THE STEVENSON SCREEN---A SCOTTISH INVENTION

All weather stations should include this piece of equipment. Its job is to house thermometers, keeping them protected from the weather, including the direct rays of the sun. The screen needs to be painted white & have louvred sides to allow an adequate air flow. There are also regulations about its height above the ground & its distance from buildings & trees etc.

Its designer was Thomas Stevenson (1818-1887), son of engineer Robert Stevenson & father of the author Robert Louis Stevenson. Thomas was a famous Scottish lighthouse designer & meteorologist. Between 1854 & 1886, he designed over 30 lighthouses in & around Scotland.

For those who watched the BBC 2 program on Scottish Lighthouses last night, some of this will be familiar, but it was worth my reminding you of the meteorological aspect. The above screen is getting past its best now, having served its time in 4 different gardens!!