Cobden Obelisk
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | Dunford Hollow |
| Town: | West Lavington |
| Parish: | West Lavington |
| Council: | Chichester District Council |
| County: | West Sussex |
| Postcode: | GU29 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Garden |
| and in: | Road or Wayside |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | Opposite Pendean Lodge |
| In the AZ book: | West Sussex |
| Page: | 81 |
| Grid reference: | H4 |
| The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks. | |
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Makers
| Name : | J.S. Grist |
| Role: | Stonemason |
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General Information
| Commissioned by: | H.Y. Court |
| Construction period: | 1868 |
| Installation date: | 1868 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Chichester District Council |
| Object listing: | Grade II: of special interest warranting every effort to preserve them |
| Building listing: | II |
| Description: | A tall stone obelisk on a stepped base on a grassed area next to the road. |
| Signatures: | Carved letters, right hand side of east face, lower section of obelisk:
HY. COURT. DONOR. JS. GRIST. MASON. 1868 |
| Inscription: | RICHARD COBDEN 1804-1865 Carved letters, north face of lower section of obelisk: FREE TRADE PEACE. GOODWILL AMONG NATIONS |
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Classification
| Categories: | Free Standing, Commemorative, Roadside / Wayside |
| Object type1: | Shaft |
| Object subtype1: | Obelisk |
| Subject type1: | Non-figurative |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Lower section |
| Material: | Stone |
| Height (cm): | 235 |
| Width (cm): | 200 |
| Depth (cm): | 200 |
| Part 2: | Upper section |
| Material: | Stone |
| Height (cm): | 400 |
| Width (cm): | 145 |
| Depth (cm): | 145 |
| Part 3: | Base |
| Material: | Stone |
| Height (cm): | 170 |
| Width (cm): | 275 |
| Depth (cm): | 275 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 02/04/2008 |
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History
| History: | Erected in memory of Richard Cobden of Dunfold House in the adjoining parish of Heyshott. Cobden (3 June 1804, Heyshott – 2 April 1865) was a British manufacturer and radical statesman associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. His early life was spent in poverty and received little formal education. He worked in the textile industry early in his life and started his own successful calico print business in London in 1828. Its success took him to Manchester where he lived in an affluent area of the city. It also allowed him to travel widely and in 1835 published his book, 'England, Ireland and America'. In the book he disussed future problems that he thought Britain would have competing with the financial power of America. He also criticised the manner in which Ireland was being governed. Cobden also advocated free trade, low taxation, reduced military spending and improvements to education. In 1837 he joined the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and joined Potter and Shuttleworth in fighting for an elected local council. In 1838 Cobden was one if the first men to be elected as an Alderman in Manchester. He became MP for Stockport in 1841. Because of his successes with the Anti Corn Law League, he became a national hero and his friends and colleagues gifted £8000 to him that he used to purchase Dunford, the house where he had been born. Cobden and Bright also campaigned against the Crimean War (1854-1856) but public support for the war lost both of them their parliamentary seats. In 1859, however, Cobden was reelected to represent Rochdale. He died of an acute attack of bronchitis. |
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References
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Photographs
Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
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