Harrisons again

[ian johnson]

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As a new member of this group I obviously have looked back through the arch=
ive to see if anything interesting has been written. My eyes fell on the m=
essages about the Harrisons. Bearing in mind this is a site for those inte=
rested in bell history, I would like to correct a few misconceptions and sl=
urs. First of all the Harrison dynasty did not start and finish with James =
3.
James 1 of Barrow on Humber the bellhanger, brother of John of Chronometer =
fame, mostly used Lester & Pack bells, However towards the end of his life =
he cast a number of bells, notably six for Hawkshead and in 1766 six for Ma=
sham, of these the fifth has been replaced at Hawkshead I believe by Taylor=
s and the treble at Masham.
He was followed by James 2 who did not follow the business and Henry who pr=
obably cast the bells attributed to his father. Henry cast a five at Wath a=
ugmented by Shaws in 1901 of these I think two remain the others been recas=
t by Warners.
We then come to James 3 of Barton who did a lot to destroy the reputation o=
f the Harrisons. His most notable casting being "The Major" at Newcastle an=
d the "interesting" ring at Castleton, he advocated the squat profile to gi=
ve a deeper note for less metal. He was a talented clockmaker he together w=
ith James 4 invented an improved detached escapement and an expanding fly w=
hich both received medals from "The Society for the promotion of Arts" The=
improved detached escapement was the first true gravity escapement.=20
Lastly the Harrisons did not cast all their bells to the squat profile advo=
cated by James 3 The bells here at Masham are of conventional profile simil=
ar to a Lester & Pack and do NOT sound "Awfull" remember listen to the bell=
s not people you meet in pubs. They are a fine mellow old style ring. So Da=
vid if you want to be taken seriously as a bell historian remember facts ar=
e more important than hearsay and fiction.
Yours Ian Johnson
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