James Watt – Leeds, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 47.792 W 001° 32.887
30U E 595631 N 5961861
A statue of the famous Scottish inventor whose improvements to steam engines helped kick start the Industrial Revolution. He was born 1736 and died 1819.
Waymark Code: WMBV9C
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/22/2011
Views: 11
The Person
James Watt is sometimes credited with inventing the steam engine. However he did not invent them, but made them significantly more efficient. His original improvement was to introduce a separate condenser for producing the steam. This avoided having to constantly reheat the piston and so more energy was available for converting into mechanical energy.
He continued to improve the engines further and various innovations meant that compared to earlier steam engines his were up to 5 times more powerful.
Originally Watt intended to charge for his steam engines based on the savings compared to the older style engines. However some of his customers had never owned a steam engine before and so he needed another method of charging them. To do this he developed the concept of horsepower so he could compare the power of his engines with an equivalent number of horses to do the same work.
Later, in honour of his achievements, the SI unit of power, the watt was named after him.
The above details were extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Watt
The Statue
This life size statue is one of four in City Square that were erected to celebrate Leeds becoming a city. It was the industrial revolution itself that had led to the growth of large towns and cities in general, and specifically Leeds. Some of the first steam engines used in Leeds were made by the company of Boulton and Watt. So although Watt does not have any direct connection with Leeds, his contribution to the industrial revolution is celebrated here.
The statue stands on a 6 foot tall red granite plinth and shows Watt standing, surveying the square in front of him. His overcoat is unbuttoned showing him wearing a smart waistcoat and dress shirt.
In his right hand he holds a set of dividers and in his left a rolled set of papers. It's easy to imagine that as he stands there he is ready to start work on designing his latest improved steam engine.
Leeds became a city in 1893, and the statute sculpted by H C Fehr and cast by the founders J. W. Singer & Sons Ltd in 1898. The statue was erected in 1903, the date the layout of the new City Square was completed. It was gifted to the city by Councillor Richard Wainwright.
The layout of the square was changed in the early 2000s and traffic restricted. This and the other three statues were moved to stand near to the old Post Office building that has now been converted to restaurants and apartments. The statues flank the outside tables of the restaurants.
Details taken from http://www.leedsartgallery.co.uk/review/listings/l0013.php and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeds_City_Square
The statue is now protected as a grade II listed building, the ENGLISH HERITAGE BUILDING ID IS 465914. http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-465914-statue-of-james-watt-leeds
Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.