Todmorden Map & Guide 2019

Todmorden

Map & Guide F

E E R

Rochdale Cana

l at Lobb Mill

C B A

on’s Skew Stephens

e auxholm Bridge, G

oodley Pike

Lumbutts and St

Published by Bankside House Publishing, Todmorden www.banksidehouse.co.uk Facebook @Banksidehousepublishing

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TODMORDEN - A BRIEF HISTORY

odmorden sits at the meeting point of three Pennine Valleys. The River Calder and it’s tributary, Walsden Water, run through the town. Historically these rivers served as the border between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire meaning the town was half in the red rose and half in the white rose county. However the Local Government Act of 1888 altered the administrative borders and the town is now wholly within West Yorkshire, specifically Calderdale.

The earliest record of Todmorden is in the Domesday Book (1086) which describes dispersed settlements of hilltop farms served by packhorse trails. Many of the marker stones to these trails can still be seen today. By the mid 1700s the town was beginning to prosper as it utilised the water running off the surrounding moorland to drive woollen mills. However the coming of the turnpike roads and later the Rochdale Canal meant Todmorden could benefit from the proximity of Manchester,

with its supply of materials and trade, and the town turned to cotton. In 1841 the opening of the Manchester and Leeds Railway (later the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway), closely followed by the branch line from Todmorden to Burnley, brought the Industrial Revolution to the town and the population began to grow significantly.

Like many northern industrial towns, the economy of the area started to decline in the 1970s. Today the town can be considered a commuter town, with much of the heavy industry, mill chimneys and many of the mills gone or repurposed.

The civil parish of Todmorden includes all of the following villages: Eastwood, Walsden, Cornholme, Mankinholes, Lumbutts, Robinwood, Lydgate, Portsmouth, Shade, Stansfield, Dobroyd, Ferney Lee, Gauxholme and Cross Stone and the current total population is around 16,000.

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Contents Brief History of Todmorden

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Attractions of Todmorden

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Accommodation

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Food and Drink

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TOWN CENTRE MAP

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Crafts, Gifts and Art Shops

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Other shops & businesses

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Guide to the Market Hall

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Many thanks to everyone who made this guide possible. To all the advertisers and all the businesses who have agreed to help distribute the guide, especially the Todmorden Tourist Information Centre. If you visit the businesses, please mention that you saw their advert here. www.visittodmorden.co.uk

WHEN VISITING, LOOK OUT FOR...

Todmorden Town Hall - Opened in 1875, this building dominates the town centre. It was designed by John Gibson of Westminster in a neo-classical style and is built over Walsden Water meaning, at the time of its opening, was in both Lancashire and West Yorkshire.

Take a close look at the frieze over the main entrance. The carved stonework shows two central female figures with more figures to the sides. The left side represents cotton spinning and weaving, industries traditionally of Lancashire, while the right side represents wool manufacturing, engineering and agriculture, the industries of Yorkshire.

Todmorden Unitarian Church - Also designed by John Gibson, the church was completed in 1869 in memory of local mill owner, social reformer and Member of Parliament, John Fielden. Although it was declared redundant in 1987, regular services and other events have been taking place in the church since 2008.

Todmorden Market - There has been a market in Todmorden for over 200 years and it has always been central to town life. Currently made up of 42 stalls in the market hall and 70 stall in the adjacent outdoor market, you can buy anything from local cheeses, sausages and vegetables to cards, electrical goods and textiles. Don’t miss the busy second-hand market on a Thursday.

Water Street - A picturesque cobbled street of independent retailers.

Centre Vale Park - An 80 acre, green flag park situated just half a mile from the centre of town, this park is home to a large mature oak and beech woodland, an extensive children’s play area, formal gardens, crown green bowling, an outdoor gym, an animal house and the Todmorden Lucky Dog, made famous by Derren Brown in his 2011 “The Secret of Luck”. There is an extensive Sports Centre with pool to the north of the park.

Incredible Edible Todmorden - Started in 2008 as a way to bring people together using kind actions centred around food, IET, as it is known, have used communal gardens and land to grow edible plants and encourage passers-by to help themselves. Look out for the planters around the town growing strawberries, kale, leeks, etc and the community gardens growing herbs and other fruits.

A short walk out of the town, heading south along the Rochdale Canal towpath, will take you past the unusual guillotine lock where the canal goes under Rochdale Road. This lock gate arrangement was originally installed so the Rochdale Road could be widened without compromising the lock length. Just beyond here, as the canal bends round to the south, you will pass the ‘Great Wall of Todmorden’; a sheer wall of over 4million bricks, built as a retaining wall to support the (now removed) goods yard of the railway above. Then, a little further still, is George Stephenson’s famous ‘Skew Bridge’ at Gauxholme, which carries the railway over the canal. Constructed with ornate castellated stone turrets and cast iron arches, the bridge has a 102 foot span and is set at a very acute angle.

Stoodley Pike Monument dominates the skyline to the east of the town. Built in 1814 and rebuilt in 1854, the monument overlooks the town from its position 1,300 feet up on Stoodley Pike hill and was originally built to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon.

Also overlooking the town from the west is Dobroyd Castle built by John Fielden, local mill owner and son of John Fielden MP. Completed in 1869, it was originally an extravagant castellated mansion house designed to impress a local girl John wanted to marry. It has also been a reform school, a Buddhist Retreat and is currently an outdoor pursuits centre for primary school children.

There are many stunning walks and trails in the countryside around the town. The Pennine Way and the Calderdale Way both pass close to the town.

ACCOMMODATION

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The Staff of Life Inn at Eagles Crag

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550 Burnley Road, Todmorden OL14 8JF ย ย ย ฤบv|-@oYb=;bmmฤบou]ฤบย h ล ฦ ฦ ฦ ฦ ัต ัถฦ ฦ ฦ ฦ ฦ

FOOD AND DRINK

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FOOD AND DRINK

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Patmos Pa

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rade, Burn

ley Road

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St Mary’s Church

dist Church

Todmorden M

Central Metho

arket

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Water Street

Halifax Road

CRAFTS, GIFTS & ART

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CRAFTS, GIFTS & ART

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TODMORDEN’S INCREDIBLE EDUCATIONAL TOY SHOP! LEARNING THROUGH PLAY! EDUCATIONAL & INSPIRATIONAL SUSTAINABLE AND ECO-FRIENDLY

www.ecolifegizmos.co.uk

www.facebook.com/ecolifegizmostodmorden White Hart Fold, Todmorden (next door to Wetherspoons)

01706 814931

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OTHER SHOPS & BUSINESSES

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MARKET HALL

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MARKET HALL

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