IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Chambers Street, EDINBURGH, EH1 1JF

The impressive interior of the Royal Museum of Scotland.

James Watt is one of Scotland's most famous sons and is best remembered as an improver (not inventor) of the steam engine. He was, however, a true polymath and his areas of interest included, surveying, civil engineering, instrument making, chemistry and document copying to name but a few. His improvements to the steam engine were principally the separate condenser, rotative motion with the sun and planet gear, parallel motion and the application of the centrifugal governor (a device already in use in corn mills). He also dabbled with rotary steam engines (there is a model prototype in the Science Museum) but tip sealing was not solved.

This is one of the newly reopened galleries in the large museum that was once known as the Royal Scottish Museum. This large space is relatively empty but from this angle is dominated by the lighthouse optic from Inchkeith Lighthouse. The glass was made by Chance Bros of Smethwick, Birmingham.

An exhibit in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street.

Looking west along the gallery in the recently reopened museum after a long refurbishment and reorganisation. The view would have been blocked by the Millennium Clock Tower Image, but that has now been moved to obscurity Image

An exhibit in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Peden was a leading Covenanter who spent years as a fugitive, holding illegal conventicles (unlicensed church services, often in the open air) while dodging the authorities. This was his disguise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Peden "Where is the Kirk of God in Scotland the day? It is not among the great clergie folk. Sirs, I'll tell you where the Kirk of God is, wherever there is a praying lass or lad at a dyke-side in Scotland." -- from one of Peden's sermons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Covenanters%27_Conventicle,_from_a_children%27s_history_book.jpg "Their meeting-places are most commonly at the side of a moss or at the side of a river, and they have their spies at a distance on all hands, who give warning if any party appear, which makes them run, were the party never so small; but the truth is, the cause of most of this trouble we receive in this kind is occasioned by some outed ministers, against whom both [privy] council and commission has proceeded against, and they have put themselves in disguise, so as when they preach they are in gray clothes and long pediuicks [periwigs], and it is alleged some of them preaches in masks and these rogues stirs up the women so as they are worse than devils; yea, I dare say if it were not for the women we should have little trouble with conventicles or such kind of stuff, but there are such a foolish generation of people in this country who are so influenced with their fanatic wives as I think will bring ruin upon them." -- letter from the Earl of Rothes to the Earl of Maitland, 1665 Image Image

Unfortunately, the day we chose to visit the Museum, the part in which I was interested was virtually empty, due to renovation work being done. However, I did manage to get this shot of a rather old-looking piece of machinery. Regrettably, there were no information signs to indicate what it was. Anyone know?

The street is named after him. A former Procurater Fiscal.

This 6 column tank bed beam engine used to be on display in the Royal Scottish Museum but is now in store at Granton. This was built in 1825 by an unknown maker (possibly Boulton and Watt) and was bought from the Receiver of Wrecks for use in the Margate brewery of Mr Cobb, starting work in 1826. it is therefore known as Cobb's Brewery Engine. The cylinder is 15.25" bore by 3- stroke and the flywheel is 10' diameter. It apparently ran at 25 rpm on steam at 25 psi.

The statue of William Chambers, a former Provost of Edinburgh, has been moved a short distance west closer to the frontage of the National Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street. This has been part of the refurbishment of the street outside the museum to extend the pavement into a plaza area without parked cars - compare Image showing the statue's previous location.