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Thomas Harrison (architect)

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Thomas Harrison (1744 – 29 March 1829) was an English architect and engineer. He built a number of bridges, including Grosvenor Bridge in Chester. He also rebuilt parts of Chester and Lancaster castles. His building designs were mainly in the neoclassical style.

Early life and education

Harrison was baptised on 7 August 1744 in Richmond, Yorkshire, England, the son of Thomas Harrison, a carpenter, and Anne née Brittel. Details of his early life are not known but it is likely he was educated at Richmond grammar school. In 1769 Sir Lawrence Dundas of Aske sent him to Rome with George Cuitt, a landscape painter, to study Roman antiquities. In 1770 he submitted a design to Pope Clement XIV for converting the Vatican Cortile del Belvedere into a museum. In 1773 he entered a competition organised by the Accademia di San Luca to re-plan the Piazza del Popolo. His design was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1777. Although the design was unsuccessful he was commissioned by the pope to alter the sacristy of St Peter's but the pope died before the work started.

Career

He returned to Richmond, then moved to Lancaster in 1783 after he won a competition to build Skerton Bridge over the River Lune in the city. This bridge had elliptical arches and a level road surface, which was a device which had never been used on this scale in England previously. He was subsequently commissioned to build St Mary's Bridge in Derby and Stramongate Bridge in Kendal. In 1815 he was appointed as county surveyor of Cheshire having worked on several bridges in Cheshire for the previous 15 years. His major work there was the design of the Grosvenor Bridge crossing the River Dee in Chester which when it was built was the largest single-span masonry arch in the world, which measured across. In 1786 Harrison won a competition to rebuild Chester Castle in a neoclassical style which took over 30 years to complete. It included work on the prison, the courts, the shire hall and offices, the armoury, the barracks and the construction of the propylaeum. During this time in 1795 he moved to Chester. Also in Chester he designed the Northgate between 1808 and 1810, and between 1818 and 1821 he restored part of Chester Cathedral.

In 1784 Harrison had designed the cupola for St John's Church, Lancaster and a cupola for the Town Hall in the city. Between 1786 and 1799 he was involved in the reconstruction of Lancaster Castle. This included the Shire Hall, the Grand Jury Room, the Crown Court, the Governor's House, the Barristers' Library and robing Room, part of the prison, much of the external wall and an additional round tower. Later buildings in neoclassical style were the the Lyceum in Liverpool, and the Portico Library in Manchester.

Harrison was also involved to a lesser degree in domestic architecture. These included Hawkstone Citadel in Shropshire, Kennet House, which was demolished in 1967 and St Martin's Lodge, a house he built for himself in Chester. His largest house was Broomhall in Fife which he built for Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin.

Personal life

In 1785 Harrison married Margaret Shackleton at Lancaster Priory and with her he had three children who survived into adulthood. He died at his home in Chester in 1829 and was buried in the churchyard of St Bridget's Church, Chester. His estate was worth in the order of £6,000.

Further reading

  • Champness, John Thomas Harrison, Georgian Architect of Chester and Lancaster, 1744-1829. Lancaster: Centre for North-West Regional Studies, Lancaster University.

Major works

1780s

Structure Date Ref. Listing Notes
Old Town Hall, Lancaster 1781–83 II* Cupola
Skerton Bridge, Lancaster 1783–88 II*
St John's Church, Lancaster 1784 II* West tower
St Mary's Bridge, Derby 1788–93 II*
Lancaster Castle 1786–99 I Reconstruction, including Shire Hall and Crown Court
Toll House and Inn, Lancaster c. 1787 II* Toll House for Skerton Bridge
Chester Castle 1788–1815 I Including Shire Hall, courts, barracks and propylaeum

1790s

Structure Date Ref. Listing Notes
Stramongate Bridge, Kendal 1791–1797
Quernmore Park Hall 1793 II*

1800s

Structure Date Ref. Listing Notes
The Lyceum, Liverpool 1800–03 II*
Portico Newsroom and Library, Manchester 1802–06 II*
St Peter's Church, Chester 1803 I Restoration of south wall
St John the Baptist's Church, Whittington 1805–06 II Nave
Manchester Exchange 1806–09 Replaced earlier exchange, now demolished.
Theatre Royal, Manchester 1807 Demolished
Commercial News Room, Northgate Street, Chester 1808 II Later the City Club
Northgate, Chester 1808–10 I

1810s

Structure Date Ref. Listing Notes
Wesleyan chapel, St John Street, Chester 1811 II
Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool 1811–19 II Tower
Woodbank House, Stockport 1812 II* For Peter Marsland, cotton manufacturer
Dee Hills House, Chester 1814 II
Lord Hill's Column, Shrewsbury 1814–1816 II*
The Marquess of Anglesey's Column, Llanfairpwyll, Anglesey 1816–1817
Agricola's Tower, Chester Castle 1818 Refaced
Chester Cathedral 1818–20 I Restoration

1820s

Structure Date Ref. Listing Notes
St Martin's Lodge, Chester c. 1820 II Built by Harrison for his own use
Watergate House, Chester c. 1820 II* For Henry Potts, Clerk of the Peace
Triumphal arch, Holyhead, Anglesey 1821
The Citadel, Weston-under-Redcastle, Shropshire 1824–25 II* For Sir Rowland Hill, 4th baronet of Hawkstone
Grosvenor Bridge, Chester 1827–1833 I Completed after Harrison's death

Unknown dates

Structure Date Ref. Listing Notes
The Grand Tralcum of County Falaar

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links



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