Renatus Harris ( – 1724) was an English master organ maker in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. During the period of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

, in the mid-seventeenth century,

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

controlled the country and organ music was banned in churches. Many organ makers left England for the continent, including Harris' father, Thomas. It was while the family was living in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

that Harris was born. After the Restoration the family returned to England. Harris grew up in his father's business and eventually became one of the two most prominent organ builders of his generation, along with his hated rival "Father" Bernard Smith. Harris had a flair for publicity and was not above using under-hand tactics against Smith. Harris's great-grandfather, Thomas Dallam, and his father, Robert Dallam, were also organ makers, as were Renatus Harris's sons, John and Renatus. John Harris was the father of Joseph Harris, a renowned harpsichord maker, who in turn was the father of English entomologist and engraver Moses Harris. He is credited with being the first to introduce the pedals to the organ, at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol. However, the pedalboard was an addition of one octave of pull-down pedals and not the independent pedalboard we know today. He was also famous for introducing stops to organs which imitated particular instruments—a kind of hallmark—such as trumpet, cremona, cornet, etc. Renatus Harris died at Salisbury in August or September 1724, shortly after completing his last organ with his son John at St Dionis Backchurch in the City of London.

Organs of the Temple Church and Christ Church, Dublin

The rivalry between the two men led to the famous ''Battle of the Organs'' in 1684, when both were bidding for the contract to build the new organ for the

Temple Church The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Each erected an organ in the Temple Church and they hired prominent organists Giovanni Battista Draghi,

John Blow John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque period. Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668,Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

to demonstrate the superiority of their instruments. Harris lost out to Smith, but in 1697, after Smith reneged on a contract for a new organ at

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Irish: ''Ardeaglais Theampall Chríost''), is the cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the e ...

, Harris appositely installed the instrument which had lost there instead. Harris's organ, which was installed and maintained by John Baptist Cuvillie, and later Philip Hollister, was replaced by an organ by John Byfield in 1752. However, the Harris-Cuvillie organ which survived the 'Battle of the Organs' today survives in St John's Church, Wolverhampton.

Extant Harris organs

The most complete surviving organ by Harris is that of St Botolph's Aldgate, built in 1702–1704, which is also regarded as the oldest church organ in the United Kingdom. It was restored in 2005–2006 by Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn, and features in the documentary '' The Elusive English Organ''. Among Harris' surviving or partially surviving organs are those of

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bristol. The cathedral was originally an abbey dedicated to St ...

(1685), All Hallows Twickenham (1700), and the

Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 111 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prior t ...

' Hall,

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

(1722) (Restored by

Mander Organs N.P Mander Limited later Mander Organs Limited was an England, English pipe organ maker and refurbisher based in London. Although well known for many years in the organ building industry, they achieved wider notability in 2004 with the refurbi ...

in 1966). A Harris organ at Christ Church Greyfriars, also known as Christ Church Newgate, in

was much rebuilt by

William Hill & Sons William Hill & Son was one of the main organ builders in England during the 19th century. The founder William Hill was born in Spilsby, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, in 1789. He married Mary, the daughter of organ-builder Thomas Elliot (organ buil ...

in 1838 to designs by

Henry Gauntlett Henry John Gauntlett (9 July 1805 in Wellington, Shropshire – 21 February 1876 in London) was an English organist and songwriter known in British music circles for his authorship of many hymns and other pieces for the organ. Biography Henry ...

and was destroyed along with the church during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

in December 1940. The organ of St Michael, Cornhill contains nine ranks from the Harris instrument of 1684.

References

* Williams, Peter F. (1961) 'The organ in the church of St. John, Wolverhampton', in: ''The Organ'', vol. xli, no. 161 (July 1961), pp. 8–16 * Hickman, E. P. (2003) ''A History of the Renatus Harris Organ in St John's Church Wolverhampton'', rev. ed. Wolverhampton: St John's Church * Boydell, Barra (ed.) (1999) ''Music at Christ Church before 1800: documents and selected anthems'' Dublin: Four Courts Press * Boydell, Barra (2000) 'The Flourishing of Music, 1660-1800' in: Milne, Kenneth (ed.) ''Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin: a history''. Dublin: Four Courts Press; pp. 298–314 * Boydell, Barra (2004) ''A History of Music at Christ Church Cathedral'', Dublin: Boydell Press {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Renatus 1650s births 1724 deaths Year of birth uncertain British pipe organ builders English musical instrument makers