History of The Firm
Thomas Harrison established an organ building company in 1861 in Rochdale, then moved to Durham in 1872. The company was moderately successful but did not achieve real success until 1896 when Thomas's sons Arthur and Harry took over. Harry designed the organs and Arthur proved to be a particularly gifted voicer, resulting in commissions for rebuilds of several great organs including Durham Cathedral, the Royal Albert Hall and new commissions including Westminster Abbey.
Arthur Harrison died in 1936 and Harry retired in 1946. The company passed to Harry's son Cuthbert. The firm was led by Mark Venning from 1975-2011, and he was succeeded as Managing Director by Dr Christopher Batchelor in 2011.
In the postwar period Harrisons contributed significantly to the renaissance of classical organ building; their instruments for the Royal Festival Hall (designed in close collaboration with Ralph Downes) and St Albans Abbey (for Peter Hurford) are of particular importance.
A history of the firm titled 'The Harrison Story' was published in 1974 by Laurence Elvin
Read more about this topic: Harrison & Harrison
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