Ralph Harrison (1748–1810) was an English nonconformist minister, composer and tutor.

Life

The son of William Harrison, presbyterian minister of

Chinley Chinley is a rural village in the High Peak Borough of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 2,796 at the 2011 Census. Most of the civil parish (called Chinley, Buxworth and Brownside) is within the Peak District National Park. Historical ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, was born at Chinley on 10 September 1748. In 1763 he entered

Warrington Academy Warrington Academy, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by those who dissented from the established Church of England. It was located in Warrington (then ...

, of which

John Aikin John Aikin (15 January 1747 – 7 December 1822) was an English medical doctor and surgeon. Later in life he devoted himself wholly to biography and writing in periodicals. Life He was born at Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire, England, son of ...

was divinity tutor. In 1769 he was appointed assistant to Joseph Fownes (1715–1789) as minister of High Street Chapel,

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

. On 29 December (elected 17 November) 1771 he succeeded Joseph Mottershead at

Cross Street Chapel Cross Street Chapel is a Unitarian church in central Manchester, England. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians. History The Act of Uniformity 1662 ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. His theology was

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

. From 1774 he kept a school, and gained a reputation as a teacher, among his pupils being the sons of the

Marquess of Waterford Marquess of Waterford is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier marquessate in that peerage. It was created in 1789 for the Anglo-Irish politician George Beresford, 2nd Earl of Tyrone. The title is presently held by Henry Beresford, 9 ...

. From the institution of the

Manchester Academy The Manchester Academy, originally known as the University of Manchester Main Hall, is composed of four concert venues, located on the campus of the University of Manchester, in Manchester, England. The four venues are: Academy 1, 2 and 3 and ...

(22 February 1786) till 1789 Harrison was professor of classics and belles-lettres there. He died, after a long illness, on 10 November 1810.

Works

Harrison published: * ‘Institutes of English Grammar,’ &c., Manchester, 1777. * ‘Sacred Harmony,’ &c.

786 __NOTOC__ Year 786 ( DCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar, the 786th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 786th year of the 1st millennium, the 86th year of the 8th century, and th ...

4to, 2 vols. (contains psalm tunes of his composition). * ‘A Sermon … at Manchester … on occasion of the Establishment of an Academy,’ &c.,

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

* ‘Account of the Author,’ prefixed to

John Seddon John Seddon is a United Kingdom, British occupational psychologist and author specializing in organizational change within the service industry. He is the founder and managing director of Vanguard, a Consulting firm, consultancy firm establishe ...

's posthumous ‘Discourses,’ Warrington, 1793. Hymn tunes composed: * Arlington * Bankington * Cambridge * Peterborough * Sterling * Warrington Posthumous was * ‘Sermons,’ &c., 1813, (prefixed is ‘Biographical Memoir’ by his son William). Also some geographical manuals.

Family

Soon after settling in Manchester, he married Ann, daughter of John Touchet. His son William (d. 30 Nov. 1859, aged 80) was minister at

Blackley Blackley is a suburban area of Manchester, in the county of Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is approximately north of Manchester city centre, on the River Irk. History The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the Do ...

, Lancashire (1803–54); another son, John, (1786–1853), was a Manchester merchant and father of John Harrison, Ph.D. (d. 1866), minister at

Chowbent Atherton () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England and historically part of Lancashire. The town, including Hindsford, Howe Bridge and Hag Fold, is south of Bolton, east of Wigan, and northwest of Manc ...

, Lancashire (1838–47),

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, Surrey (1847–61), and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

(1861–3).

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Ralph 1748 births 1810 deaths Post-Reformation Arian Christians Dissenting academy tutors