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1. The Lancashire-Yorkshire boundary used to run through Todmorden and it was once possible to
stand with one foot in each county. This “at the edge” feeling has contributed greatly to
Todmorden’s independent nature.
2. Although Todmorden’s postmark is Oldham and telephone code Rochdale, both in Lancashire,
it is a Yorkshire town.
3. Todmorden was granted Borough status in 1896 and accordingly has its own coat of arms,
enrolled
in the Herald’s Office.
4. The town is almost certainly unique for a town of its size in boasting two Nobel prizewinners,
two Todmordians gaining this worldwide recognition.
5. Our first Nobel prizewinner is Sir John Cockcroft, who gained the prize for Physics in 1951.
He was the first man to split the atom artificially and his role was crucial in the development of
nuclear power.
6. Then Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson received the prize for Chemistry in 1973, in recognition of his work
on the
chemistry of organometallic sandwich compounds. He received the award jointly with
Professor Ernst Otto Fiocher. Sir Geoffrey and Sir John were both taught by the same teacher at
Todmorden Grammar School.
7. In 1978 the Grammar School and Todmorden Secondary School were united as the comprehensive
Todmorden High School. This year the Government’s granted the High School arts college status.
8. Artistic achievement has always played its part in Todmorden life, be it through the work of
sculptor
and former Todmorden News editor Sam Tonkiss, the paintings of Bohuslav Barlow and a host of
skilled musicians.
9. Among those reaching the top of the musical tree were conductor Dr Ben Horsfall, rock stars
Keith Emerson and John Helliwell and bandleader Geoff Love.
10. Ben Horsfall’s skills shone at the very top of his profession - the accomplished violinist was a
member of, among others, the famous Halle Orchestra.
11. Leader of first the Nice and then the world famous Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Keith Emerson
was born in Todmorden but it is likely his family moved away in boyhood.
12. By contrast Supertramp’s John Helliwell has often returned home over the years and the
saxophonist
was resident here again in the 1990s. Last year the group - perhaps best known for their
“Breakfast In America” album - reformed, playing the world’s biggest arenas.
13. Geoff Love was a fixture on television screens through the 1970s and an edition of the famous
TV show “This Is Your Life”, presented by Eamonn Andrews, was devoted to him.
14. Todmorden has provided location shooting for several television series’ over the years.
The BBC’s 80s police show “Juliet Bravo” and 90s series “Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit,” plus ITV’s
“Life And Times of Henry Pratt” were all filmed here.
15. A common joke in town over the years is “I’ll bet you I’ve walked down every street in Tod”.
Every Street in the Kilnhurst area is where some of “Life and Times...” was filmed.
16. Mention Kilnhurst and it won’t be long before someone mentions it was the home of author,
journalist, traveller and artist William Holt. A true eccentric, Holt’s book “I Haven’t Unpacked” was a best seller.
17. “Striding out” makes Todmorden a popular destination for walkers. It has its own Centenery Way
series
of walks and forms part of the Calderdale Way, with the Pennine Way passing close by.
18. At the heart of the Pennines, modern Todmorden was founded on cotton and its red rose leanings
come because, although in the white rose county, it is often referred to as
“the last Lancashire cotton town”.
19. One cotton dynasty, the Fielden family, played a pivotal role in Todmorden’s history, the famous
Waterside works being the major employer in the 19th century town.
20. John Fielden was MP for Oldham and he helped steer the Ten Hours Act through
Parliament in the 1830s. The Act limited the number of hours children could be forced to work.
21. Fielden’s involvement in radical politics also manifested itself in his support for Chartism,
Todmorden’s opposition to the Poor Law (Stansfield View workhouse was not built for decades)
and his backing for extending the vote.
22. When the Great Reform Act of 1832 was passed by Parliament, a major step along the road to
Britain becoming a full democracy, Fielden presided over a celebration banquet in the town.
23. John’s sons - Sam, Joshua and John Jnr - also played a prominent role in the town’s affairs,
giving the town its Unitarian Church, Town Hall, Fielden School and Dobroyd Castle.
24. The Unitarian Church and Dobroyd Castle are both architectural gems. The castle in particular
has had an amazing history. Built as John Jnr’s stately home, it has also been an approved school
and is now the Losang Dragpa Centre, home to a community of Buddhists.
25. Joshua’s estate in town was Stansfield Hall while Sam’s home was at Centre Vale.
The eldest of the brothers, Sam was a passionate cricket fan and allowed part of the estate
to be used by Todmorden Cricket Club.
26. Centre Vale is still Todmorden CC’s ground. The club has a proud history in the Lancashire League,
winning league and cup honours. Two future England players began their careers at Todmorden.
27. Derek Shackleton and Peter Lever both bowled for England as well as playing lengthy county cricket
careers. Other players who began their careers at Todmorden who played at county level include
Richard Horsfall, Peter Greenwood, Kenneth Fiddling and Harold Dawson. Ewart Clayton,
father of last season’s first eleven captain Mark, also played some county cricket.
28. Of course, Todmorden is not the only cricket club playing at that high level in Todmorden.
Walsden Cricket Club, whose home is at Scott Street, have achieved a great deal of success in the
Central Lancashire League.
29. Winners of the CLL league title and cup competitions, Walsden also had a player Sydney Starkie,
who played for the club before the second world war, who went on to a county career.
30. In December history was made when Walsden’s Allan Stuttard became president of the CLL.
Todmorden’s Malcolm Heywood was already in situ as LL president, meaning that, perhaps uniquely,
both Red Rose leagues had presidents from Yorkshire clubs!
31. Todmorden’s position as a border town crossing point led to important transport links, including the
building of Summit Tunnel, a tremendous effort on the part of 19th century engineers.
32. This was put to the test in December, 1984, when a goods train derailed and the crash caused an
inferno. Summit’s engineers had been up to the task and although repairs were lengthy, the structure
withstood the heat.
33. By the 20th century road transport levels increased at a rapid pace and in 1907 Todmorden pioneered
a motor bus service, well ahead of the rest of the country. The first bus travelled along the Walsden valley.
34. Until local government reorganisation in 1974 the “Todmorden Corporation” had a hand in running
the town’s bus services.
35. The re-organisation in 1974 meant Todmorden Borough Council, which had virtually run the town bar
for education matters, ceased to be and the area became part of the new
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council.
36. When given charter - borough - status back in 1896, Todmorden’s new Corporation
(later borough council) was very much a go-ahead authority with a remit to improve the town as a
new century approached.
37. One early move, which has had a lasting effect, was the purchase of Centre Vale Park from the
Fielden family. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful in the area and plays host to events such
as the town’s carnival and agricultural show.
38. Both these events were cancelled two years ago at the height of the foot and mouth scare.
It meant a delay of a year for Todmorden Agricultural Society’s 75th show. The show is often dubbed
one of the best one-day shows in the north.
39. A similar reputation is held by Todmorden Market, which dates back for more than 200 years and
has been subject to regeneration refurbishment costing around £500,000 this year.
40. Last year its 200th birthday was marked by a series of special events.
Stallholders stepped back in time, dressing as their forbears may have done.
A special ceremony re-enacting the opening of the orginal market hall in the
19th century was included in the festivities.
41. Once again there was major Fielden family input into building the market hall, just yards away from
the Town Hall site. The current town hall was not the first one planned - previous efforts had failed.
42. A design for a public hall by James Green, chosen by the Local Board, which would have
incorporated a market hall, was actually begun in the 1850s with foundations dug and construction
work started, but it fell by the wayside amid legal wrangling over land ownership.
43. Eventually the Town Hall was the third of the major projects architect John Gibson undertook for the
Fieldens and it was opened in 1987 by the then postmaster general Lord John Manners.
It was presented to the people of Todmorden by the Fielden family in 1891.
44. For many years the Town Hall wasn’t just home to the borough or town councils - it was also a
permanent courtroom and has holding cells underneath.
45. Todmorden Magistrates Court was the epitome of justice being done and being seen to be done as
members of the public often attended court sessions to watch court business being carried out.
46. The court finally closed in January 1993 when all the district’s criminal courts were amalgamated
in Halifax, becoming part of the Calderdale Magistrates Court. It brought to an end centuries of certain
levels of justice being carried out in Todmorden.
47. In earlier periods the stocks, whipping post and ducking stool had all been in use, but only the
stocks continued in use as far as the 18th century!
48. Prior to the town hall, courts had been held in various places around town, including the
White Hart Inn and the Queen Hotel.
49. The latter is where the commital proceedings for Todmorden’s most notorious murder case took
place, that of Miles Weatherill.
50. On March 2, 1868, Weatherhill, who had been forbidden by the Vicar, the Rev Anthony John Plow,
from seeing his sweetheart, maid Sarah Bell, armed himself with an axe and a pistol and headed
for the vicarage.
51. He attacked the Rev Plow, another housemaid, Jane Smith, and Mrs Plow. He killed Jane Smith
and Mr Plow later died of his injuries.
52. Committed from Todmorden to stand trial at Manchester Assizes for the murder of Jane Smith,
he was, with another man, Timothy Faherty, the last to be publicly hanged at Manchester.
53. The case is notorious and has endured down the years. A broadsheet ballad telling Miles’ story was
sold to onlookers at the execution, on April 4, 1868; over a century later nationally known folk singer
Nic Jones penned his own ballad, “Miles Weatherill”, and recorded it on his “Noah’s Ark Trap” album.
54. In those days the parish church of Todmorden was Christ Church, opened in 1832. Historically
the oldest church had been St Mary’s, in the town centre, and by the early 1990s St Mary’s, dating back to
1476, was rededicated as the parish church and Christ Church closed.
55. Over the years followers of many religions have found a home in the town, from Quakers to Unitarians and Methodists to Catholics. In 2003 the town also has a Mosque, a Buddhist centre and a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall.
56. In addition to being centres of religious worship, many of these churches, particularly the
Methodist chapels, were social centres, each boasting cricket and football teams to play in local leagues.
57. Todmorden has produced several footballers of note, including England schoolboy international
David Wilson in the 1980s, who began his professional career at one of the world’s most famous clubs, Manchester United.
58. Playing professionally for Stockport County with his heyday in the 1950s, Jack Connor,
a member of one of Todmorden’s best known sporting families, was voted the club’s best player
of all time by its fans and Connor’s Bar at the club’s Edgeley Park ground is named in his memory.
59. Todmorden boasts a League Championship and FA Cup winner. Billy Nesbitt’s achievements
were all the greater because he was reputedly deaf from birth. Playing for Burnley he won an
FA Cup winner’s medal in 1914 and a first division championship medal in 1921.
60. In another link with that great Burnley side, defender George Halley’s family settled in Todmorden.
His grandsons Jim and George were part of one of the best recalled local football sides.
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