Todmorden Town Hall.jpg

Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax. In 2011 it had a population of 15,481.

Todmorden is at the confluence of three steep-sided Pennine valleys and is surrounded by moorlands with outcrops of sandblasted gritstone.

The historic boundary between Yorkshire and Lancashire is the River Calder and its tributary, Walsden Water, which run through the town. The administrative border was altered by the Local Government Act 1888 placing the whole of the town within the West Riding.

The town is served by and railway stations.

History

Toponymy

The name Todmorden first appears in 1641. The town had earlier been called Tottemerden, Totmardene, Totmereden or Totmerden. The generally accepted meaning of the name is Totta's boundary-valley, probably a reference to the valley running north-west from the town. Alternative suggestions have been proposed, such as the speculation "maybe fancifully" that the name derives from two words for death: ''tod'' and ''mor'' (as in ''mort''), meaning "death-death-wood", or that the name meant "marshy den of the fox", from the Old English. From an original ''''tod'''' (the Saxon name for ''fox'') and ''moor''/''moore'' (a common toponym termination) could have been derived a significant ''Deanery of the Moor of the Foxes''. From this latest, perhaps the malapropism ''Todmorden''.

'Tod' is an informal, shorthand name for Todmorden, often used in everyday conversation.

Prehistory

In 1898 Blackheath Barrow—a ring cairn monument situated above Cross Stone in Todmorden—was excavated and proved to be a site of "surpassing archaeological interest", according to J. Lawton Russell, one of the men who carried out the excavation. Various Bronze Age items were discovered, including sepulchral urns, a human skull, teeth and hands.

Russell contended that Blackheath Barrow was primarily a religious site, specifically intended for the "performance of funeral rites", as there was no evidence that it had been settled for domestic use. Of particular interest were the four cairns, positioned at the cardinal points of the compass, and it has been suggested that this indicates "a ritual evocation of the airts, or spirits of the four directions, with obvious correlates in relation to spirits in the land of the dead".

The various finds from the 1898 dig are now housed in the Todmorden Library, on permanent display.

Early history

The earliest written record of the area is in the ''Domesday Book'' (1086). Settlement in medieval Todmorden was dispersed, most people living in scattered farms or in isolated hilltop agricultural settlements. Packhorse trails were marked by ancient stones, of which many still survive.

For hundreds of years streams from the surrounding hills provided water for corn and fulling mills. Todmorden grew to relative prosperity by combining farming with the production of woollen textiles. Some yeomen clothiers were able to build fine houses, a few of which still exist today. Increasingly, though, the area's industry turned to cotton. The proximity of Manchester, as a source of material and trade, was undoubtedly a strong factor. Another was that the strong Pennine streams and rivers were able to power the machine looms. Improvements in textile machinery (by Kay, Hargreaves and Arkwright), along with the development of turnpike roads (1751–1781), helped to develop the new cotton industry and to increase the local population.

19th century

In 1801 most people still lived in the uplands; Todmorden itself could be considered as a mere village. During the years 1800–1845 great changes took place in the communications and transport of the town which were to have a crucial effect on promoting industrial growth. These included the building of: (1) better roads; (2) the Rochdale Canal (1804); and (3) the main line of the Manchester and Leeds Railway (1841), which became the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1847. This railway line incorporated the (then) longest tunnel in the world, the Summit Tunnel. A second railway, from Todmorden to Burnley, opened as a single line in 1849, being doubled to meet demand in 1860. A short connecting line, from Stansfield Hall to Hall Royd, completed the "Todmorden Triangle" in 1862, thus enabling trains to travel in all three directions (Manchester, Leeds and Burnley) without reversing.

The Industrial Revolution caused a concentration of industry and settlement along the valley floor and a switch from woollens to cotton. One family in the area was particularly influential on the town; the Fielden family. They created a "dynasty" that changed the town forever by establishing several large mills, putting up assorted impressive buildings and bringing about social and educational change.

A double murder took place at Christ Church, Todmorden on 2 March 1868. The victims' graves lie in the churchyard. Miles Weatherhill, a 23-year-old weaver from the town, was forbidden from seeing his housemaid sweetheart, Sarah Bell, by the Reverend Anthony John Plow. Armed with four pistols and an axe, Weatherhill took revenge first on the vicar and then on Jane Smith, another maid who had informed Plow of the secret meetings. Miss Smith died at the scene, while the vicar survived another week before succumbing to his injuries. Weatherhill also seriously injured the vicar's wife. On 4 April 1868 Weatherhill became the last person to be publicly hanged in Manchester, at the New Bailey prison. Local legend has it that the face of a young woman is sometimes seen in the window of the vicarage, now in private ownership.

20th century

Throughout the first decade of the 20th century, the population of the Borough of Todmorden remained constant. The ten-yearly UK census returns show figures of 25,418 in 1901 and 25,404 in 1911. Like the rest of the Upper Calder Valley, Todmorden's economy experienced a slow decline from around the end of the First World War onwards, accelerating after the Second World War until around the late 1970s. During this period there was a painful restructuring of the local economy with the closure of mills and the demise of heavy industry.

On 1 January 1907, Todmorden Corporation became only the second municipality in the British Isles to operate a motor bus service. By the end of that year, the fleet had expanded to five double-deck vehicles: two by Critchley-Norris, two by Lancashire Steam (predecessor of Leyland Motors) and one by Ryknield. In 1931, the service became jointly operated by the Corporation and the LMS railway under the name "Todmorden Joint Omnibus Committee". At its maximum size in the 1940s and 1950s, the undertaking operated 40 vehicles over 50 route miles (80 km) through the rugged South Pennine terrain.

Until 1938, the town was served by no fewer than six railway stations: Todmorden, Stansfield Hall, Cornholme, Portsmouth, Walsden and Eastwood. With the exception of Todmorden railway station, all closed during the middle third of the 20th century although Walsden railway station reopened on 10 September 1990 on a site a few yards north of the original 1845 railway station. In December 1984 a goods train carrying petrol derailed in the Summit Tunnel between Todmorden and Littleborough causing what is still considered as one of the biggest underground fires in transport history.

In 1980, Todmorden found itself at the centre of a celebrated murder enquiry. On 11 June that year police were called to J.W. Parker's coal yard in Todmorden after the discovery of a body, subsequently identified as 56-year-old Zigmund Adamski from Tingley, near Wakefield. The former coal miner had not been seen since setting out on a local shopping trip five days earlier. Although still wearing a suit, his shirt, watch and wallet were missing. A post mortem established that he died of a heart attack earlier that day, and discovered burns on his neck, shoulders and back of his head. These appeared to have been dressed by a green ointment, which toxicology tests were unable to identify. Adamski's case has never been solved, no suspect was ever arrested and in a television documentary the coroner, James Turnbull, described it as "one of the most puzzling cases I've come across in 25 years". Among the explanations to gain currency was that Adamski was the victim of extraterrestrial abduction, following comments by police officer Alan Godfrey about what he saw on 29 November 1980, described in Jenny Randles' 1983 book ''The Pennine UFO Mystery''. After intense media interest, the Todmorden police force were forbidden from talking further to the press about the case. On 17 June 2017, ''Blurry Photos'' host Dave Stecco believes that Adamski could have been a Nazi before immigrating from Poland.

In the 1980s and 1990s, a prominent lesbian intentional community grew up Todmorden — and subsequently Hebden Bridge — "promot ngforms of queer intimacy outside of the nuclear family unit", with "a close-knit community of care" and mutual support, sharing childcare and community events, such as a "famous Todmorden Women’s Disco" held monthly. The nature of that community has changed with evolving queer politics, away from lesbian feminism and towards "homonormative assimilation".

21st century

In 2008, a group of local residents initiated the Incredible Edible Todmorden project to raise awareness of food issues and in particular local food and food provenance.Paull, John (2013
"Please Pick Me" – How Incredible Edible Todmorden is repurposing the commons for open source food and agricultural biodiversity
In J. Franzo, D. Hunter, T. Borelli & F. Mattei (Eds.). Diversifying Foods and Diets: Using Agricultural Biodiversity to Improve Nutrition and Health. Oxford: Earthscan, Routledge, pp.336–345. The project has been responsible for the planting of 40 public fruit and vegetable gardens throughout the town, with each plot inviting passers-by to help themselves to the open source produce. The project has attracted publicity, media attention and visitors and the idea has been replicated in at least fifteen towns and villages in the UK.

Governance

Todmorden has a complex geo-administrative history. It lies along the historic county boundary of Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Until the boundary reformation by the Local Government Act 1888, the Lancashire-Yorkshire boundary ran through the centre of Todmorden, following the River Calder to the north-west and the Walsden Water for less than to the south before turning south-eastwards across Langfield Common. Todmorden Town Hall, which was presented to Todmorden by the Fielden family and opened in 1875, straddles the Walsden Water; thus, from 1875 to 1888 it was possible to dance in the town hall ballroom, forward and back, across two counties of England.

Following the Local Government Act 1894, the Todmorden Local Board became an Urban District Council, comprising the wards of Todmorden, Walsden, Langfield and Stansfield. At the same time, Todmorden Rural District Council, comprising the nearby parishes of Blackshaw, Erringden, Heptonstall and Wadsworth, came into being. Two years later, on 2 June 1896, the town was granted a Charter of Incorporation and the area covered by the Urban District Council became a municipal borough. The number of wards was increased from four to six: Central, Walsden, Langfield, Stansfield, Stoodley and Cornholme. Todmorden Rural District was later renamed Hepton Rural District. Since the local government reforms of 1974, Todmorden has been administered as part of the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, within the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire. At the local government level, the town is almost entirely within Todmorden ward of the council although the eastern portion of the town toward Eastwood shares some of adjoining Calder ward with Hebden Bridge.

Todmorden's postal county was Lancashire until their abolition in 1996.

Todmorden Town Council composition

The turnout was 9973 and 154 ballots were rejected.

Current composition

Twin towns

Todmorden's twin towns are:
* Roncq, Nord, Hauts-de-France, France
* Bramsche, Lower Saxony, Germany

Geography

Other villages and towns in the Upper Calder Valley include Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd. The territory of the civil parish of Todmorden also extends to cover Eastwood, Walsden, Cornholme, Mankinholes, Lumbutts, Robinwood, Lydgate, Portsmouth, Shade, Stansfield, Dobroyd, Ferney Lee, Gauxholme and Cross Stone.

Medieval Todmorden had consisted of the townships of Langfield and Stansfield in Yorkshire, and Todmorden/Walsden section of the greater township of Hundersfield in the Ancient Parish of Rochdale, Lancashire. The township of Todmorden and Walsden was created in 1801 by the union of the older villages of Todmorden and Walsden.

Economy

Heavy industry is now part of Todmorden's history, not its present. The industrial chimneys have largely gone and the remaining mills have mostly been converted for other purposes. The town's industrial base is much reduced (at one time Todmorden had the largest weaving shed in the world). There has been a great deal of regeneration activity and Todmorden is now increasingly a commuter town for people working in Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield and smaller towns. Todmorden also services the local rural area and attracts visitors through its market (indoor and outdoor), various events, heritage and the local Pennine countryside. It has for centuries been considered the safest accessible route directly across the Pennines.

;Nightlife
Pubs in the town centre include the Duke of York, the Wellington, the Royal George, the Golden Lion, and the White Hart (Wetherspoons).

Landmarks

Todmorden Town Hall, which was designed in the Neo-Classical style, dominates the centre of the town. The building straddles the Walsden Water, a tributary of the River Calder, and was situated in both Lancashire and Yorkshire until the administrative county boundary was moved on 1 January 1888. Designed by John Gibson of Westminster, this imposing building has a northern end which is semi-circular. One interesting external feature of the town hall is the pediment to the front elevation, which reflects the fact that it straddled the boundary as it depicts the main industries of the two counties. The fine carved stonework has two central female figures on a pedestal. The left-hand sculpture represents Lancashire (cotton spinning and weaving industries), and the right-hand one Yorkshire (wool manufacturing, engineering and agriculture).

Todmorden has the look of a Victorian mill town. Other notable buildings include Dobroyd Castle (completed in 1869), now used as a residential activity centre for schoolchildren; the Edwardian Hippodrome Theatre, and the Grade I listed Todmorden Unitarian Church (built 1865–1869). Dobroyd Castle, the town hall and the Unitarian church were all built at the behest of John Fielden and his sons and designed by John Gibson, who had been a member of Charles Barry's team at the Houses of Parliament. Pre-Victorian buildings include two 18th century pubs; Todmorden Old Hall, a Grade II* listed manor house ( Elizabethan) in the centre of town, and St. Mary's Church which dates from 1476.

Todmorden is situated alongside the Pennine Way, Pennine Bridleway, Mary Towneley Loop and Calderdale Way and is popular for outdoor activities such as walking, fell running, mountain biking and bouldering. Its attractions include canals and locks, a park containing a sports centre, an outdoor skateboard park, tennis courts, a golf course, an aquarium/reptile house and a cricket ground. There are wooded areas around the town and cafés and restaurants.
The Hippodrome Theatre shows films as well as putting on live performances. The town has a small toy and model museum, a library and a tourist information centre, along with independent retailers. Annual events include a carnival, agricultural show, beer festival, music festival and the traditional Easter Pace Egg plays.

Centre Vale Park in Todmorden is the setting for several pieces of local art, including tree carvings by the sculptor John Adamson, and an iconic bandstand. The bandstand is unique in construction and is designed in an arc shape because this gives it better acoustics. It opened in 1914, and in July 2019 was condemned to be demolished by Calderdale Borough Council. A campaign by local activists resulted in the bandstand being granted grade II listed status by Historic England in January 2020, and in March 2022 funding was accepted by Calderdale Council for a project to improve Centre Vale Park, including the bandstand. Also in the park are the reconstructed remains of Centre Vale Mansion, next to Todmorden War Memorial in the Garden of Remembrance, and nearby there is a sculpture of a dog. This was sculpted by local sculptor David Wynne in 2005, and was cast in steel at the local Todmorden foundry Weir Minerals. It was donated to the park by the sculptor and the foundry, but installation was delayed for several years due to the extensive flood alleviation works. In 2011, the dog was featured on an episode of Derren Brown's ''The Experiments''. Brown spread a rumour that the dog was lucky; it then gained a reputation for bringing luck to anyone that touched it. During the First World War the mansion was used as a military hospital. Centre Vale Park has hosted a parkrun since 9 March 2019.

The Stoodley Pike monument (built 1814 and rebuilt in 1854) stands atop the hill of the same name. It commemorates the defeat of Napoleon and the surrender of Paris. It is a prominent feature of Todmorden's moors, and is a landmark on the Pennine Way.

Media

Todmorden has been used as a location for the 1980s BBC TV police drama ''Juliet Bravo'', Territorial Army series ''All Quiet on the Preston Front'', parts of ''The League of Gentlemen'', BBC TV miniseries ''Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', the BBC1 series ''Life on Mars'', a town in the book Spooks Blood and a film adaptation of the novel ''My Summer of Love''. The BBC One crime drama series '' Happy Valley'', written by Sally Wainwright (who grew up in nearby Sowerby Bridge), is filmed in and around the town, amongst other locations. In the 1980s the town was used for two consecutive episodes of BBC fashion series The Clothes Show.

Todmorden featured in the ITV paranormal show "Strange But True" which in their pilot episode from May 1993 investigated the UFO claims in the Todmorden area. The programme included a closed surgery in which Harold Shipman worked for a number of years, as well as the town hall (haunted by a grey lady), and Oddfellows Hall (known as Baxter's bar), which is haunted by a builder who died in the construction of the building in 1811.

Before May 2009, the links to Lancashire and the North West were also seen in the media with Todmorden receiving an analogue TV signal from BBC North West. The local television transmitter relayed BBC One and BBC Two to the Todmorden area, however ITV and Channel 4 was different and has always been relayed from Emley Moor (via Cornholme) which broadcasts ITV Yorkshire. Since 2009 the majority of services were relayed via Cornholme although some parts of Walsden retained their television signal from the North West.

In February 2010, Todmorden featured in the BBC
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