ICE Scotland Museum

The ICE Scotland Museum displays the collection of the Institution of Civil Engineers in Scotland within the public areas of the William Arrol Building and adjacent Edwin Chadwick Building at Heriot-Watt University on the western edge of Edinburgh. The collection goes back to 1970 but has grown over the years, now including a diverse range of more than 500 items ranging from surveying instruments from the Victorian Era to the present day, including medals, bridge-plates, computers, and components retrieved from important engineering structures such as a spike, sections of rail and a commemorative plaque relating to the Laigh Milton Viaduct (1811); a brick from Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Thames Tunnel (1843); rivets and bracing from the Forth Bridge (1890); bearings from Bilston Glen Viaduct (1892) and cables from the Queensferry Crossing (2017). Also included are letters from Thomas Telford (1757 - 1834), items associated with Sir William Arrol (1839 - 1913), fine oil paintings of Thomas Grainger (1794 - 1852) and John Miller (1805-83) by Sir John Watson Gordon (1788 - 1864). Originally the collection was held by the Royal Museum of Scotland but passed to Heriot-Watt University in 1991, on semi-permanent loan. It has been displayed in its current form since 1994 and extended through the acquisition of new items over the years.


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