| Description | James Watt of Greenock held various offices in the local government of the town of Greenock from about 1750 until his retirement in 1774 as manager, councillor, treasurer and magistrate. The 1756 volume of accounts has an inventory of tools and equipment (including school furniture and fire engines) owned by the town and lists of debts and rents due to the town by various persons. There is also a list of yearly payments by the town (e.g. for a schoolmaster) and a list of cellar rents etc.
Three of the volumes (MS 3219/3/58, 59 and 60) begin with an entry for 23 September 1765, and the following accounts in each volume are very similar but not exactly identical. They finish with details of interest on the account. The one volume which continues with 1769 (MS 3219/3/58) is again similar, but not completely identical, to the smaller volume for 1769 (MS 3219/3/61), which has its last entry for 28 October, whereas the larger volume continues to December and then proceeds to 1770 and on to 1775. The entries in these volumes seem to refer mainly to purchases of timber, nails etc. for repairs and construction work. There are also references to the repair of the town's fire engine.
The other volume, (MS 3219/3/62) which covers the period October 1765 to May 1767, has four loose sheets of accounts for January 1769 to April 1770, and includes cash payments from named individuals and payments for work on the town's cellars and the church. There is also an account of 'shade' rents for ships and cellarage accounts for various ships. |