The
Early Years
In the 1770's, the
site of Cobden House was owned by the family
of Edward Byrom (hence, Byrom Street). The
area must then have been open land. Just
30 years before, Byrom Street had been the
artillery park of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s
Army.
The Byrom family lived in Byrom House, a
building between Cobden House and what is
now the Granada offices. Edward Byrom arranged
for the preservation of the meadows around
Byrom House. What would he make of the locality
now?
Edward Byrom was a co-founder of Manchester’s
first Bank, Byrom Allen Sedgwick and Place,
but he died in 1773 leaving Byrom House
and its freeholds to his daughter Ann, who
was married to a Barrister, Henry Atherton
of Middle Temple.
In 1775, Ann sold the plot of land for Cobden
House to one of her father’s partners,
William Allen. By the end of that year William
Allen was in occupation of what must have
been Manchester’s most elegant town
house. He even had his initials on the iron
work of what were then external stairs from
Quay Street, which you can see in this print
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the Building in 1785 to William Hardman,
but then fell on hard times and in 1788
his Bank was sold to the Heywoods, whose
Bank is now the Royal Bank of Scotland in
St Ann’s Street.
William Hardman had acquired a large fortune
as a drysalter (a dealer in chemicals used
in drugs, gums, foods etc.). He was a lover
of the arts and built a music room for private
rehearsals of gentlemen’s concerts.
In the print on the cover, the music room
can be seen below the tower of St John’s
Church. On his death, his son Thomas continued
to live here, until it was sold in 1828.The
next owner was Oswald Milne a Manchester
Solicitor with offices in St James’
Square.
Cobden
Richard Cobden
was probably Manchester’s most influential
statesman and politician. Although born
in Sussex, and having begun business in
London, he moved to Manchester in 1832 to
run his calico printing factory. He was
exhilarated by the City and soon became
it’s leading radical. |
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Manchester Chamber of Commerce
in the same year, and from that time on,
the Chamber became the vehicle for the campaign
for which he is most remembered, the repeal
of the Corn Laws.
Cobden’s springboard to political
influence was his campaign for Manchester
to be incorporated as a city, which he achieved
in the summer of 1838. He threw himself
into his anti Corn Law movement and was
elected MP for Stockport in 1841 and was
described by Disraeli as "the most
persuasive speaker I have ever listened
to". Cobden’s campaign was successful
and the Corn Laws were repealed in 1846.
So great was Cobden’s stature that
a public subscription raised £80,000.
Cobden’s health had suffered and in
his absence on the Continent he was elected
MP for the West Riding, and later was elected
for Rochdale. On the 29th April 1850 Cobden
sold the building to Messrs George Faulkener
and Stephen Heelis. |
Manchester
University
George Faulkener was
a close friend of John Owens, a wealthy
Manchester merchant of non conformist beliefs.
Owens had bequeathed £96,000 for the
foundation of a college which did not require
the religious tests then necessary at every
other British University, where adherence
to the Church of England and the learning
of divinity was required. Owen’s College
was opened on the 12th March 1851 with 7
staff and 25 students. The building did
not lend itself to University life but appears
to have been chosen because of the magic
of Cobden’s association. Some writers
complained of the squalor of the surroundings,
and the unwholesome attractions of the nearby
"Dog Inn" as a distraction to
the studies of the undergraduates. As though
students, in any age, would ever contemplate
entering a low tavern!
As a new foundation the College had its
reputation to build before students came
in numbers, and the early years were difficult.
Professor Scott, the first principal took
up the cudgels in 1858 and spoke out in
favour of the excellence of the teaching.
The local papers followed suit, encouraging
young Mancunians to study in the heart of
their great city. From 1859, the College
thrived. Unlike other Universities it was
non residential, was all male, and had a
curriculum meant specifically for the people
of the |
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region.
By 1873 when the College moved to its present
site in Oxford Road numbers had risen to
an amazing 334 day and 557 evening students.
County
Court
The site
was bought for £13,000 in 1874 to
be the home to the Manchester County Court,
which opened in 1878. On the land to the
rear, two County Court rooms were erected,
with Cobden House being used for Chambers
hearings and for administrative uses.
Later, the Court took over the Victorian
School House adjoining St John’s
Gardens for use as Registrar’s Chambers,
with some
Registrar’s
work continuing in Cobden House. About
the turn of the century, the elegant Ionic
portico and exterior staircase were replaced
by internal stairs and the more severe
Doric columns that exist today.
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One
of the Judges who sat here was Judge Parry,
who in his autobiography wrote:- "I
was on the point of saying that I had
no unpleasant memories of Quay Street,
but that would scarcely be correct, for
it was in that Court that I had the misfortune
to be shot". In those days Judges
controlled the Bailiffs and Parry had
revoked the certificate of one William
Taylor. Parry was sitting late, when Taylor
burst into his Court and shot at him three
times, hitting him twice in the head.
In the last 30 years no work was done
on the building and it gradually became
more decayed. First, the Court rooms were
moved to 184 Deansgate, then the administration
was transferred to Crown Square, and on
the 26th January 1990 Quay Street closed
its doors as a Court.
Barristers
Chambers
This
grade II listed building, which has
been completely refurbished to its Georgian
splendour is now the home of Cobden
House Chambers. The following pictures
show the full extent of the refurbishment.
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