Richard Cobden (1804-1865), politician and free-trade campaigner, had strong ties with the United States and was dedicated to forging positive Anglo-American relations, particularly during the period of the American Civil War (1861-1865). He travelled twice to the United States and had many friends and acquaintances with whom he corresponded. He was a profound admirer of the American republic, which was the topic of his first published pamphlet, England, Ireland and America (1835). He was born in a small farmhouse at Dunford close to the village of Heyshott, near Midhurst, where his family had farmed the surrounding countryside for several hundred years. In 1847 he repurchased his family’s old home at which he rebuilt over the next few years. The Cobden family settled there permanently in 1853.