 The Harts remained owners of the whole property until 1806, when it was sold to a butcher, Thomas Court.When it was again put up for sale in 1846 on the death of Court's widow, the American showman P. T. Barnum proposed to buy the home and ship it "brick-by-brick" to the US.To purchase the property for the Nation, the Shakespeare Birthday Committee was formed, and such luminaries as Charles Dickens helped the Committee raise £3,000 and bought it the following year.