This exhibition will explore James Hutton’s influence on the processes leading to the formation of rocks and on the concept of geological time in a series of interpretation panels, which tell of Hutton’s life in Edinburgh during the period of the Scottish Enlightenment as well as the development of his Theory of the Earth. His writings explored the processes which produce the rocks and landscapes we see around us, as well as the idea that geological time was very different from current ideas in the eighteenth century.
Several of James Hutton’s contemporaries were able to travel with him around Scotland, seeking places where he could find evidence to support his theories. The exhibition includes displays of the rocks that he found at the well-known unconformities in the Isle of Arran, Jedburgh and Siccar Point, as well as granite exposures in the Grampians and north-east Scotland. Illustrations of Hutton’s sites, the so-called ‘Lost Drawings’, show how he and his contemporaries developed the basic principles of geology.
In his early days he took on two family farms situated in the Lammermuir Hills, aiming to cultivate the inhospitable moors. His progressive ideas, gleaned from time spent on Norfolk farms and his travels around England, promoted major changes in agriculture at that time, particularly the introduction of a more efficient plough.
Hayloft Gallery, Paxton House, Paxton, Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 1SZ Entry to the café, shop and exhibition is free, but there are charges for entry to house and gardens.
Open from Wednesday 3rd June to Sunday 26th July 10.00 – 4.00 every day.
Special Event – talk by Alan McKirdy
Sunday 28 June, 2pm – cost £5, payable on the door
The author Alan McKirdy will deliver a talk on ‘James Hutton and the Scottish Enlightenment’ at Paxton House on Sunday 28 June, 2pm.
An event in the Scottish Geology Festival 2026, organised by the Scottish Geology Trust.
