Thomas Harrison (7 August (baptised) 1744 – 29 March 1829) was an English

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and bridge

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

who trained in Rome, where he studied

classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

. Returning to England, he won the competition in 1782 for the design of

Skerton Bridge Skerton Bridge is a road bridge carrying the southbound lanes of the A6 road (England), A6 road over the River Lune in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The bridge is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a d ...

in Lancaster. After moving to Lancaster he worked on local buildings, received commissions for further bridges, and designed

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

s in Scotland. In 1786 Harrison was asked to design new buildings within the grounds of Lancaster and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

castles, projects that occupied him, together with other works, until 1815. On both sites he created accommodation for prisoners, law courts, and a shire hall, while working on various other public buildings, gentlemen's clubs, churches, houses, and monuments elsewhere. His final major commission was for the design of

Grosvenor Bridge Grosvenor Bridge, originally known as, and alternatively called Victoria Railway Bridge, is a railway bridge over the River Thames in London, between Vauxhall Bridge and Chelsea Bridge. Originally constructed in 1860, and widened in 1865 and 19 ...

in Chester. Some of Harrison's designs, including his buildings at Lancaster Castle, were

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

in style, but most were Neoclassical, particularly those at Chester Castle. He was regarded at the time, and since, as a major influence in the emergence of the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

in British architecture. A bridge he designed at the start of his career, and another towards the end of his career, incorporated innovative features; Skerton Bridge was the first substantial bridge in England to have a flat roadway, and the Grosvenor Bridge was the longest single-arched masonry bridge in the world at the time of its construction. Many of Harrison's structures have survived, most of them now designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s. Despite his work being nationally admired he spent his entire career in northwest England, visiting London only occasionally; most of his buildings were in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, and the nearby counties.

Early life and training

Thomas Harrison was born in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England, the son of a

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

, also named Thomas. His precise date of birth is not known, but it is likely that he was

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

on 7 August 1744. Little is known about his early life, other than he attended Richmond Grammar School, and it is presumed that he worked with his father. In 1769 he was sponsored by a local landowner, Sir Lawrence Dundas of

Aske Hall Aske Hall is a Georgian country house, with parkland attributed to Capability Brown, north of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It contains an impressive collection of 18th-century furniture, paintings and porcelain, and in its grounds a Joh ...

, to join George Cuitt (who later became a

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

painter) to study in Rome. () Here he studied at the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

, and during his seven years in Rome, amongst other activities, made drawings of Roman structures, including temples and

Trajan's Column Trajan's Column ( it, Colonna Traiana, la, Columna Traiani) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Ap ...

. In 1770 Harrison submitted a design to

Pope Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV ( la, Clemens XIV; it, Clemente XIV; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in Sep ...

for converting the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

Cortile del Belvedere The (Belvedere Courtyard or Belvedere Court) was a major architectural work of the High Renaissance at the Vatican Palace in Rome. Designed by Donato Bramante from 1505 onward, its concept and details reverberated in courtyard design, formalized ...

into a museum for antique statues. This was "favourably received but not in the end adopted". Three years later he entered the Accademia's competition to re-plan the

Piazza del Popolo Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the poplars (''populus'' in Latin, ''pioppo'' in Italian) after which the church of Santa Maria del ...

. His design was unsuccessful, but it was exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

in 1777. Following the failure of this design to be accepted, he petitioned the pope, and was awarded gold and silver medals, and made Accademico di Merito. He was then commissioned by the pope to alter the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

of St Peter's, but the pope died before the work started. Harrison returned to England in 1776, probably via France, as he made drawings of buildings in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

and Paris. He produced designs for a bridge and a road in London, which were not accepted, and he returned to Richmond in 1778.

Works

Bridges

The major works executed by Harrison at the start and end of his career were bridges:

in Lancaster and Grosvenor Bridge in Chester, both of which incorporated innovative features. In 1782 he won the first prize in a competition to design a bridge to cross the

River Lune The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. Etymology Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic in genesis and deriv ...

at Lancaster and to replace a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

bridge. After some amendments to the design, the foundation stone was laid in June 1783, and Skerton Bridge was completed in September 1787, at a cost of £14,000 (). The bridge was carried on five elliptical arches, and was the first in England to have a flat road surface. Harrison subsequently received further commissions for bridges, including St Mary's Bridge in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

(1788–93),

Harrington Bridge Harrington Bridge crosses the River Trent near Sawley in Derbyshire carrying the ''Tamworth Road'' ( B6540) into Leicestershire. The stonework of the bridge dates from 1790, but the central section was replaced in 1905 after it was damaged by f ...

near Sawley,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

(1789–90), and Stramongate Bridge in

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

(1791–94), followed by smaller bridges in Lancashire and Cheshire. He was appointed unofficially as the bridge master of Lancashire, and having carried out the duties of country surveyor for Cheshire since 1800, was officially appointed to the post in 1815. Harrison's later bridges in Cheshire included the Mersey Bridge at

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

(1812–17), and Cranage Bridge near

Holmes Chapel Holmes Chapel is a large village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Until 1974 the parish was known as Church Hulme. Holmes Chapel is about north of Crewe and south ...

(1815–16). These were the only bridges he designed to be built in timber rather than in stone, and both have been replaced. They were the first bridges of their type to be built in England, and were his only bridges to be regarded as "failures". During his career, Harrison was consulted about the design of other bridges in the country. Grosvenor Bridge(2)

Towards the end of his career, Harrison worked on two bridges in Chester. At the time the only road crossing over the River Dee was the medieval

Old Dee Bridge The Old Dee Bridge in Chester, Cheshire, England, is the oldest bridge in the city. It crosses the River Dee carrying the road that leads from the bottom of Lower Bridge Street and the Bridgegate to Handbridge. A bridge on this site was firs ...

, which was becoming inadequate for the increasing volume of traffic. In 1825 Harrison added three new arches on the upstream side of the bridge, and built a footway that was

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

ed-out, also on the upstream side. Meanwhile, negotiations had been underway for a much more substantial bridge. In 1825 an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

was passed for the Grosvenor Bridge to be built downstream from the Old Dee Bridge. To provide access to the new bridge, properties, including a church, had to be demolished, and Harrison was involved in designing the new approach to the bridge, which was named Grosvenor Street. He also prepared three different plans for the bridge, one in iron, the others in stone; one of the stone bridges had three arches, the other a single arch spanning . The single-arch bridge would be the longest single-arch stone bridge in the world at the time, and there were doubts about its stability. Harrison's design was supported by the engineers

James Trubshaw James Trubshaw (13 February 1777 – 28 October 1853) was an English builder, architect and civil engineer.John Rennie, and Trubshaw made a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

model of the bridge to confirm its stability. By this time Harrison was aged over 80, and in 1826 he resigned from the commission. Later that year the design was costed by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...

, and the town council subsequently accepted the design. Trubshaw was in charge of the construction, with

Jesse Hartley Jesse Hartley (21 December 1780 – 24 August 1860) was Civil Engineer and Superintendent of the Concerns of the Dock Estate in Liverpool, England between 1824 and 1860. Hartley's career Despite having no experience of dock building, Hartley was ...

as his clerk-of-works. The foundation stone was laid in 1827 by the Earl of Grosvenor (after whose family the bridge was named), and work began the following year. It was formally opened in 1832 by the future

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, and traffic began to cross it the following year. The total cost of the bridge was just under £50,000 (). Harrison did not live to see it completed, as he died in 1829.

Lancaster and Chester Castles

Around the time that Harrison was involved in the construction of Skerton Bridge, he received other commissions for work in Lancaster. These included the addition of a clock tower to the Town Hall, the addition of a tower and spire to St John's Church, and the building of Bridge Houses on the east side of Skerton Bridge. In October 1786 Harrison was asked to prepare plans for substantial improvements to

Lancaster Castle Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle and former prison in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but it may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of ...

; in January that year he had also won the competition for major improvements to

Chester Castle Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining par ...

. He worked on both projects simultaneously for the next 30 years, and beyond that until 1815 in Chester, where he added further new buildings. In both projects he designed buildings for prisoners and prison staff, courtrooms and a Shire Hall. Both towns already had gaols, but there was a national move in the later part of the 18th century to improve them, following the campaigns by penal formers led by

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

. Amongst these reforms were the separation of men and women, and of criminals and debtors, which were incorporated into Harrison's designs.

Lancaster

Harrison did not create an overall plan for his work on the site; a series of plans for different buildings were prepared and building works continued until 1792. The new buildings had to be placed between the existing medieval castle buildings, including the

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

, towers and the

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...

. Harrison decided to design them with

motifs, such as

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

s and windows with pointed heads. Construction started in 1788, and the first building to be completed was the Keeper's House, standing to the right of the gatehouse. The next substantial building to be completed was the Female Felon's Prison on the other side of the gatehouse. He designed an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

on the south side of the keep to give some shelter to the debtors as they walked round their

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

. He later added two storeys to provide more accommodation for debtors, and completed the Male Felon's Prison to the north of the keep. By 1794 these buildings and other improvements had cost £10,853 (), more than had been expected. By 1795 Harrison had moved from Lancaster to Chester, from where he continued to supervise the work on both sites. At Lancaster this work included rebuilding the Crown Court and the Shire Hall. At that time the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

was held in the medieval hall of the castle, and civil cases were held in the Shire Hall in the keep. The new buildings form a symmetrical group to the west of the keep, and were completed in 1798, although the internal decoration and furnishings were not finished until some years later by

Joseph Gandy Joseph Michael Gandy (1771–1843) was an English artist, visionary architect and architectural theorist, most noted for his imaginative paintings depicting Sir John Soane's architectural designs. He worked extensively with Soane both as ...

. The Crown Court is a simple rectangular room, measuring about by high and wide. The Shire Hall has a plan of half a polygon about in diameter. Six Gothic columns support a panelled

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

covering the main part of the courtroom. Around the perimeter is an

, and the judge's bench has an elaborate

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

in Coade stone. The precise cost of these buildings is unknown, but in 1807 an estimate of more than £40,000 () was given.

Chester

In contrast with Lancaster, Harrison was able to prepare an organised plan for the gaol, as it was to be built on a new site behind the

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

Shire Hall on land sloping down to the River Dee. Also in contrast to Lancaster, the buildings were to be in Neoclassical style. The Gaoler's House would stand behind the Shire Hall, overlooking the exercise courtyards. Inside the semi-octagonal perimeter wall of the site would stand two-storey blocks to house the prisoners. The site was staked-out in November 1786, but nothing could be done until the necessary Act of Parliament was passed the following July. Work started on the prisoners' accommodation early in 1789 and on the Goaler's House in early 1792, and was completed two years later. Plans were then put in place for a new Shire Hall to replace the Elizabethan building, which was completed in 1802. The Shire Hall was another structure in which Harrison made innovations, in this case the use of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

architectural motifs. Its façade is about long and high, in nineteen

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

with two storeys. At its centre is a

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

-style

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

with twelve columns, projecting forwards by about . Its interior contains a semi-circular courtroom with a diameter of . Its curved wall has a

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

of ten Ionic columns, and on each side of the judge's bench are two similar columns. The room has a

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...

ed semi-dome. Propyleum, Chester

In addition to courts, and now a gaol, Chester Castle also housed a

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

of soldiers. The forecourt of the Shire Hall formed a parade ground for the garrison, and Harrison designed two new buildings for the soldiers. On the west side of the parade ground he built an

Armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are most ...

, and on the east side a matching block, with more utilitarian buildings behind, to act as the

Barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

. Both of the blocks consists of a two-storey building in nine bays, the fronts of which are decorated with Ionic half-columns about high. Harrison's final building in the complex was a monumental gateway or

Propylaea In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaea, propylea or propylaia (; Greek: προπύλαια) is a monumental gateway. They are seen as a partition, specifically for separating the secular and religious pieces of a city. The prototypical Gree ...

at the entrance to the forecourt. This consists of a central block, with two lateral

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s that originally served as guardhouses. The central block has a portico extending some in front of the pavilions, with a double colonnade of four Doric

monolithic column A monolithic column or single-piece column is a large column of which the shaft is made from a single piece of stone instead of in vertical sections. Smaller columns are very often made from single pieces of stone, but are less often described a ...

s standing high. Above them is a

triglyph Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze in classical architecture, so called because of the angular channels in them. The rectangular recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric frieze are ...

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

, and a low attic. The pavilions are lower than the central block, and decorated at their front with two Doric half-columns between

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s. At the back the pavilions project beyond the central block and have four Doric columns. The structure, which was built between 1813 and 1815, contains 22 monolithic columns.

Gentlemen's clubs and public buildings

The first gentlemen's club to be designed by Harrison was the

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. This contained a newsroom, a coffee house, and new premises for the Liverpool Library. It was the first building in Liverpool to incorporate Greek motifs in its design. It includes one of the earliest recessed porticoes in England, and its exterior includes Doric and Ionic columns. Inside the building, the library is a circular room about in diameter; it is top-lit with a dome. The newsroom and coffee room measure about by . The club was built between 1801 and 1802 at a cost of £11,000 (). In 1803 building commenced in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

of the

Portico Library The Portico Library, The Portico or Portico Library and Gallery on Mosley Street, Manchester, is an independent subscription library designed in the Greek Revival style by Thomas Harrison of Chester and built between 1802 and 1806. It is recor ...

, which also incorporated a gentlemen's club, and introduced Greek motifs to the city. Like the Liverpool club, it contains a recessed portico with Ionic columns and half-columns. The interior measures about by ; the ground floor was used as the newsroom, the library books were arranged around a gallery, and again it was top-lit with a dome. The building was completed in 1806 and cost about £6.800 (). The third gentlemen's club was the Commercial News Room in Chester, with three Ionic half-columns on its main front. The newsroom measures about by . It opened in 1808, and is smaller than the other club's, costing about £2,700 (). All the gentlemen's clubs are still in existence, but two major buildings Harrison designed in Manchester have not survived. The Theatre Royal was built in 1806–07 at a cost of about £12,000 (); it could seat 1,020 people, but was destroyed by fire in 1844. Harrison also designed the Manchester Exchange to replace an earlier building with the same purpose. It contained a newsroom, library, dining room, and post office. The exchange was built between 1806 and 1809, and had a semi-circular front decorated with Doric half-columns, but it has since been superseded by a larger building.

Domestic and related structures

While Harrison was working on Lancaster and Chester castles, he was also involved with domestic projects, four of them around

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in Scotland. The first consisted in making alterations to

Gosford House Gosford House is a neoclassical country house around northeast of Longniddry in East Lothian, Scotland, on the A198 Aberlady Road, in of parkland and coast. It is the family seat of the Charteris family, the Earls of Wemyss and March. It was t ...

for the 7th Earl of Wemyss. There is circumstantial evidence that he also designed the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

in the grounds of the house, but a definite attribution cannot be made. This commission led, through personal contacts, for further work. The first was to build Kennet House near

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. Th ...

(now demolished) for Sir Thomas Dundas; it was Harrison's first major house. He then made extensions to Broomhall, a house near

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

, for

Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine (; 20 July 176614 November 1841) was a British nobleman, soldier, politician and diplomat, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures (known as the Elgin Ma ...

. Finally in Scotland, Harrison prepared plans for another new house, Colinton House near Edinburgh, for the banker Sir William Forbes. Following this, Harrison is credited with the design of Quernmore Park Hall, near Lancaster, for Charles Gibson, a house built between 1795 and 1798. In 1804 Harrison made a series of plans for the rebuilding of Lowther Hall in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

, but these were not accepted. However he was successful with his plans to enlarge and remodel Gredington, a house in North Wales, for Lord Kenyon, executed between 1807 and 1811 at a cost of £6,675 (). Between 1808 and 1810 Harrison converted three rooms on the west side of the first floor of

Tabley House Tabley House is an English country house in Tabley Inferior (Nether Tabley), some to the west of the town of Knutsford, Cheshire. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It ...

, near

Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town in the borough of Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England. Knutsford is south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and 12.5 miles (20 km) south-east of Warrington. The population at the 2011 Census wa ...

, Cheshire, into a picture gallery for Sir John Fleming Leicester. This was followed by a series of new houses,

Oughtrington Hall Oughtrington Hall was a country house located in Oughtrington Lane to the east of the village of Lymm in Cheshire, England. The manor house was rebuilt in about 1810 for Trafford Trafford (''né'' Leigh: a descendant of the ancient Leighs of W ...

, near

Lymm Lymm is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, which incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and ...

, Cheshire, Woodbank, on the edge of

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

(then in Cheshire), Glan-yr-Afon in

Llanferres Llanferres is a village and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. At the 2001 Census the population of the village was recorded as 676, increasing to 827 at the 2011 census. Geography It is located 230 metres above sea level in t ...

, North Wales,

Dee Hills House Dee Hills House is in Dee Hills Park, Chester, Cheshire, England. History The house was built as a country house in 1814. An extension was built in the 1930s. It was recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade&nbs ...

in Chester, and Grove House in Allerton near Liverpool. Watergate House, Watergate Street - geograph

In 1820 Harrison designed

Watergate House The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

on a corner site in Watergate Street, Chester; it is one of the largest private houses in the town. The entrance to the house is on the corner, leading to a circular lobby and a square entrance hall, which is top-lit by a dome with a

lantern A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...

. Harrison's last commission for a country house in Cheshire was his design for

Tilstone Lodge Tilstone Lodge is a country house in the parish of Tiverton and Tilstone Fearnall, Cheshire, England. It was built between 1821 and 1825 for Admiral John Richard Delap Halliday, who later changed his surname to Tollemache. The architect was Thom ...

near the village of

Tilstone Fearnall Tilstone Fearnall is a village and former civil parish, now in the parishes of Tiverton and Tilstone Fearnall, in the Cheshire West and Chester district and ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. In 2001 the parish had a population of 99, in ...

; this has a ''

porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; , late 17th century, literally 'coach gateway'; plural: porte-cochères, portes-cochères) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like ...

'' supported by four Doric columns. At about this time Harrison was also designing alterations to the east wing of

Chirk Castle Chirk Castle ( cy, Castell y Waun) is a Grade I listed castle located in Chirk, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. History The castle was built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer de Chirk, uncle of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March as part of King Edward ...

in North Wales. In late 1821 he was commissioned to work on Hardwick Grange near

Hadnall Hadnall is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies on the A49, some 9 km north-north-east of Shrewsbury. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 688. The Welsh Marches Line runs just outside the villa ...

in Shropshire for

Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill, (11 August 1772 – 10 December 1842) was a British Army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars as a brigade, division and corps commander. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 1828. ...

, which involved alterations to the front of the house, and the addition of a new dining-room. At the request of the owner, this was in Gothic style; the house has since been demolished. In 1822–23 Harrison built a house for himself, St Martin's Lodge in Nicholas Street, Chester, which consists of a simple villa. His last work for a private client was again for Roland Hill, a building called the Citadel in

Hawkstone Park Hawkstone Park is was a destination on the English Grand Tour and is a historic landscape park with pleasure grounds and gardens historically associated with Soulton Hall and Hawkstone Hall. It is located north east of the small village o ...

, Shropshire. It was built as a

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish or Welsh estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house from the larger family h ...

for his mother, and has the appearance of a small castle, with three circular

ed towers.

Ecclesiastical buildings

Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool 2

Only a small proportion of Harrison's work was on churches. In 1804 he re-faced the south side of St Peter's Church in Chester, and he carried out further alterations to the church in 1813. Between 1805 and 1806 he redesigned the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of St John the Baptist's Church in

Whittington Whittington may refer to: Places * Whittington, Victoria, Australia * Whittington, Illinois, United States England * Old Whittington, Derbyshire * New Whittington, Derbyshire * Whittington Moor, Derbyshire * Whittington, Gloucestershire * Whit ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, which had been badly damaged in a storm. He did design one new church, the Wesleyan Methodist Church in St John Street, Chester, which was built in 1811. Although his design was used for the exterior, the internal decoration and fittings were planned by his main contractor, William Cole, and the church has been much altered since. In 1810 came the commission for what is described as "without doubt his arrison'sbest work at a church", to rebuild the steeple of the

Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool The Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas is the Anglican parish church of Liverpool. The site is said to have been a place of worship since at least the 1250s. The church is situated close to the River Mersey near the Pier Head. The Chapel of ...

. Earlier that year the spire on the medieval tower had collapsed, destroying the tower in the process. The work was completed in 1815 at a cost of over £22,000 (). The steeple has a height of , its

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es rising above the top of the tower as

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s, the open-work spire being supported by

flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...

es. Harrison also designed a domed ceiling for St Paul's Church in Liverpool, but this has since been demolished. Between 1814 and 1816 a chapel was built to Harrison's design at West Hall,

High Legh High Legh is a village, civil parishes in England, civil and ecclesiastical parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is north west of Knutsford, east of Warrington and south west of M ...

to replace an earlier chapel. This was a simple building that burnt out in 1891, some of its fabric being incorporated into a new church on the site, St John's Church. In 1818 the Right Revd

George Henry Law George Henry Law (12 September 1761 – 22 September 1845) was the Bishop of Chester (1812) and then, from 1824, Bishop of Bath and Wells. Born at the lodge of Peterhouse, Cambridge, of which his father Edmund Law (who later became Bishop of ...

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the C ...

, asked Harrison to carry out work on the south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sain ...

, which was showing signs of instability. This work involved building deep buttresses at the south end of the transept, and giving some attention to the gutters.

Other works

Harrison designed a variety of other structures, one of the most important of which was the replacement of Northgate in Chester, at the suggestion of

Earl Grosvenor Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of the city in 1807. The other three gateways, Eastgate, Bridgegate, and

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

, which carried the footway of the

City Walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

over the medieval entrances to the city, had been replaced during the 18th century. The earl wanted the structure to be designed in Gothic style, but Harrison advised that it would be more fitting to the adjacent Roman walls for it to be Neoclassical, and after much debate this was accepted. The gateway consists of three arches, a wide central arch for vehicles, and two narrower arches for pedestrians, incorporating pairs of monolithic Doric columns. Harrison then designed Denbighshire Infirmary in North Wales, built between 1810 and 1813, and in about 1820 he made some internal alterations to the Chester Exchange. In 1820 Harrison was consulted by

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, about improvements to New Building, a block of the college built in 1733, and on other alterations. His plans for New Building were adopted, and the additions were made in 1824 at a cost of £2,600 (). Marquess of Anglesey's Column - geograph

Marquess of Anglesey's Column - geograph

Harrison was also involved in the building of a series of monuments. His first commission was to design the

Jubilee Tower The octagonal Jubilee Tower (officially called Darwen Tower) at grid reference SD678215 on Darwen Hill overlooking the town of Darwen in Lancashire, England, was completed in 1898 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and also to celeb ...

on the summit of

Moel Famau Moel Famau is the highest hill in the Clwydian Range and the highest point (county top) of the county of Flintshire in Wales (both the historic county and the current council area). It lies on the boundary between Denbighshire and Flintshire. ...

, the highest point of the

Clwydian Range The Clwydian Range ( cy, Bryniau Clwyd; also known as the Clwydian Hills; or simply the Clwyds) is a series of hills in the north-east of Wales that runs from Llandegla in the south to Prestatyn in the north, the highest point being the popu ...

in North Wales, to celebrate the

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

in 1810. This consisted of an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

in two stages on a broad base. The obelisk collapsed in 1862, and the base was remodelled in 1970 to make a viewing platform. The design of

Lord Hill's Column Lord Hill's Column is a monument located outside of Shropshire Council's headquarters, Shirehall, in the town of Shrewsbury, Shropshire. It is a column of the Doric order and measures in height making it the tallest Doric column in England. I ...

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

, Shropshire, has been attributed to Harrison, but this is incorrect. The architect was Edward Haycock, but Harrison did make alterations to the design, changing the style of the column, and adding a

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ci ...

with statues of lions; and Harrison did supervise the construction. Harrison designed The Marquess of Anglesey's Column in

Llanfairpwll Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, or Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll (), is a large village and local government community on the island of Anglesey, Wales, on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. Both shortened (Llanfa ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

to commemorate the feats of

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...

. This was constructed in 1816–17 at a cost of nearly £2,000 (). His last memorial was a ceremonial gateway, the

Admiralty Arch Admiralty Arch is a landmark building in London providing road and pedestrian access between The Mall, which extends to the southwest, and Trafalgar Square to the northeast. Admiralty Arch, commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his moth ...

, at

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

, also on Anglesey, to commemorate the landing there of George IV in 1821. It consists of an archway with Doric columns, and cost £600 (), and was opened in 1824.

Personal life

Harrison married Margaret Shackleton at

Lancaster Priory Lancaster Priory, formally the Priory Church of St Mary, is the Church of England parish church of the city of Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It is located near Lancaster Castle and since 1953 has been designated a Grade I listed building. ...

in 1785. The couple had three children who survived childhood; a son, John, who died in 1802, and two daughters. Harrison died aged 85 at his home, St Martin's Lodge, Chester, in 1829. He was buried in the churchyard of St Bridget's Church, Chester, but his remains were moved to Blacon Cemetery when the churchyard was cleared in about 1964. His estate amounted to £6,000 ().

Present day

An additional arch was added to Skerton Bridge in about 1849 to allow for the passage of the

"Little" North Western Railway The North Western Railway (NWR) was an early British railway company in the north-west of England. It was commonly known as the "Little" North Western Railway, to distinguish it from the larger London and North Western Railway (LNWR). The NWR w ...

(since closed) beneath it. The bridge continues to be used by heavy traffic. A survey in 1995 concluded that the bridge is still strong enough to carry vehicles ten times the weight of the heaviest vehicles of the time it was built. Grosvenor Bridge remains in use, carrying the A483 road over the River Dee, and is still the longest single-span masonry bridge in Britain. Other than the smaller bridges, almost all the structures designed by Harrison have been designated as

s by

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

, or

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

. Some of the buildings he completely designed (rather than altered) have been listed at the highest levels, Grade I in England and Wales, and Category A in Scotland. Grade I includes buildings that "are of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important"; only 2.5% of listed buildings are in this Grade. Category A consists of "buildings of national or international importance, either architectural or historic, or fine little-altered examples of some particular period, style or building type", and includes about 7% of the Scottish listed buildings. These structures are, in Chester, Grosvenor Bridge, and Northgate, and in Scotland, the Mausoleum at Gosford House, and Colinton House. Lancaster Castle as a whole is listed at Grade I, and at Chester Castle four of Harrison's buildings are listed separately at this Grade: the main block containing the Shire Hall, the Propylaea, and the two blocks flanking the forecourt. A number of Harrison's structures in England and Wales are listed at Grade II*, the middle grade for those that are "particularly important buildings of more than special interest"; 5.5% of all listed buildings are Grade II*. They include Skerton Bridge, Bridge Houses, Lancaster, St Mary's Bridge, Derby, Quernmore Park Hall, the Lyceum in Liverpool, The Portico Library in Manchester, Woodbank in Stockport, the Marquess of Anglesey's Column, Watergate House in Chester, and the Citadel at Hawkstone Park.

Appraisal

That Harrison was a fine innovative designer of bridges is evidenced by the continuing successful use by modern heavy traffic on Skerton and Grosvenor Bridges, and on St Mary's Bridge in Derby. As an architect, the editors of the Cheshire volume of the ''

Buildings of England The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...

'' series describe him as "one of the most important of Cheshire's architects". Harrison's first biographer,

Arthur Blomfield Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...

, said he was "almost, if not quite, the first architectural genius in the kingdom". Although most of his designs were in Neoclassical style, he also created buildings in Gothic style, for example at Lancaster Castle, and Hardwick Grange. Nevertheless, he is considered to be one of the main influences in the Greek Revival of architecture in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The architectural historian

Giles Worsley Giles Arthington Worsley (22 March 1961 – 17 January 2006) was an English architectural historian, author, editor, journalist and critic, specialising in British country houses. He was the second son of Sir Marcus Worsley of Hovingham Hall, a ...

describes him as "the first English architect to grasp the full potential of the Greek Revival", and David Watkin says he is the "finest" of the architects who revived the forms of Greek architecture. Of the Shire Hall in Chester Castle, Worsley says it is "the first serious monument of the

". Writing about Harrison's designs at Chester Castle,

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

says "What he arrisonhas achieved here is one of the most powerful monuments of the Greek Revival in the whole of England". Harrison spent the whole of his career in the northwest of England and, other than his houses in Scotland and his work in Oxford, his works were confined to Lancashire, Cheshire, Shropshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, and North Wales. He was never a member of the

or any other London-based institution, and only a rare visitor to London once his practice was established. Nevertheless, Charles Cockerell (later to become the president of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

) said of him in 1828 that he was "undoubtedly the noblest genius in architecture we have had".

Notes

Some of Harrison's drawings and plans are held in the

Cheshire Record Office The Cheshire Record Office is the county record office and diocesan record office for Cheshire. It houses the Cheshire Archives and Local Studies Service (formerly Cheshire and Chester Archives and Local Studies Service). Since 1986 it has been ...

, including that of Trajan's Column, together with his design for the Piazza del Popolo, and drawings of buildings in France.
The model is still in existence, and is on show in Castle Drive. The model has been listed by

at Grade II.
In this context, the term "felon" was applied to convicted criminals who had not been sentenced to death, and could not be

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she w ...

.
Harrison's wooden model of the plan is still in existence, and is in the care of the Cheshire Museum Service.
There is no doubt about the attribution to Harrison of Woodbank, Dee Hills House, and Grove House; that of Oughtrington Hall is likely; but that of Glan-yr-Afon is more uncertain.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Thomas 1744 births 1829 deaths British bridge engineers English civil engineers People from Richmond, North Yorkshire Greek Revival architects Architects from Yorkshire