The John Watson Building Stones Collection

A rare opportunity to explore the impressive John Watson Building Stones Collection housed in the former Museum of Economic Geology at the Department of Earth Sciences.

John Watson (1842-1918), who had worked in the Portland Cement industry, donated his collection to the museum in 1905, and continued to add to it until his death in 1918. The collection comprises approximately 2,500 traditional building stones, roofing slates, road stones, flagstones and decorative and ornamental stones that were in extensive use throughout Britain and the rest of the world during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Much of the collection is still displayed in its original bespoke Edwardian cabinets in a room filled with natural light, now used as the department’s common room. Staff will be on hand to talk about the collection.