Cobden House


Richard Cobden started out in life in very modest circumstances.  He was born in 1804 near Midhurst in Sussex.  He was one 11 children fathered by Richard Cobden a local farmer.  So poor was the family that Richard was dispatched to live with an uncle in Yorkshire.   After an undistinguished education Cobden worked as a travelling salesman before going into the textile trade.  It was this venture that made his fortune and led to him living in a rather affluent part of Manchester.


In time Cobden turned his attention to politics and after pushing for an elected town council in Manchester he became one of the first elected aldermen.  In the years that followed he became the MP for Stockport and a prominent figure in the movement to repeal the Corn Laws and it was Cobden who recruited John Bright to speak at the rallies that were held around the country.  Along with Bright Cobden also went on to campaign against the Crimean War, something that brought derision on both of them and both lost their seats in Parliament in 1857.  By 1859 though he was once again an MP this time representing Rochdale and he went on to represent the British government in trade negotiations with France.  Richard Cobden died of bronchitis in 1865. 

Cobden's home in Manchester stands on the corner of Byrom Street and Quay Street and it bears a blue plaque commemorating that fact.


Richard Cobden's House was purchased in 1851 with money from a legacy left by John Owens.  Owens intended the legacy to fund the establishment of  a college for the education of males on non-sectarian lines.  The college was set-up in Cobden House and called Owens College. 


The college left Cobden House in 1873 to move to a new home on Oxford Road where it became the Victoria University.  Eventually the Victoria University became the University of Manchester.


In 1874 the site was bought and converted into Manchester County Court.  The building sold for £13,000 and it opened as a court house in 1878.  The conversion involved the erection of two court rooms at the rear of the building.  Cobden House itself was used for Chambers hearings and administrative uses. It was during this period that the original Ionic portico and exterior staircase were replaced.  Cobden House continued to be Manchester's County Court building until 1990.  Today Cobden House is a barrister's chambers and it has been completely refurbished to its Georgian splendour.



A war memorial sits on the wall of the building on the Byrom Street side close to Quay Street.





The Plaque below is also attached to the Byron Street side of the building.