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Down Yet Another Internet Rabbit Hole! The Harris, a Foucault Pendulum and George J. Gibbs

Down Yet Another Internet Rabbit Hole!

Last week I stumbled across one of my photographs, taken on my smartphone in 2016, of the inside of The Harris from the first floor.  I posted it on a local Facebook group.  This solicited a question in the comments about the Foucault Pendulum.

The Foucault’s Pendulum was installed at the Harris in 1909 by George J. Gibbs. He was the Honorary Curator of Preston Observatory.  It’s a pendulum that swings in one plane whilst the Earth essentially rotates underneath it.  It was first devised by Leon Foucault, who set up a pendulum experiment in Paris.

Photograph of the inside of The Harris from the second floor
Photograph of the inside of The Harris from the second floor


When 'The Harris' (The Harris Museum and Art Gallery) opens again, the Pendulum will be in  slightly different position from before.  It has now been moved to the centre of the space, and it’s going to make use of the beautiful floor, which is like a compass rose.  It will drop from the centre of the ceiling to the centre of the floor, and have a beautiful new base.  It will swing continuously, getting a small magnetic impulse on each swing, just to overcome the friction. It will be a wonderful animated centrepiece in the new Harris.



George J. Gibbs

That led me to find out more about George J. Gibbs.

George James Gibbs FRAS (1866 – 22 February 1947) was an astronomer, engineer, inventor and public science lecturer. He invented a heliochronometer (a very fancy sundial), which was able to accurately determine GMT to within a minute at any time of the year and at any latitude. He was also responsible for the design and erection of the Jeremiah Horrocks Observatory at Moor Park, and was recognised as one of the leading hydraulic engineers in Lancashire.

He was born in London in 1866, was educated at Bedford Modern School, and the City and Guilds of London Institute. His working life started in Bedford, and later in Bradford.


George James Gibbs: Engineer, Astronomer, Inventor and Public Science Lecturer


His next position appears to have been as the Chief Engineer to Peter Pilkington Limited in Preston.  Whilst they would have had a Preston address, they were more specifically in Bamber Bridge.  Their factory was approximately on the site later occupied by BAXI.  In 1910 he became a private engineering consultant in Preston where he acted as a consulting engineer for numerous industrial concerns for the supply of lighting, power, heating and water engineering. He was recognised as one of the leading water engineers in Lancashire.

Gibbs developed an interest in astronomy during his schooldays, made his own observations with a 4-inch refractor by Dancer and was elected Honorary Curator of the Preston Municipal Observatory, a position he held from 1910 until his death in 1947.

In astronomy, his obituary in the journal of the Royal Astronomical Society records his most prominent work as being the Jeremiah Horrocks Observatory in Preston. It was described as his creation from the 'drawing of the plans to the performance of routine observations with the 8-inch refractor'. He was keen to foster a love of astronomy in the locality through illustrations and lessons.

George James Gibbs | The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) obituary
George James Gibbs | The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) obituary



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Further reading, viewing and sources of information


George James Gibbs: Engineer, Astronomer, Inventor and Public Science Lecturer - Macdonald, Rory (UCLan 2012)

https://clok.uclan.ac.uk/11458/


The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) obituary

https://ras.ac.uk/obituaries/George_James/Gibbs


Ordinary model of Pilkington-Gibbs Heliochronometer

https://g.co/arts/s3ThWsJFMjBZj2Nu7


Foucault’s Pendulum -
City of Preston Philatelic Society (COPPS)

https://prestonphilatelicsociety.co.uk/foucaults-pendulum/


Jeremiah Horrocks Observatory archive
University of Central Lancashire

https://www.uclan.ac.uk/about-us/special-collections/jeremiah-horrocks


Harris Your Place: Foucault’s Pendulum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxmkqPS6kUc


~


Jeremiah Horrocks Observatory - Heritage Open Days: 6th -15th September 2024

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Location: Market Square, Preston PR1 2PP, UK

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