I understand the fear of not knowing the background of the animal. However, you really never know what you are getting. There have been countless stories here on BPO with purebred dogs with long pedigrees having issues that nobody could have anticipated.
My thoughts are, any dog can have problems. Why spend the HUGE amount of money to get a pedigreed, purebred dog that could just as likely have problems as a rescue, when I could rescue a poor pupper in need. But, like I said, those are just my thoughts.
Any dog needs training and love. You'll have to put that time and effort even into a new pup that you bought from a breeder. With a rescue, you may have to do a bit of rehabilitation, but is that really any more work than housebreaking, dealing with chewing, obedience training, etc? Also, many rescues, particularly purebred rescues, don't adopt out until they have had time to professionally assess the temperment and background of each dog. They usually are very careful to match the dog with an appropriate family.
I'm just saying that I wouldn't rule it out, and I would make all of these points to your hubby. ITs just so sad when you hear of people spending THOUSANDS on a dog, expecting that the money will buy them certainty and security, and then having the dog have problems anyway.
Some other thoughts...hav e you looked into American bulldogs? They're larger than the English, but they have FAR less health problems. They are one of my favorite breeds. I also think that the Olde English Bulldogge has far less health problems, but I know they're kind of rare. There is a woman up here (in Northern Indiana) that does Olde English rescue, I think, though.
Good luck. I'm not trying to dissuade you. I'm just putting out all of the things that I've come across with this breed and pertaining to rescue in general.