| County Court | |
|---|---|
 County Court, Manchester | |
  Location within Greater Manchester | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| Location | 19Quay Street,Manchester, England |
| Coordinates | 53°28′43″N2°15′08″W / 53.4786°N 2.2521°W /53.4786; -2.2521 |
| Completed | 1770s |
| Designations | |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Cobden House, 19 Quay Street |
| Designated | 3 October 1974 |
| Reference no. | 1247447 |
TheCounty Court is aGeorgian townhouse onQuay Street inManchester, England, that served as the city's county court from 1878 to 1990. It was the home of the politician and reformerRichard Cobden, and later the site ofOwens College, the forerunner of theUniversity of Manchester. In origin, it is a townhouse of the 1770s, described as "the best preserved Georgian house in the [city] centre".[1] The house is built of brick and has a late 19th-century doorcase.[1] It was designated aGrade II* listed building on 3 October 1974.[2] The interior is not original.
Richard Cobden lived at the house from 1836 to 1850, and it served as his base during the years when he acted as the main spokesman for theAnti-Corn Law League. A statue of him, together with one of his fellow reformersJohn Bright, stands inAlbert Square. The house subsequently became the site ofOwens College, which, together with theManchester Royal School of Medicine, formed theVictoria University of Manchester in 1880.[1] When the college moved to its present site onOxford Road in 1873, the building was purchased 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 closed in 1990. It was later purchased for use as a set of barristers' chambers and has been comprehensively refurbished, with much of its originalGeorgian décor restored.[3]
The house, of three storeys and a basement, is aGeorgian 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 laid inFlemish bond on astuccoplinth. Itsfaçade has fivebays, with the centre bay set slightly forward. The central doorway has a late 19th-centurypilastered doorcase with afrieze andcornice, which replaced the original raised,pedimented doorway and double flight of steps. The windows have raisedsills and flat heads, with 12-panesashes at ground and first-floor levels and 9-pane sashes on the second floor, while the basement has segmental-headed windows.[2]
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