Etymology

The name Todmorden is first attested in 1246, in the form Totmardene;^[5] other pre-modern spellings include Tottemerden, Totmereden and Totmerden.^[6] This is thought to originate in Old English as a personal name, Totta, combined with the Old English words mǣre ('border, boundary') and denu ('valley'). Thus the name once meant 'Totta's border-valley'.^[5][6] The valley in question is thought to have been the one running north-west from the town,^[6] and the border the one between Lancashire and Yorkshire.^[5]

Although fanciful and historically implausible, alternative etymologies circulate, such as the speculation that the name derives from two words for death: German Tod and French mort,^[7] or that the name meant "marshy den of the fox", supposedly from tod, a word of uncertain origin meaning 'fox' first attested around 1200,^[8] moor (which in Old English meant 'marsh'), and den (also attested in Old English to mean an animal's lair).

'Tod' is an informal name for Todmorden, often used in everyday conversation.^[9][10]

Prehistory

In 1898, Blackheath Barrow—a ring cairn monument situated above Cross Stone in Todmorden^[11]—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.^[12] 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".^[13]

The various finds from the 1898 dig are now housed in the Todmorden Library, on permanent display.^[14]

Early history

Todmorden c.1870

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 John Kay, James Hargreaves and Richard 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 2,885-yard-long (2,638-metre) 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.^{[15][16][17][18]} 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 World War I onwards, accelerating after World War II 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.^[19]

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.^[20] 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".^[20] 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.^[21][22][23] After intense media interest, the Todmorden police force were forbidden from talking further to the press about the case.^[24] On 17 June 2017, Blurry Photos host Dave Stecco believes that Adamski could have been a Nazi before immigrating from Poland.^[25]

In the 1980s and 1990s, a prominent lesbian intentional community grew up Todmorden — and subsequently^[26] Hebden Bridge^[27][28] — "promot[ing] forms of queer intimacy outside of the nuclear family unit", with "a close-knit community of care" and mutual support, sharing child care^[29] and community events,^[30] such as a "famous Todmorden Women's Disco" held monthly.^[31][32] The nature of that community has changed with evolving queer politics, away from lesbian feminism and towards "homonormative assimilation".^[30][33]

21st century

In 2008, a group of local residents initiated the Incredible Edible project to raise awareness of food issues and in particular local food and food provenance.^[34] 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.^[34] 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.^[34]

Todmorden Town Council composition

Only Labour and the Liberal Democrats stood candidates in 2023. The turnout was 9740 and 132 ballots were rejected.^[39]

The turnout was 9973 and 154 ballots were rejected.^[40]

Twin towns

Todmorden's twin towns are:^[42]

• Roncq, Nord, Hauts-de-France, France
• Bramsche, Lower Saxony, Germany

Nightlife

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

The Golden Lion is a renowned live music venue, with its own vinyl-only record label.^[44][45]

Cricket

Todmorden Cricket Club has existed since 1837 and currently play at Centre Vale in the town.^[57] They are the only Yorkshire team in the Lancashire League.^[58]

Science and engineering

John Mitchell Nuttall (1890–1958) was a Todmorden-born physicist remembered for the Geiger–Nuttall law.

John Ramsbottom (1814–1897) was a mechanical and railway engineer and inventor from the town.

Politics and law

John Fielden (1784–1849), land and factory owner in Todmorden and scion of the town's Fielden family, was a Member of Parliament and national leader of the Ten Hours Campaign for factory reform.

Samuel Fielden (1847–1922), socialist, anarchist and labour activist who was one of the eight convicted in the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago. He was sentenced to death along with six other defendants, but after writing to the Illinois Governor asking for clemency his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in November 1887. He spent six years in prison before being pardoned, along with two other co-defendants, in 1893. He died in Colorado in 1922 and is buried in La Veta (Pioneer) Cemetery, Huerfano County, Colorado alongside his wife and two children.

Wilfred Judson, a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, was born in and spent his early youth in Todmorden.

Rebecca Taylor, Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber from 8 March 2012 to 2 July 2014.

Arts and culture

Travel writer Geoff Crowther (1944–2021) was an early and long-time editor of BIT Travel Guides, London from 1972 to 1980.^[59] The BIT Travel Guides were some of the first guidebooks to cover the overland Hippie trail from Europe to Asia and Australia^[60] Crowther went on to be a prolific author for Lonely Planet (1977–1995) and played a key role in the early days of the company. He wrote the first editions of Africa on a Shoestring, South America on a Shoestring and contributed to the first edition of the India on a Shoestring.^[61][62] In 2016, the British Library in their 2016 exhibition 'Maps & the 20th Century' showcased Crowther's hand drawn travel maps^[63] and his research journals for the first edition of South America on a Shoestring. He died in Northern New South Wales, Australia on 13 April 2021.

Fred Lawless, Liverpool born theatre playwright has a house in Todmorden; he was also a writer for the BBC One TV series EastEnders, as well as several other TV and radio programmes.

Todmorden actress Claire Benedict has appeared in UK TV shows Waking the Dead, Prime Suspect, Unforgiven, Holby City, Casualty, Doctors, Grange Hill, The Bill and the Lenny Henry Show. She featured in the films Merisairas (1996), Felicia's Journey (1999) and Jupiter Ascending (2015) and has had numerous theatre roles, including work for the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. On BBC radio she is the voice of Precious Ramotswe in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

Todmorden-born actor Dicken Ashworth appeared in Coronation Street and Brookside.

Tony Booth, actor, father of Cherie Blair and father-in-law of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, resided in Todmorden.

The Bayes family of artists were prominent in the 19th and 20th centuries. They were: Alfred Bayes (1832–1909), painter; Walter Bayes (1869–1856), painter; Gilbert Bayes (1872–1952), sculptor; and Jessie Bayes (1876–1970), painter (some of her work can be seen at Lumbutts Methodist Church, Lumbutts, Todmorden).

William Holt (1897–1977) was a writer, painter, political activist, journalist and traveller. William was often seen riding his white horse Trigger around Todmorden and other local areas.

Keyboardist Keith Emerson (1944–2016), founder member of UK progressive rock groups the Nice and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, was born in the town while the family was evacuated from the south coast.^[64]

John Helliwell, another Todmorden-born musician, was saxophonist in the band Supertramp.

Dale Hibbert, original bassist with the Smiths, author of Boy Interrupted.

Geoff Love (1917–1991), the big band leader, was born in Todmorden.

John Kettley (born 1952), the former BBC weatherman, grew up in Todmorden.

Tim Benjamin (born 1975), the composer, lives in Todmorden, and the world premiere of his opera Emily was given at the town's Hippodrome Theatre in 2013.^[65]

Sport

England Test cricketers Peter Lever (born 1940) and Derek Shackleton (1924–2007) were originally from Todmorden.

Other

Harold Shipman, the general practitioner (GP) who is believed to have killed over 200 patients in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, claimed at least one of his victims while working as a doctor at the Abraham Ormerod Medical Centre between March 1974 and September 1975.^[66][67] His first known victim, 70-year-old Eva Lyons, lived at Keswick Close in the town. Shipman had initially been charged with 15 murders committed around Hyde, Greater Manchester, between 1995 and 1998 when he went on trial in late 1999, but Lyons was only identified as a victim of Shipman when the inquiry into his crimes was completed in July 2002 by Dame Janet Smith.^[68] Shipman was found guilty on 31 January 2000 and hanged himself at HM Wakefield Prison on 13 January 2004.

Notes

Bibliography