The Cobden Club was a society and publishing imprint, based in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, run along the lines of a
gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a private social club of a type originally established by males from Britain's upper classes starting in the 17th century.
Many countries outside Britain have prominent gentlemen's clubs, mostly those associated with the ...
of the Victorian era, but without permanent club premises of its own. Founded in 1866 by
Thomas Bayley Potter for believers in
Free Trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
doctrine, it was named in honour of
Richard Cobden, who had died the year before. Potter was honorary secretary of the Cobden Club from its foundation until his death in 1898.
Unusually for contemporary clubs, it had a publishing arm. The publishing arm was instrumental in publishing Cobden's collected speeches in 1870, under the co-editorship of
John Bright, one of the club's early patrons. Because of its Free Trade connection, it mainly attracted
Liberals as members, but with the fading of both the Liberals as a national force, and of Free Trade as a popular cause, the club fell into decline in the 20th century. The popularity of
Temperance reform among members also made it unappealing to potential recruits with the passing years.
In 1958 the Cobden Club, by now moribund, was taken over by the classical liberal activist
Oliver Smedley. Like many other clubs, it went through substantial financial difficulties in the late 1970s, and closed at the end of that decade.
It is unrelated to the Cobden Working Men's Club founded in
Kensal Town, London in 1880 (other than their both having been named after the same person). Nor is it related to a later west
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
private restaurant and bar of that name founded in 1996, which claimed to be a "refounded" Cobden Club, but which had no connection to the old club, and had no political affiliation,
[http://www.rockabaret.co.uk ] and later closed.
See also
*
List of London's gentlemen's clubs
References
Gentlemen's clubs in London
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