County Court, Manchester

Last updated

County Court
Former County Court, Quay Street, Manchester 3.JPG
County Court, Manchester
General information
Architectural style Georgian
Location19 Quay Street, Manchester, England
Coordinates 53°28′43″N2°15′08″W / 53.4786°N 2.2521°W / 53.4786; -2.2521
Completed1770s (1770s)
Designations
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameCobden House, 19 Quay Street
Designated2 October 1974
Reference no. 1247447

The County Court on Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a Georgian townhouse that functioned as the Manchester County Court from 1878 to 1990. It was the home of the politician and reformer Richard Cobden and subsequently the site of Owen's College, the forerunner of the University of Manchester. In origin it is a townhouse of the 1770s, "the best preserved Georgian house in the [city] centre". [1] The house is of "brick with a late nineteenth century doorcase". [1] It was designated a Grade II* listed building on 2 October 1974. [2] The interior is not original.

Contents

History

Richard Cobden lived at the house from 1836 to 1850, and it was his base during the years he acted as the main spokesman for the Anti-Corn Law League. A statue of him, together with one of his fellow reformers John Bright, stands in Albert Square. The house subsequently became the site of Owens College, which, together with the Manchester Royal School of Medicine, became the Victoria University of Manchester in 1880. [1] When the college moved to its present site on Oxford Road in 1873, the building was bought for use as Manchester's County Court, which opened in 1878. [1] By the 1970s the building had become badly decayed, and first the courts and then the administrative offices were relocated. The court was closed in 1990. It was subsequently purchased for use as a set of barristers' chambers and has been comprehensively refurbished, with much of its original Georgian decor restored. [3]

Architecture

The house of three storeys and a basement is a Georgian townhouse built in the mid-18th century and subsequently extended to the rear and altered. It is constructed on a rectangular plan in red brick in Flemish bond on a stucco plinth. Its façade has five bays with the centre bay set slightly forward. The central doorway has a late 19th-century pilastered doorcase with a frieze and cornice which replaced the original raised pedimented doorway and double flight of steps. Its windows have raised sills and flat heads, with 12-pane sashes at ground and first floor levels and 9-pane sashes on the second floor, while the basement has segmental-headed windows. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabley House</span> Country house in Tabley Inferior, Cheshire, England

Tabley House is an English country house in Tabley Inferior, some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the west of the town of Knutsford, Cheshire. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It was built between 1761 and 1769 for Sir Peter Byrne Leicester, to replace the nearby Tabley Old Hall, and was designed by John Carr. The Tabley House Collection exists as an exhibition showcased by the University of Manchester.

Lawrence House is a Georgian townhouse in Launceston, Cornwall. Built in 1753, the house is a National Trust property and a Grade II* listed building. It is leased to Launceston Town Council and used as a local museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Manchester</span> Overview of the architecture of Manchester, England

The architecture of Manchester demonstrates a rich variety of architectural styles. The city is a product of the Industrial Revolution and is known as the first modern, industrial city. Manchester is noted for its warehouses, railway viaducts, cotton mills and canals – remnants of its past when the city produced and traded goods. Manchester has minimal Georgian or medieval architecture to speak of and consequently has a vast array of 19th and early 20th-century architecture styles; examples include Palazzo, Neo-Gothic, Venetian Gothic, Edwardian baroque, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the Neo-Classical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belmont Hall, Cheshire</span> Historic site

Belmont Hall is a country house one mile (1.6 km) to the northwest of the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The house stands to the north of the A559 road. Since 1977 it has been occupied by Cransley School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgewater House, Runcorn</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

Bridgewater House is in the Old Coach Road, Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. Originally built for the use of the Duke of Bridgewater, it has since has been used for various purposes and has now been converted into offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quay Street</span>

Quay Street is a street in the city centre of Manchester, England. The street, designated the A34, continues Peter Street westwards towards the River Irwell and Salford. It is the northern boundary of Spinningfields, the city's business district and Castlefield, the historical area of the city, lies to the south. Quay Street was created in the 18th century for access to a quay on the river and is lined by several listed buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Booth Mansion</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

Booth Mansion is a former town house at 28–34 Watergate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It contains a portion of the Chester Rows, is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is included in the English Heritage Archive. Its frontage was built in 1700 in Georgian style but much medieval material remains behind it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rookery, Nantwich</span>

The Rookery, or 125 Hospital Street, is a substantial Georgian townhouse in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It is at the end of Hospital Street, on the north side, at the junction with Millstone Lane. The existing building dates from the mid-18th century and is listed at grade II; English Heritage describes it as "good" in the listing. Nikolaus Pevsner describes it as "square and stately." It incorporates an earlier timber-framed house at the rear, which probably dates from the late 16th or early 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grove House, Manchester</span> Building in Manchester, England

Grove House, on Oxford Road, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England, is an early Victorian building, originally three houses, of 1838–40. It is a Grade II* listed building as of 18 December 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smiths Hall</span> Building in West Farleigh, England

Smiths Hall, known as West Farleigh Hall from the early 20th century until the 1990s, is an 18th-century country house in West Farleigh, Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluecoat School, Chester</span> School in Cheshire, England

The Blue Coat School was located on Upper Northgate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It was housed in the Bluecoat building, which is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watergate House, Chester</span> Historic site in Cheshire, England

Watergate House is in Watergate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

In the final half of the 19th century Manchester's reputation as a financial and commercial centre was boosted by the unprecedented number of warehouses erected in the city centre. In 1806 there were just over 1,000 but by 1815 this had almost doubled to 1,819. Manchester was dubbed "warehouse city". The earliest were built around King Street although by 1850 warehouses had spread to Portland Street and later to Whitworth Street. They are direct descendants of the canal warehouses of Castlefield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotham House</span> Georgian merchants townhouse in Devon, England

Gotham House is a Grade II* listed early 18th century Georgian merchant's townhouse on Phoenix Lane in the town of Tiverton in Devon, England. An ancient estate named "Gotham" also exists in the parish of Cadeleigh, near Tiverton, now represented by Gotham Farm. It was one of a number of buildings constructed in Tiverton following the disastrous Tiverton fire of 1731. The building was restored in 1966 and currently serves as the base for a firm of solicitors. The house and its forecourt walls and entrance gates became listed on 12 February 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkwright House, Preston</span> Historic site in Lancashire, England

Arkwright House is in Stoneygate, Preston, Lancashire, England. The house was built in 1728, and was later expanded and restored. It is notable as the place in which Richard Arkwright and colleagues worked in 1768 to develop the water frame, a machine for spinning yarn. The house is an example of Georgian architecture, and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

Gayton Hall is a country house in Gayton Farm Road, Gayton, Merseyside, England. It was built in the 17th century and refaced in the following century. The house is constructed in brick with stone dressings, and has an Ionic doorcase. William of Orange stayed in the house in 1690. In the grounds is a dovecote dated 1663. Both the house and the dovecote are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade II* listed buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thurstaston Hall</span> Country house in Wirral, Merseyside

Thurstaston Hall is a country house in the village of Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside, England. The house is built in stone and brick, it is in two storeys, and it has a U-shaped plan. The oldest part, the west wing, was built in the 14th century, the central block dates from 1680, and the east wing was added in 1836. The hall is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and the gate piers in the drive leading to the hall are designated Grade II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scorer and Gamble</span>

Scorer and Gamble was an architectural practice in Lincoln which operated between 1901 and 1913, although the name Scorer and Gamble continued to be used until 1930. The partnership was between William Scorer (1843–1934) and Henry Gilbert Gamble (1867–1944). The partnership operated from Bank Street Chambers Lincoln. Their work is described as "eclectic, ranging from the Arts and Crafts/Art Nouveau of Gainsborough Library (1905) to the more disciplined English Renaissance of Horncastle (1908) and later schools". In 1903, Gamble, who may have been the more talented designer was appointed architect to the Lindsey County Council Education Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barton-upon-Humber Assembly Rooms</span> Historic site in Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire

The Barton-upon-Humber Assembly Rooms is a Grade II listed building in Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire, opened in 1843 as a Temperance Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macclesfield Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England

Macclesfield Town Hall is a Georgian municipal building in the Market Place of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Dating originally from 1823–24, it was designed by Francis Goodwin in the Greek Revival style, and extended in 1869–71 by James Stevens and again in 1991–92. The building incorporates the former Borough Police Station. The town hall is listed at grade II*.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hartwell 2001, p. 253
  2. 1 2 "County Court, Manchester". Listed Buildings Online. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  3. "Cobden House History". Cobden House Chambers. Retrieved 17 April 2012.

Bibliography