BURNLEY historian Roger Frost has a series of places in London he likes to visit but one of them is to see a little bit of Blackburn.

He heads for The National Portrait Gallery, Temple Church, and Southwark Cathedral.

However Mr Frost frequently has another destination.

He tells me: “There is another place I like to visit - the Science Museum in South Kensington.

“When I was last there, I was fortunate that what I had come to see was on display.

“Sometimes that is not the case. So if you want to be sure to see Joseph Harrison’s power loom, contact the museum to see if it is.

“Those of you familiar with the cotton industry might be surprised I am interested in an example of something, tens of thousands of which once existed in Blackburn alone.

“It might be thought that the power loom represents a kind of industrial slavery to which no-one would want to return, but this machine is rather special.

“It was made by the Blackburn firm of Joseph Harrison and Son in 1851 for display at the Great Exhibition of the same year which was the brainchild of Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria.

“He was personally involved in organising the exhibition. When he met a young Henry Livesey who demonstrated the machine, the Prince was fascinated.

“The guide stated: ‘The power loom of the present day is one of the most remarkable machines of the age in which we live’.

“Joseph Harrison had installed an early model made in Scotland at the end of the 18th century. It consisted largely of wood and some stone, operating at 60 picks per minute.

“The beautifully set up Harrison loom (made of cast and wrought iron, steel and only a little timber) operated at 220 picks a minute, almost four times as fast.

“The Harrison loom was exhibited in a hall entitled ‘Machinery in Motion’. Prince Albert was so impressed he received some cloth produced on the loom and presented a special award to its maker.

“Joseph Harrison became ‘Machinist to HRH Prince Albert’, a unique title which he included in his adverts.

“He was a humble blacksmith when he came to Blackburn’s Dandy Walk in 1826 but became an alderman and a Deputy Lieutenant for the County.”

His portrait is in Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery.