John Smeaton's Eddystone lighthouse designs shown in Leeds

The book was first published in 1791 and dedicated to King George III

Detailed plans for one of the UK's most famous lighthouses have gone on display in the hometown of its designer and "genius" engineer John Smeaton.

Sketches of the Eddystone lighthouse are featured in a book of Smeaton's work, which is on show at Leeds Industrial Museum.

It also includes a first-hand account of building the structure off the coast of Devon in the 1750s.

The book took 35 years to complete and was first published in 1791.

Recently featured on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow, the book is on loan from Leeds Central Library, with the display coming ahead of the 300th anniversary of Smeaton's birth in Whitkirk in 1724.

John McGoldrick, Leeds Museums and Galleries' curator of industrial history, said: "John Smeaton was a true genius, who for much of his life focused his brilliant mind and prodigious intellect on the task of improving the world around him.

"He pioneered the field of civil engineering, inspiring many others to design and build projects which shaped the world around us in countless ways."

It features intricate designs penned by the self-taught engineer

The book has also been digitised

Charged with designing a new lighthouse on Eddystone Rocks, Smeaton took inspiration from the tapered trunk of an oak tree combined with masonry which mimicked the kerbstones of London's pavements.

His radical idea also included the invention of a new form of hydraulic cement which would set under water.

Once built, the 59ft high (17.9m) lighthouse was first lit on on 16 October, 1759, guiding ships safely through the perilous approach to what was one of the most important naval harbours in England.

It was taken down in the 1880s due to erosion around the base, with about two-thirds of the structure being rebuilt stone by stone at Plymouth Hoe.

Smeaton's Tower has stood in Plymouth since 1884

The book will feature alongside other exhibits celebrating engineering feats including the cylinder head from a Land Rover and a breathing aid designed and manufactured during the Covid pandemic and used in more than 130 hospitals.

As well as featuring in the exhibition, the book has inspired a city-wide project which celebrates Smeaton's life and legacy in partnership with Leeds 2023.