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It seems that, 250 years ago, one of Scotland’s leading scientists became fascinated by the country’s most famous phenomenon: rain.
James Hutton, celebrated by the Scots as the father of modern geology, went so far as to write the “precipitation theory”. In 1784, he wrote the main points of “the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere”.
Now, Hutton’s calculations should be in the middle an exhibition celebrating rain at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. Between 100bn and 160bn cubic meters of rain falls in Scotland each year.
The library drew on two of the country’s most famous heroes – Minnie the Minx and Robert Burns – by combining them with tartan samples of Mackintosh’s rainproof fabric designed by Glasgow-born chemist Charles Macintosh in 1823.
Along with the Beano copies – including a cartoon featuring Minnie and the Met Office teaching children about the dangers of hurricanes – the National Library of Scotland is showing a rare Daemonologie, the witchcraft and spiritual writings of King James VI of Scotland and I of England and Wales.
Written in 1597 against the brutal persecution of so-called witches and wizards, the text blames them for destroying months of storms that delayed the boat carrying Denmark’s new queen from reaching Scotland. The king wrote: “He can cause storms and storms in the air, whether on sea or on land.”
Daemonologie is credited with inspiring the witches that opened William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, who also appear in this scene, along with the rain that falls. Burns’ antihero Tam O’Shanter while fleeing the storm and “hell’s army” of demons.
Alison Stevenson, the library’s curator of collections, said the institution’s exhibits are usually historical or historical, but this exhibit was different in content.
“Rain is in our manuscripts, our maps, poetry, prose, major newspaper collections, films – you name it. Rain is an integral part of life in Scotland. We have a relationship with rain whether we like it or not,” he said. “We talk about it, wear it, weigh it, write about it, avoid it, worry about it, sing about it.” This show touches all senses.”
A delight for visitors coming to escape the summer bath, the exhibition is located in a small room from the entrance of the library building. Inside, visitors can study Scotland’s earliest rainfall maps, taken from the famous photographic library, including one from 1912 showing 25 years of rainfall. Edinburgh it’s one of the driest cities in the UK – Rome gets the most of the year.
The exhibit also includes a weather forecast wall, where visitors can play TV meteorologist on a large chart using rain, cloud and sun symbols. Heather Reid, one of Scotland’s leading forecasters, opens the show on 17 June. She is best known to BBC Scotland viewers as Heather the Weather.
These scenes range from the “angler poet” Thomas Tod Stoddart lamenting the drought on the Tweed in 1864 to the diarist Mary Cumming Bruce seeing, with drawings, how in 1889 a rain boy was scrutinized for carrying an umbrella – that’s a sign of economic prosperity.
The potential for rain to endanger lives is felt very soon at the library. In early 2023, a conservationist, Mel Houston, was killed in a flood in the Borders.
They played a “crucial role in ensuring that our buildings and collections can withstand the rising temperatures and increased water levels caused by climate change”, the library said. The exhibition will be dedicated to his memory.
