The Watt Library or Watt Monument Library in Greenock, Scotland, opened on its current site in 1837 and was the direct descendant of the Greenock Library, a subscription library founded in 1783. It closed as a subscription library in 1971 and re-opened as a public facility in 1973 under the name of the Watt Library, specialising in Local History and Archives. The building was designed in the Gothic revival style by architect Sir Edward Blore and is a listed building. It has undergone recent refurbishment and re-opened in November 2019 as the Watt Institution, incorporating the McLean Museum Watt Lecture Hall and Inverclyde Archives.
The Watt Library is the direct descendant of the Greenock Library, founded in 1783 as a subscription library. James Watt was a patron of the library and on his death, members of the James Watt Club proposed erecting a memorial to him in the form of a new library building and statue. [1]
The initial drawings for the building were created at a different site near the Well Park in Greenock by William Burn but were not followed through, instead the drawings of Sir Edward Blore, who built the front wing of Buckingham Palace, were used. The new library building was opened in 1837 with the statue being erected the following year. The building has been given Listed status, Category A by Historic Scotland. [2] Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey sculpted the impressive marble statue of James Watt which is on permanent display inside the Library.
The Watt Library was closed for refurbishment in 2018 and opened again in 2019 incorporating the McLean Museum and Art Gallery, Watt Hall and Inverclyde Archives under the original name of the Watt Institution. This opening was timed to coincide with the year of celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the death of James Watt after whom the library is named. [3] The Watt Library is open on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 10am-4pm. The library holds local history reference materials, access to family history resources and archive material, and can be viewed by appointment with the Archivist Lorraine Murray. [4]
In 2012, a rare book collection was discovered in a cupboard hidden by a plan chest by the former Watt Library Archivist. [5] The collection included volumes on surgery, witchcraft and exploration dating from the 17th and 18th century. Other notable discoveries included an illustrated edition of Paradise Lost from 1827 engraved by the artist John Martin, an edition of letters by Cicero from 1538, and a Hamnet edition of Shakespeare plays from the 19th century published in Greenock. The collection was put on display at the McLean Museum in 2012.
Inverclyde is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire, which currently exists as a registration county and lieutenancy area. Inverclyde is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders the North Ayrshire and Renfrewshire council areas, and is otherwise surrounded by the Firth of Clyde.
George Square is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Square, and Blythswood Square on Blythswood Hill.
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It forms part of a contiguous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east.
Gourock is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a residential area, extending contiguously from Greenock, with a railway terminus and ferry services across the Clyde.
The Hunterian is a complex of museums located in and operated by the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest museum in Scotland. It covers the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology Museum and the Anatomy Museum, which are all located in various buildings on the main campus of the university in the west end of Glasgow.
Edward Blore was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary.
Kilmacolm is a village and civil parish in the Inverclyde council area, and the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the northern slope of the Gryffe Valley, 7+1⁄2 miles southeast of Greenock and around 15 miles (24 km) west of the city of Glasgow. The village has a population of around 4,000 and is part of a wider civil parish which covers a large rural hinterland of 15,000 hectares containing within it the smaller settlement of Quarrier's Village, originally established as a 19th-century residential orphans' home.
Greenock West railway station is a station in Greenock, Scotland, located on the Inverclyde Line which runs from Gourock to Glasgow Central. The route is currently operated by ScotRail under the auspices of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. Each service to and from Glasgow on the Inverclyde Line stops at this station.
Wemyss Bay railway station serves the village of Wemyss Bay, Inverclyde, Scotland. The station is a terminus on the Inverclyde Line, about 26 miles (42 km) west of Glasgow Central. The station incorporates the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry terminal connecting mainland Scotland to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. The station is managed by ScotRail.
Lyle Hill stands at the West End of Greenock in Inverclyde, Scotland. It has scenic viewpoints accessible from Lyle Road, which was constructed in 1879–1880 and named after Provost Abram Lyle, well known as a sugar refiner. The hill's highest point is Craigs Top at 426 feet above sea level, and before the road was constructed the hill was known as the Craigs, or as the Bingens.
The James Watt College was a further education college in Greenock, Scotland. It is now part of West College Scotland. There were also campuses in Largs and Kilwinning which now form part of Ayrshire College as the result of the merger with Kilmarnock College and Ayr College.
St Columba's High School is a co-educational six-year Roman Catholic, comprehensive secondary school, located next to Tower Hill Gourock, Inverclyde, Scotland. The school serves south west Greenock, Gourock, Inverkip and Wemyss Bay. The current enrolment (2018) is 682 pupils.
The Greenock Academy was a mixed non-denominational school in the west end of Greenock, Scotland, founded in 1855, originally independent, later a grammar school with a primary department, and finally a Comprehensive school only for ages eleven to eighteen. On 24 June 2011, Greenock Academy closed after a history spanning 156 years. Between 2012 and 2015, the school became the filming location of BBC One's school drama Waterloo Road.
The McLean Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery situated in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is the main museum in the Inverclyde area, it is free to visit and was opened in 1876. Most notably it features an exhibition of items related to James Watt, the Greenock-born inventor, a Mummy Cartonnage from Herakleopolis Magna and a collection of British and Scottish art. The principal entrance to the museum is on Kelly Street, in the Greenock West area. The former curator is Val Boa. The Watt Institution includes the Art Gallery, Watt Hall, Watt Library and Inverclyde Archives.
The lands of Finnart to the west of Greenock belonged to the Earl of Douglas in medieval times. Around 1455 they were forfeited to the crown. Finnart was given to the Hamiltons, while the western part of the barony of Finnart went to Stewart of Castlemilk and became the barony of Finnart-Stewart, or Gourock.
The James Watt Dock Crane is a giant cantilever crane situated at Greenock on the River Clyde.
The Old West Kirk of the Church of Scotland, authorised by a 1589 Royal Charter and first opened in 1591, is noted as the first Presbyterian church built in Scotland following the Scottish Reformation, and the first approved by the Parliament of Scotland. At an early stage, east and west aisles were added as transepts, giving the church its cruciform plan.
Greenock Municipal Buildings is a municipal structure in Clyde Square, Greenock, Scotland. The municipal buildings, which are the headquarters of Inverclyde Council, are Category A listed.
The Town Buildings, also known as the Municipal Buildings, are in Fore Street, Port Glasgow, Scotland. The structure, which served as the meeting place of Port Glasgow Burgh Council, is a Category A listed building.