Richard Cobden

This bust of Richard Cobden closely resembles portraits of him by the sculptors Henry Weekes and Matthew Noble. Originally part of Lord Brotherton’s collection at Roundhay Hall, the bust was inherited by his niece, the writer Dorothy Una Ratcliffe. In 1952–53, she presented it to the Brotherton Library. A visionary British politician and manufacturer, Cobden championed free trade and peace. He led the Anti-Corn Law League and later negotiated the Anglo-French Treaty of 1860. His legacy shaped modern economic policy and international cooperation. Cultural Collections also holds a painted portrait of Cobden by the Anglo-Italian artist Emma Aloysia Novello.