Dunford Hollow

My son came across this stone obelisk standing in what appears to be someone's garden in Dunford Hollow, between Cocking and Midhurst . It's 235 feet high and erected in 1868 in memory of Richard Cobden [1804-1865] who lived nearby . He was a liberal statesman and activist, instrumental in the formation of the Anti -Corn Law League. He lived his early years in poverty, due to the bad business dealings of his father, and his death while Richard was still very young.

Richard was an obsessive reader and constantly added to the little education he had, while working his way up through the textile industry, eventually starting a successful calico print business in London - Cobden's Prints. He moved to Manchester where he lived an affluent lifestyle, travelling and publishing books, and serving as an MP. He became a national hero because of his work with the any corn law league, and because he had bankrupted himself in the service of the country a public subscription raised money for him. £8,000 was used to buy back Dunford House where he was born, now a conference and training centre set in 60 acres of woodland.

We are still pursuing his ideals today - he advocated free trade, low taxation, reduced military spending and improvements to education. The inscription after his name reads:
FREE TRADE, PEACE, GOODWILL AMONG NATIONS