The workshop of James Watt

The workshop of James Watt (1736-1819), December 1924. One of four photographs taken at Heathfield by J Willoughby Harrison when the contents of the room were being moved to The Science Museum at South Kensington in December 1924. Watt (1736-1819) was a Scottish engineer and instrument maker who invented the modern steam engine, which became the main source of power in the textile mills in Britain during the Industrial Revolution. His engine had a separate condenser through which steam from the cylinder was passed and cooled, allowing the engine to be kept hot, thus reducing fuel consumption and saving time.