Life

The son of William Harrison, presbyterian minister of Chinley

Chinley

Chinley is a rural village in High Peak Borough, situated on the western edge of the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England, with a population of around 2000. Before the railway, the area was economically dominated by agriculture and quarrying. Three textile mills were established in...

, Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

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

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 state church in England...

, of which John Aikin

John Aikin (Unitarian)

John Aikin was an English Unitarian scholar and theological tutor, closely associated with Warrington Academy, a prominent dissenting academy.-Life:...

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

Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...

.

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

Joseph Mottershead

-Life:The son of Joseph Mottershead, yeoman, he was born near Stockport, Cheshire, on 17 August 1688. He was educated at Attercliffe Academy under Timothy Jollie, and afterwards studied for a year under Matthew Henry at Chester....

 at Cross Street Chapel, Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

. His theology was Arian

Arian

Arian may refer to:* Arius, a Christian presbyter in the 3rd and 4th century* a given name in different cultures: Aria, Aryan or Arian...

. 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

Marquess of Waterford is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier marquessate in that peerage. It was created in 1789 for George Beresford, 2nd Earl of Tyrone.-Family history:...

. From the institution of the Manchester Academy

Manchester Academy

Manchester Academy is a brand name used by the University of Manchester Students' Union for its four concert venues in Manchester, England, which reside on Oxford Road both within and adjacent to the main Students' Union building....

 (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. [1786], 4to, 2 vols. (contains psalm tunes of his composition).
• ‘A Sermon … at Manchester … on occasion of the Establishment of an Academy,’ &c., Warrington
  Warrington
  Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
  
   [1786].
• ‘Account of the Author,’ prefixed to John Seddon
  John Seddon (Unitarian)
  -Life:The son of Peter Seddon , dissenting minister at Penrith, Cumberland , and Cockey Moor in the parish of Middleton, Lancashire , he was born in 1719 at Lomax Fold, Little Lever, in the parish of Bolton, Lancashire. On his father's death, Seddon's education was undertaken by the congregation of...
  
  's posthumous ‘Discourses,’ Warrington, 1793.

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

Blackley is an area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of Manchester city centre, by a meander of the River Irk. Further north is Middleton...

, Lancashire (1803–54); another son, John, (1786–1853), was a Manchester merchant and father of John Harrison, Ph.D. (d. 1866), minister at Chowbent, Lancashire (1838–47), Brixton

Brixton

Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....

, Surrey (1847–61), and Ipswich

Ipswich

Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...

(1861–3).