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The firm of Harrison Ainslie & Co. was a British firm of ironmasters and iron ore merchants, selling high quality haematite from their mines on Lindal Moor to smelters in Glasgow, Scotland, South Wales and the Midlands. From a 21st-century perspective, they are more interesting as the last operators of charcoal-fired blast furnaces in Great Britain. Their furnaces were stone-built, water-powered, and much smaller than the coke-fired furnaces of the same era. ==The Managers== At various times the company was known as Richard Ford & Co, the Newland Co, George Knott & Co, Knott, Ainslie & Co, Harrison Ainslie & Co, Harrison Ainslie, Roper & Co, and finally as Harrison Ainslie & Co Ltd. Associated companies were the Hampshire Haematite Iron Co, Melfort Gunpowder Co, Lorn Furnace Co and Barrow & Ulverston Rope Co.〔Cumbria Records Office, Barrow ''Stock book of the Barrow & Ulverston Rope Co'' BDB 2〕 Newland Furnace was built in 1747 by Richard Ford, William Ford, Michael Knott and James Backhouse.〔Fell, Alfred ''The Early Iron Indistry of Furness and District ''Thomas Nelson, 1908: 1968 Edn, p. 217. 〕 Richard Ford was born in Middlewich in 1697. He was active in the Furness iron industry from 1722 as manager of Cunsey forge and a partner in Nibthwaite furnace. William Ford was his son. The partnership agreement at Nibthwaite prevented Richard Ford from building an ironworks within 10 miles, so the lease was taken in the name of his sister, Agnes Bordley. Agnes first bought Newland corn mill (still standing) to secure the water rights before applying to the Duke of Montagu for a lease on what is now the hamlet of Newland. The company prospered under Richard Ford’s management. James Backhouse’s quarter share was worth £2000 when he sold it to William Ford in 1761. Richard Ford died in 1757. William Ford managed the company until his death in 1768. John Dixon was the managing partner from 1770 to 1775. George Knott inherited Michael Knott’s share of the company and married Catherine Ford. With a majority shareholding, he was managing partner from 1775 until his death in 1784. Matthew Harrison was appointed sole manager in 1784. In 1812 he bought the Knott family’s share of the company (19/32 or 59%) for £34000.〔Fell, P 275〕 Dr Henry Ainslie married Agnes Ford. He held shares in the company’s ships, but his main career was as a London physician.〔Lancashire Record Office, ''Lancaster Shipping registers'' show that Henry Ainslie owned shares in 6 vessels built between 1770 and 1796.〕 Matthew Harrison died in 1824, leaving the management of the company to Benson Harrison the elder. Richard Roper, of Backbarrow, joined the company as a clerk in 1815. In 1820 he bought a share of the company. By the time of his death in 1860 he lived at Gawithfield〔Above Arrad Foot, about 1 mile from Newland〕 and gave his occupation as "ironmaster".〔''Lancaster shipping registers''〕 He was an active partner in the company, particularly as shipowner and shipping agent. There is conflicting evidence as to who ran the company after the death of Benson Harrison in 1863,〔Roper Estate Act, 1879〕 but when William George Ainslie died in 1893, it was stated that he had for the past 30 years had the entire control and management of the firm’s business.〔McFazdean, Alen ''The Iron Moor'', Red Earth Publications, 1989 ISBN 0-9512946-1-X, P 95〕 It was decided to turn Harrison Ainslie into a limited company in 1890, but it was 1893 before the limited company was formed. W G Ainslie was named as manager, but did not live to take an active part. The main shareholder in the limited company was Walter Dowson. He held 60% of the shares as trustee under the will of Benson Harrison. The limited company was in receivership in 1903.〔Company papers at Public Records Office, Kew, BT/31/5662/39522. 〕 The liquidator was Alfred Fell, author of "The Early iron industry in Furness". He sold the remaining assets to a new company, trading under the same name. The shareholders in the new company were Richard Edwin Killeen, James Saunders, James Murray, George B Court, George Ernest Bicknell, Thomas Henry Derbyshire, and Francis Cheers, most of whom were from Liverpool.〔PRO, Kew, BT/31/5662/39522. 〕 The new company was in receivership in 1913. The receiver, James Morgan White, set up the Charcoal Iron Co which ran Backbarrow furnace until 1966. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harrison Ainslie」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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