Watt's engine, Roebuck contacted its inventor. This engine also proved inadequate, but Roebuck became a strong believer in its future. In return for a two-thirds share in the invention he assisted Watt in perfecting its details by paying Watt's debts and by providing him with a place to work. The workplace became known as James Watt's Cottage and was built in a secluded area of Kinneil House as Roebuck was worried about industrial espionage. Roebuck's troubles at the Carron Works and the colliery, aggravated by the failure of an attempt to manufacture alkali, brought him into financial difficulties and he was forced to sell his share in Watt's engine to Matthew Boulton in return for cancellation of a £1200 debt. Subsequently, though Roebuck had to give up his interest in the Bo'ness works, he continued to manage them and to reside at the neighbouring Kinneil House, where he occupied himself with farming on a considerable scale. In 1784, Roebuck obtained a pottery from the Cadell family where he pursued his interest in new technologies. Roebuck died in Edinburgh in 1794 and was buried at Carriden Churchyard near Bo'ness. He was grandfather to John Arthur Roebuck. Honours and affiliations 1764 - Fellow of the Royal Society of London See also Lead chamber process References Further reading Attribution 1718 births 1794 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh English inventors English mechanical engineers 18th-century English medical doctors Engineers from Yorkshire Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Sheffield Grammar School People of the Industrial Revolution