FRIENDS OF KINNEIL, BO'NESS

That this House commends the work of The Friends of Kinneil, a charity in the town of Bo'ness, to promote the heritage of Kinneil House, Estate, Museum and Nature Reserve in Bo'ness; congratulates the group on celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2016 and on being short-listed for the prestigious Scottish Heritage Angel Awards; praises all its volunteers for their achievements over the last decade, including guiding to the public at Kinneil House, an historic palace of the Dukes of Hamilton with what are considered to be the first 16th Century domestic wall paintings in Scotland, on selected open days through the year; notes that inventor James Watt did pioneering development work on the condensing steam engine, which later powered the industrial revolution, at Kinneil where his unassuming small workshop dating from the period of the 1769 patent still stands; and encourages all relevant partners in working together to develop and promote this attraction, and in plans to mark a special commemoration in 2019, which is both the 250th anniversary of that patent and the bicentenary of James Watt's death.