Leading geologist told great and good the earth had been warmer
ROBERT Harkness was born in the house which is now the Santander Bank in Ormskirk. He was born on the July 28, 1816 to Scottish-born couple Richard and Ellen Harkness.
The house was known as Waterloo House shortly afterwards.
The family had moved to Ormskirk from Dumfries in 1810.
Robert was baptised in the Scottish Succession Church in Gloucester Street, Liverpool on August 14, 1817.
Lime Street Station was later built on the site of the chapel.
A sister, Margaret, was born on September 29, 1818 in Ormskirk and she was baptised at the Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Chapel, Liverpool on October 15, 1818.
Richard Harkness had purchased the building and business of linen draper from Robinson Woollen dealers.
There was a drapery shop on the Aughton Street side of the building and domestic accommodation with the front door on the Moor Street frontage.
Schooling was very expensive in the early 19th century and a good school was even more expensive.
Young Robert’s father invested heavily in his son’s education, sending him to board at the High School in Dumfries and then to Edinburgh University.
On his return to Ormskirk in the early 1840s he began working with the owners of the local coalfields and researching the properties of the local red sandstone.
His advice to the coal investors gave them confidence in their ventures and he gained a good reputation for his knowledge and advice.
He wrote up his research avidly and was eager to share his findings.
In April 1843, Harkness presented a paper to the Geological Society of
London entitled On Changes In The Temperature of the Earth as a Mode of accounting for the Subsidence of the Ocean, and for the Consequent Formation of Sea-Beaches above its Present Level.
The paper went with the theory that the Earth had once been a lot warmer and the ice caps melted quicker and faster millions of years ago, breaking away and taking rock across the oceans to far-flung places like the Swiss Alps, Nova Scotia and Ormskirk.
South West Lancashire, he believed, was remarkable for its flat beaches, a feature not found in many countries.
Elected as Fellow of the Geological Society, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society, Harkness communicated with many of the foremost scientists of his time.
Always active in the British Association for the Advancement of Science, he became president of the geological section in 1869.
After working on the geology of the South West Lancashire coalfields, Robert Harkness applied for a job at Cork University as head of Geology.
He took the post and moved to Dublin.
His sister Margaret had married a widowed doctor in Penrith and Robert would stay with her as often as possible. He carried out hundreds of surveys on the geology of the Lake District during his visits and his work is still recognised today as innovative and relevant.
Robert travelled extensively for his research and his job at Cork University was very demanding.
His health began to suffer and he had decided to retire from the academic life to concentrate on the research in the Lake District.
Sadly he did not live long enough to enjoy that work and he died of a heart condition in Dublin in 1878 aged just 62.
His sister placed his rock collection in the Carlisle Museum and she had his body brought to Penrith to be buried.
His grave is in Penrith Cemetery and his headstone is made of Shap Granite, a fitting tribute to the man and his work.
The home he was born in still stands today and is one of the most admired buildings in the town centre of Ormskirk, having changed very little for 220 years.
The opportunity to recognise the cutting edge work of this 19th century geologist quite possibly should warrant a plaque on the building.