. There are some papers from 1792-1793 which are reports by John Rennie for the proposed canal at Crinan, which Watt had worked on in 1771-1772.

Records relating to patents.
These include patents for improvements to the steam engine and for the copying press, specifications and transcripts of parliamentary business. Watt wrote the specifications and undertook the drawings for the patent applications himself and the original patents of 1781, 1782, 1784 have coloured drawings signed by him.There are numerous papers concerning the court cases over the patent infringements of Bull, Hornblower and Maberley. The records concerning the various steam engine patent disputes are presumably Watt's own copies of a similar set in the Boulton & Watt collection. The bill of costs in 1808 from Watt's solicitors, Ambrose and James Weston is also included. The dates covered by the records are 1774 to 1808.

Records relating to Heathfield.
There are papers and accounts for the purchase of a house near Handsworth heath from Samuel Blythe in 1789, which became Watt's home, Heathfield House. Watt improved the building, and added both structures (e.g. a verandah), outbuildings (e.g.
a cow house) and further land. There are two bundles of bills and accounts for building and repair work, and a notebook of accounts, for 1786 to 1802. The papers include instructions by Watt for landscaping work. There is an inventory for the contents of the house, dated 1791-1792, but almost no household accounts. There are over forty architectural drawings, 1789 to 1795, but with no accompanying explanations. There is also a large plan of the grounds at Heathfield, dated 1801. The papers cover the years 1789 to 1802, with one further item, a list of fruit picked by Watt, from 1813.

The Wyeside and Welsh Estates
Watt purchased several properties and farms in Wyeside and the Welsh borders in 1798, principally Stonehouse near Gladestry. Other estates in the area were added as they became available; for example, Doldowlod was purchased in 1803. The surviving series of ten bundles of papers and correspondence with James Crummer, the land agent, and James Davies, Watt's solicitor there, which cover 1798 to 1819 in a consecutive sequence, reveal a detailed picture of a wealthy manufacturer investing in land, improving its economic potential with tree plantations and coping with estate management at a distance, and as a visitor. Many of the letters have detailed summaries by Watt on the docket, and include such things as planting plans (1805). Watt's outgoing copy-press letters are also included in the sequence. In addition there are financial papers, including two ledgers,1798 to 1813, a cash book, receipts for building and repairs, bills for trees and plants, accounts with Crummer, and with Davies. There are also three bundles of general papers, bills, legal papers, conerning the estates, covering 1790 to 1845. Much of the estate management was undertaken by James Watt jr., who visited regularly, and after 1809 converted Doldowlod as his residence. There is much information on farming; tree purchasing and planting; land purchases and problems with title; the advent of the railways and the poorstate of the roads in the area; tenants, farmers, rural occupations, etc.

Personal Papers
This section includes family papers, Watt's own compositions and personal legal papers. There is an account book for the sale of the goods from James Watt of Greenock's shop in 1776. There are five bundles of letters from Watt to Ann Watt from the years 1780, 1787, 1789, 1792 and 1793. In these years either Watt was absent from Birmingham because of work matters (for example, in 1780 he was in Cornwall, in 1792-1793, he was in London, much of the time pursuing patent lawsuits), or Ann Watt was in Glasgow, staying with relatives.

There are also papers, covering 1759 to 1787, concerning the army career of John Marr who was married to Agnes Miller, a sister of Watt's first wife. Marr was a military
surveyor who served in America from 1760 and in Canada from 1768. The papers include military appointments, diaries, copy letters (1777 to 1779), about the campaign in the early years of the war for American independence, construction and repair of forts and defences, especially St John's, Quebec province, for which there is also a detailed plan of the fort and surrounding area, dated 1777. There is a small bundle of letters from
Marr, one to his future wife in 1756 which describes the earthquake in Lisbon; the rest to James Watt,1774, 1776, 1779-1780.
There are a few papers of the Miller family, mainly legal papers (marriage contracts, wills etc.) from 1727 to 1774, and two letters from Watt to Agnes Marr,1787 and 1796.

Other personal papers include three burgess tickets awarded to Watt from towns in Scotland (1770, 1800); papers about Watt's election to the membership of various societies (1783 to 1808), and Watt's award of an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow, 1806.

There are some eleven legal documents concerning agreements with Matthew Boulton and his partners,1779 to 1792, and twelve papers concerning property in Staffordshire and land tax, 1798 to 1805.
The thirteen items in the papers on scientific subjects (1765 to 1813), include particulars of the steam wheel, 1766; some papers about engines in Scotland, at Carron, Leadhills etc.,1766; papers about the 'Turkey Red' dyeing process, 1771-1789; papers about the development of the steam engine, including contributions by John Southern about his experiments on the elasticity of steam, 1796; correspondence between Watt and William Stark, James Mylne and William Strutt over the heating system in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, 1808 to 1809; and papers on various other subjects.
There are very few compositions by James Watt. A bundle of four essays by him includes papers about shorthand, Russian canals, the taxation of manufacturers etc. The papers are not dated but may be c. 1800. There is a copy of Professor Robison's articles on steam for the Encyclopaedia Britannica with various notes by Watt and accompanying letters. [See also the copy in the'Printed material' section].
There are a small number of miscellaneous accounts from 1773 to 1817. These include an account book for 1802 to 1808 and loose balance sheets for 1796 to 1818. The receipts include one from Henry Raeburn for a painting, 1815.

Papers of / by other people.
These include papers by or about seven other people which do not appear to be part of any group. They range in date from 1769 to c.1805, and from a volume attributed to Charles Clagget describing improvements to the finger boards of violins to a volume of letters from Professor Alexander Wilson and his son Patrick to James Lind, 1769 to 1802.
While both the Wilsons and Lind corresponded with Watt, this particular volume has no letters to Watt. It is, however bound in a similar fashion to the volume of correspondence between Watt and Lind which was returned to Watt after Lind's death, [MS 3219/4/56].

Miscellaneous papers.
There are nine entries in this section and the dates of the papers range from 1727 to 1817. Many are drawings and papers mixed. Estimates and calculations for surveys, harbours, mills, steam apparatus etc. are included.

Drawings.
There are about 160 items in the drawings section, and those which are dated cover the years 1763 to 1818. These include some examples of drawings made on Watt's perspective machine; many drawings of lathes and machinery for the sculpture copying machine, on which Watt spent much of his time in 'retirement', and plans for the heating system at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow by both Watt and by William Stark

The drawings also include a design by Thomas Telford for the rebuilding of London Bridge, 1801. This accompnies a draft of Watt's report to the Committee of the House of Commons concerning the bridge designs.

Printed material.
The printed material includes eighteen items by various authors, and is dated 1776 to 1822. Some of the items were gifts to Watt from the author, and many are about steam and steam engines. They include a copy of Robison's essays for the Encyclopaedia Britannica with additional notes by Watt.

Finding number MS 3219/4/194 was not used

In the absence of an inventory of the records which included an arrangement that could be followed for all the papers relating to James Watt, the records have been arranged either by form of record, as in correspondence, notebooks, drawings etc.; or arranged in groups of records relevant to periods of Watt's life; such as instrument making, patents, Heathfield etc. In each case, apart from Parts 9 to 12, the records were already assembled in this manner according to the evidence provided by surviving bundle wrappers and labels, many of which were written by James Watt jr.
Of the incoming correspondence, there were four labelled series as mentioned above which have been kept. There was no outright consistency as to whether letters were arranged chronological order or alphabetical order, although the former was more frequent. Sometimes there was no order at all. For any re-arrangment, in most cases, chronological order has been favoured, beginning with the earliest letter or paper.
Further details on arrangement are give at bundle and item level.

The records of James Watt have been arranged as follows:
Part 1: Incoming correspondence.
Part 2: Outgoing correspondence.
Part 3: Notebooks.
Part 4: Records relating to instrument making.
Part 5: Records relating to surveying.
Part 6: Records relating to patents.
Part 7: Records relating to Heathfield.
Part 8: Records relating to the Wyeside and Welsh
Estates.
Part 9: Personal papers.
Part 10: Miscellaneous papers.
Part 11: Drawings.
Part 12: Printed material.

The records of James Watt listed here were fairly evenly divided between those previously found in the 'James Watt Papers' and those in the Muirhead collection.

The former included most of the incoming correspondence from relatives and friends, scientific acquaintances, the 'miscellaneous' series of correspondents; about half the notebooks; some of the surveying material; all the material about patents; the inventory and some of the drawings for Heathfield House; some of the personal and scientific papers; some of the drawings and printed material. The papers originally found in the Muirhead collection included the correspondence to and from Ann Watt; correspondence from James Watt jr. from 1806 onward; virtually all of the papers concerning the Wyeside and Welsh estates; about half the notebooks, and most of the cash and account books; virtually all the records of the instrument making business; most of the records about surveying; most of the records about the purchase and development of Heathfield House; the personal papers of John Marr; most of the other personal papers, and some of the drawings and printed material.

Some papers were returned to Watt after the death of the recipient, for example the letters to Joseph Black; the letters to Josiah Wedgwood; letters to John Roebuck; and letters to James Lind.

James Watt was born on 19 January 1736 in Greenock, where he spent the early part of his life. He trained as a mathemetical instrument maker in London then returned to Greenock to set up his first business, moving to Glasgow in 1757, where he eventually established a shop selling a wide variety of mathematical and musical instruments. He also conducted chemical experiments for the Delftfield pottery in Glasgow and worked on a model Newcomen steam engine belonging to the University there, which led to his invention of the separate condenser. About 1770, he left the scientific instrument business to pursue the career of engineer, both civil and mechanical. He undertook a number of canal surveys throughout Scotland, and his major work was the construction of the Monkland Canal near Glasgow. His experiments on steam engines were affected by the bankruptcy of his partner, Dr John Roebuck. Matthew Boulton of Birmingham bought Roebuck's share of the partnership and persuaded Watt to leave Scotland in 1774 and settle in Birmingham, where he and Boulton established the steam engine business at Soho. Watt was constantly improving or inventing other devices, such as the perspective drawing machine; the copying press; the rotative bed; pneumatic breathing apparatus and the sculpture copying machine. He lived at first at Newhall Hill, then in 1789 he purchased Heathfield House, in Handsworth, and enlarged and improved both house and grounds. He also invested in land and farms in Wyeside and the Welsh borders, buying his first property there in 1798. His estates there were managed by James Crummer, his land agent, and James Davies, his solicitor. Both Watt and Watt jr., who developed the estates under his father's instructions, concentrated on the planting of trees.
James Watt remained in Birmingham until his death, on 25 August 1819, and is buried at St. Mary's Church, Handsworth.

He married twice. His first wife, married in 1764, was his cousin, Margaret Miller. She died in 1773, after childbirth. Two of their children survived: Margaret (known as Peggy) (1767-1796), and James Watt jr.(1769-1848). In 1776, Watt married again, to Ann McGregor. They had two children, Gregory (1777-1804) and Jessy (1779-1794), both of whom died of tuberculosis. Ann Watt died in 1832.