North West England - Christ Church Todmorden

Christ Church Todmorden

Name: Christ Church Todmorden
Rating: 4.0

Place Types: Residence

Address: Burnley Road, OL14 7BS Todmorden

Coordinate: 53.7169, -2.09872

Social: https://www.facebook.com/chrirstchurch/

Rating: 4

About Christ Church Todmorden

Around the year 1829 the vicar of St. Marys in Todmorden, the Reverend Joseph Cowell, proposed that the church should be either rebuilt or enlarged at its present site. Another proposal was that it should be removed to another site in the town and a completely new church be built.

A new church was the accepted proposal and was to be built on the site of the new vicarage and cemetery, which had already been erected on land given by Samuel Greenwood of Stones. Lewis Vulliamy from London was the architect. The corner stone was laid at Whitsuntide on 29th June 1830 amidst great celebrations. A procession was led from the old churchyard to the new and many crowds of people had gathered to hear the speeches by the various dignitaries and watch the stone being laid.

The money for the building costs of the new church came from the Million Pound Act. This was an act which had been passed in 1820 after a survey had shown that no new churches had been built since the reign of Queen Anne £1 million was allocated for new churches to be built in industrial areas for the middle and lower classes and the money was found from the indemnity money paid by the French after the Napoleonic Wars. They were built to rigid budgets and were very plain.

Building progressed rapidly and the new church which came to be known as Christ Church, was opened on 15th April 1832. The Rev. Joseph Cowell was the vicar and had been the main instigator and driving force for the new church, a fact that he later came to regret.

There was a great division amongst the population of Todmorden and many thought that the new church had been built for the benefit of the rich and the clergy. One family in particular, great church goers, when asked why they didn't attend the new church, replied:

"You have built yon church for Todmorden and Walsden folk, but for the rich and those who live up in Harley-Wood"

Maybe they were thinking of the terms of the Million Pound Act.

Pews had been taken from the old church to put in the new and the last thing to go was the organ. It was acts like this that so annoyed and upset the people and they looked upon them as a desecration of the church. When the organ was removed from the old church it had to be renovated before it was thought suitable to grace a brand new church. The cost was £85 and the re-opening concert and the singers were Miss Sykes, Mr. Tom Parker, tenor, and Mr. Womersley, bass. They paid one guinea each, whilst the organist, Mr. William Greenwood, was paid 2 quineas.

This was Miss Sykes first public appearance and she was later to go on to great fame as Mrs. Sunderland the "Yorkshire Queen of Song". Queen Victoria and Prince Albert once personally complimented her on her success and outstanding ability as a singer.

In 1835 the rents from the seats were estimated to fetch the vicar £41. 7. 6d a year.

In 1836 a three-day bazaar was held in a marquee in front of the vicarage to raise funds for the installation of a new clock and bell in the tower. It raised in total over £474, which was £115 more than was needed.

By 1884 this sum had made £44 in interest and this was paid to the treasure of the National School Fund. The clock cost £99 and was made by Mr. Taylor and the bell cost £130 and was made by Mears of London.

Rev. Cowell, on hearing and seeing how the new church had split the townsfolk, was heard to comment that he acknowledged that it was the greatest mistake of his life, and that he wouldn't rest until he had restored the old church and had it reopened for worship again. In 1840 he was the head of a petition delivered to the vicar of St. Chads, Rochdale, to try and make Christ Church into the parish church of Todmorden and to reopen St, Marys. This would make them separate from St. Chads, which would no longer be the parish church. It was argued that Todmorden had grown to a population of 10, 000 and they could pay for the upkeep of both of the churches. Todmorden also paid dues to St. Chads and thought it was time this stopped. The signatures of the men present at this petition were:
Joseph Cowell, Incumbent
John Crossley, Scaltcliffe
James Taylor, Todmorden Hall
William Greenwood, Watty Place
James Greenwood, Hare-hill
John Buckley, Ridge-Foot
James Fielden, Dobroyd
H. G. Mitchell
W. Scholfield
James Fielden
Henry Buckley
John Ratcliffe
William Sagar
H. Heyworth
Thomas Thomas

The Reverend Cowell did not see his dream come to fruition as he died in 1846, but he was the first to plant the seeds of an idea, which would come to be a reality twenty years hence.

In 1846 Rev John Edwards took over the post as vicar. He was a senior curate at St. Chads, Rochdale and a bachelor. This been so, his mother looked after him when he took the living at Todmorden and saw to his domestic arrangements until his marriage later in 1846 to Lousia, the daughter of Dr. Molesworth, his previous employer.

It was unfortunate that Rev Edwards had a speech impediment, as it was possibly one of the causes of the dwindling congregation that took place during his incumbency. It was a very unhappy state of affairs and to try and remedy this he appointed two or three curates and things improved a little.

He served Todmorden until 1864 when ill health forced him to retire. He died on the 16th April 1864 at Ashburton House, Bedford, at the early age of 47. His son, Walter Molesworth Edwards, was involved in a disaster at sea which he was lucky enough to survive. On 11th January 1866 the steamship "London", which was sailing from London to Melbourne, sank, claiming the lives of about 270, Sixteen of the crew were saved, Walter being amongst them.

Louisa Edwards, the widow of the Rev. Edwards, later wrote a dairy of a visit she made to India in 1883. At the time of the visit, her sons, Lionel Edwards and Guilford, Lindsy Edwards, were engineers engaged on railway construction at and near Habrah and Dum Dum in Bengal, and at Gauri Bazar, Gorakhpur, respectively, Her brother, Guilford Lindsey Molesworth (K. C. I. E. 1888), was consulting Engineer to the Government of India for State Railways. The diaries are illustrated with water-colour and other sketches, maps, plans, and photographs. The dairy is held at the British Library, details of which can be seen HERE. (Information supplied by Alan Longbottom)

An account by John Travis written in the 1860s tells the story of the pulpits and other items in the church.

"There was once a tier of three handsome pulpits, with a grand sounding board over the highest of the; those had been removed and something commoner than oak substituted, being placed in somewhat different positions. The oak handrail and handsome cast iron banisters had been removed, which formerly went round the communion space, and new deal rails were put in their places. The parson wanted things more open and common, he having various movements to go through in those places, which had to be witnessed in order to have the desired effect upon the worshippers. The old sacred iron-work was sent to the factory to be melted down and cast into profane machinery or other things: and the late Mr. John Horsfall of Roomfield Lane purchased an oak ecclesiastical pulpit, which he presented for use in the New Methodist Chapel. "

The next vicar for the Todmorden churches was Rev. Plow, who on Sunday 12th August 1866, preached his first service. Little was he to know of the tragic events that were to take place in 1868 and continue to be remembered to this day.

During the Rev Plow's time as vicar it was discovered that Christ Church had never had the legal rights passed over from St. Marys for marriages and baptisms. So possibly this was another cause for the rift between the two sets of supporters of the two churches. Finding out that they were not legally married must have been quite a shock. The Rochdale Vicarage Bill resolved it in 1866, and it also made Todmorden a parish in its own right with Christ Church as the parish church, St. Marys was reported as a chapel of ease. The wish of the Reverend Cowell was realised.

The basic facts are that MILES WEATHERILL was courting a servant at the vicarage called Sarah Bell. Sarah had gone home to York and Miles had followed her, where he learned that another housemaid in the name of Jane Smith had been causing mischief between the sweethearts. He returned to the vicarage, Killed Jane and also injured the vicar, Rev. Plow and his wife. The vicar died from his injuries and Miles was sentenced to death and hanged.

The congregations of both St. Marys and Christ Church held a meeting in August of 1868 and decided that a stained glass window should be placed in the East end of Christ Church in memory of Rev. Plow.

After this terrible event it fell to the Rev. Molesworth of Bedford to try and bring the church back to a more normal situation. He was the son of Dr. Molesworth, vicar of Rochdale and he was appointed on the 4th April 1868. He tried very hard to patch up the differences between the old and new churches, but he was insistent that Christ Church should be the recognised parish church. St. Marys wasn't working as a chapel of ease and various solutions, including one of making two new parishes, were thought of to help the situation. None of them proved satisfactory and the Reverend Molesworth resigned in September of 1875 to take the post at the rectory of Washington in Durham, leaving Todmorden once again in need of a new vicar.

In November 1875 the church was reopened after being closed 2 months for painting and repair. A new organ had also been installed, built by Messrs. Gray & Davison of London and it was used for the first time on this occasion.

The new incumbent was the Rev William Augustus Conway. He was a native of West Derby and the vicar of St. James, Haywood, and had been recommended by Rev. Molesworth. He took the post in January of 1876 and took his first service on March 4th and Rev. Canon Raines, the vicar of Milnrow, led the service. On the 12th September 1877 Rev. Conway had the pleasure of taking the service when his daughter, Miss Marian Augusta Salisbury Conway, married Mr T Howarth Ormerod of Ridgefoot House. He died in Blackpool on 23rd September 1883 aged 62 and was and was buried at Christ Church, Todmorden on 27th September. By all accounts he was a large powerful man, but for some reason, was known locally as "Little Billy". His daughter Marie Louise died in 1882 and there is a memorial plaque inside the church to her memory. HIs wife, Anna Marie, lived on to the age of 85 and died in 1902 being buried alongside her husband.

The next vicar of Todmorden was EDWARD RUSSELL.
Edward Russell was born in Dorking, Surrey, in 1843, the third child and eldest son of Edward James Richard Russell and his wife Eliza Browne. He married Mary Georgiana Baron at Haywood in 1875 and they had 9 children, 6 of them born in Todmorden.

He studied at St Mary Hall Oxford, gaining a B. A. (1st. class Theol. Sch. ) in 1870 and M. A. in 1870 and ordained Priest in 1871. He was appointed as vicar of Todmorden in 1883, and served that community for the next 27 years. He was forced to resign his duties due to falling health in 1910.

In March of the following year Canon Russell died. He is buried at St. Annes-on-Sea in Lancashire. The congregation of St. Marys and Christ Church erected a tablet in Christ Church to his memory.

One or the more enjoyable times of his incumbency must have been the arrival of the peal of bells at Christ Church, a gift from Hannah Howarth in memory of her siblings. His name is engraved on the number 7 bell for posterity.

The Bells of Christ Church.
Hannah Howarth was born in the Royal George Inn, Todmorden, along with her siblings George, James, Sarah and Mary. The family was associated with this Inn and the Golden Lion for many years. They were thoroughly ordinary people and no-one went away from the Golden Lion discontented or dissatisfied. On the 1st May 1884 they retired and went to live at Vale House where they lived as a happy filial family. George died in 1885, brother James in 1888 and sister Mary King in 1888. Hannah decided to donate a peal of 8 bells to Christ Church in memory of her deceased siblings.

EXTRACTS FROM THE TODMORDEN AND HEBDEN BRIDGE, ALMANAC FOR 1898

On Saturday, June 19th 1897, there was a dedication service on account of these handsome gifts, and as the Sunday School Whitsuntide treat was first fixed for the same day, the events were combined, the scholars attending the dedication service before repairing to the field at Dobroyd Castle, (which Mrs. John Fielden once more kindly placed at their disposal), for their games. Soon after 2 o, clock a procession was formed at the Parish Church, headed by the school banner and the Todmorden Brass Band, which marched as far as Bridge End, Shade, and then back to the church; at Shade, the scholars attending the Branch School joined, making a procession which was watched with interest.

There was a good congregation in the church to witness the dedication service. . . . . . . . at the close of the service the ringers from St. Peters Church Wallsden (conducted by Mr. C. W. Lord) rung the first peal; subsequently the Unitarian Church ringers (conductor Mr. J. W. Greenwood) rang a peal, the ringing being conducted for about two hours, and the bells proved very sweet-toned. . . . .

Miss Howarth, s eleven sweet-sounding bells were founded by Messers. Taylor of Loughborough, and are supplementary to the old bell, which has done duty for 61 years. In the ringing room there is an arrangement whereby tunes can be played on the bells, and Todmorden will often hear there grand music tinkling and booming in the air.

Generous Miss Howarth completed her day's work by standing a nice supper to several and sundry (122 in all) at the restaurant of Mr Alfred King, Gandy Bridge, Todmorden. There was a vicar in his humours vein showing that a happy Christian can laugh better then an unhappy un-Christian! The Archdeacon was quite poetic, and compared the sound of bells to the song of birds. And there were other toasts and responses, and God Save the Queen! and all the rest of it, and Todmorden entered into its annals another lists of generous friends, and one more important and never-to-be-forgotten day.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BELLS

Around the rim of them are the words:

1. To God the Father
2. To God the Son
3. To God the Spirit
4. Three in One
5. Be honour, praise
6. And Glory given
7. By all in Earth
8. And all in Heaven

The other three bear Latin inscriptions. Bell number 8 also sets forth:

"this peal of eleven bells was presented to Todmorden Parish Church by Miss Hannah Howarth, of Brocklyn House, in memory of her brothers and sisters deceased, in the year of our Lord 1897, being the sixtieth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. "

Bell number seven bears the name of Edward J. Russell, MA. , vicar; Arthur S. Roberts, MA. , assistant priest; Samuel Fielden JP. , and W. A. Sutcliffe, wardens, Caleb Hoyle, first Mayor of Todmorden.

The following were the bell ringers:
Treble. . . . Mr. Chas. Barker
No. 2. . . . . . Mr. John Baumforth
No. 3. . . . . . Mr. James Richards
No. 4. . . . . . Mr. Heyworth Barker
No. 5. . . . . . Mr. John Kay
No. 6. . . . . . Mr. Thomas Greenwood
No. 7. . . . . . Mr. Willie Greenwood
Tenor. . . . Mr. John Crowther

THE DAY THE ROPE BROKE!
Extract from "Concerning Todmorden Parish" by C. G. Ramshaw

". . . the ringers, along with Canon Russell, who had just looked in, had an alarming experience a couple of years after the introduction of the bells. One of the best rings they had thus far accomplished was almost at an end, when the rope of the big Tenor bell broke. The ringers immediately stopped, but the big bell went on, the rope cracking up and down with a report like a pistol. It was naturally feared someone might be caught in it; no corner of the belfry seemed safe. Then the long iron gas pendant was caught . It was only a short struggle, the rope was victorious, and in the darkness which prevailed, rope and pipe together swung dangerously. Those present trembled for the window, for of course they could see nothing. Fortunately, however, the sweep of the bell wheel soon subsided, and the incident closed without more serious mischief. . . "

". . . In the bell chamber are some interesting commemorative tablets. The first to be placed was that of the change ringers who visited Todmorden for the purpose of ringing a peal on the new bells a while after dedication. It is as follows:

Lancashire Association Rossendale Branch.

On Saturday, January 22nd 1898 in three hours and four minutes, at the Parish Church, Cox, s six-part peal of grandsire triples N the first peal upon the bells, which were founded and placed in the tower in 1897 to commemorate the sixtieth year of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

F. Howarth J. Shepherd
J. H. Brown W. Law
H. Whitworth W. Ashworth
J. E. Standring J. Jackson

Changes, 540; conducted by John Shepherd.
Edward J, Russell. Vicar.
William Albert Sutcliffe and Samuel Fielden, Churchwardens.

The other, a marble tablet with letters inlaid with lead, is as will be perceived from the following copy, still more interesting:

On Saturday March 21st, 1903, a peal of grandsire triples of 5, 040 changes, John Holts ten-part was rung in this tower in three hours fourteen minutes, being the first peal completed by the ringers of the church

Treble, Charles Barker
No. 2, James Richards
No. 3, James Whitehead
No. 4, Heyworth Barker
No. 5, John Edward Rowland
No. 6, Luke Suthers
No. 7, William Crabtree
Tenor, John Crowther
Conductor, James Richards
Steeple-keeper, William Greenwood
Peoples Warden, John Barker
Vicars Warden, William Albert Sutcliffe
Vicar, Canon Russell, MA
Erected by W. Crowther, clerk
November 1903

When Christ Church closed in 1992 the peal of 8 bells was transferred to Towcester in Northamptonshire and made up their peal to twelve. These eight bells are historical significant as they are one of Taylors early true-harmonic peals. The story of their life after leaving Todmorden for Towcester can be read here. So part of Christ Church lives on in another county and its bells continue to be herd over the town of Towcester on a Sunday morning still calling parishioners to worship.

In 1886 a new chancel and pews on the nave were installed. The total cost was £1, 800. In July 1892, burglars stole cloths, which were used for communion service, and they were valued at more than £40. It seems that stealing from the church isn't such a new phenomenon as we think.

Sadly, vandals gained entry during its empty years and cut off the head on the frieze depicting the Last Supper that graced the wall behind the alter.

The Burial Ground
Much of the graveyard is kept mown, but with some gravestones in a dangerous condition, it is difficult to maintain any sort of order. Parts are very difficult to access, although valiant attempts are made to keep it under control, and some of the graves are neat and tidy.

The Sextons book containing detail of occupants of most of the graves (but not all) has been transcribed, often with more details then the memorial inscription. Some missing graves have recently come to light which do not appear in the Sextons book. All the gravestones have been transcribed, thanks to the Todmorden Antiquarians. Many of the gravestones have photos.

MEMORIAL TO THOSE MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION OF CHRIST CHURCH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918.

Harry Allister John W Firth John Phillips
William C Allister Alick Gaukroger John W Phillips
Robert Barker Harold Greenwood Leonard Pilling
John Albert Barker Fred Greenwood Joseph Potts
Will Barnes Walter Greenwood Walter Parkinson
John Blackwell Henry Greenwood George W Roberts
James W Crowther Harry Helliwell Frank Simpson
William Claxton James Holdroyd George D Stansfield
John W Crossley Walter Jackson J W Sunderland
Willie Cockcroft James Laycock Norman Sutcliffe
Albert Dean William Mitchell Percy Smallwood
Fred Dawson James Mitchell Thomas Skelton
John W Eastwood Robert Newell Fred Smith
Harold Ellison Tom Close Naylor Fred Taylor
John W Ellison William Ormerod William Walton
John H Wadsworth

ETERNAL REST GIVE TO THEM O LORD AND THY ETERNAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

In 2004, a private buyer bought the church saving it for either demolition or development. It was acquired by Stephen and Deborah Barraclough in November 2013. It is being lovingly converted in to a family home. The body of the church will remain void, with the lovely stained glass windows and mosaic's left in tact. Some of the works involved is to strip the full roof replace the timbers, and re-tile using the existing blue slate. 76 stained glass windows are undergoing repairs due to the vandalism in the 90, s. Then the construction can start inside, and the refurbishment of the clock tower, and hopefully the clock itself back to working order.

In Search Of Sybil ;- Todmorden witch ?

I first came across the legend of lady Sybil, the witch of Bearnshaw Tower, in A Short History of Todmorden, by Joshua Holden (Manchester Univ. Press, 1912, p. 116). Following this up in other publications, there seemed to be so many specific details given dates, names, places - that I wondered whether there might be some grains of truth within the story.

Briefly, in 1632 the heiress of Bearnshaw Tower was inspired by her favourite walk to Eagle's Crag to sell her soul in exchange for supernatural powers. Lord William of Hapton Tower, a member of the Towneley family, wanted to marry her, but she repeatedly refused him, and he sought the aid of another local witch, Mother Helston, who told him to hunt in Cliviger Gorge on All Hallow's Eve. On doing so, he saw and followed a milk-white doe which eluded him until Mother Helston joined the chase in the shape of a hound, whereupon William was able to capture the doe with a silken noose. At Hapton Tower the next morning, the doe had regained the form of Sybil, who agreed to marry William, renouncing witchcraft; she kept her word for a year but then while in the shape of a white cat and with several other transformed witches, she was attacked by Robin, the servant of the miller, Giles Dickisson, who cut off her paw. In the morning, Sybil was lacking the hand bearing her costly signet ring: when the hand was taken to William, he seems , to have been more. concerned about the ring - but in spite of this off-putting reaction, Sybil was reconciled with her husband and was able to restore her hand magically. This took all her strength, however, and she died and was buried at the foot of Eagle Crag.

Geographically there are no problems with any of this. Eagle's Crag is near Cornholme above the A646 Burnley Todmorden road (SD 916 256). It does have an unmistakable resemblance to an eagle about to take flight and, to me, a powerful atmosphere. Bearnshaw Tower is on the should of the hillside above Cornholme, about half a mile's walk from the Crag, and in the seventeenth century was situated on a pack horse route to Todmorden and Rochdale which avoided the gorge below. The tower itself was situated at the end of the present farmhouse. but fell down in 1860 when digging took place beneath it for a legendary pot of gold.

The site of Hapton Tower is on the lower slopes of Hameldon Hill, SW of Burnley, near Tower Brook (SD 808 298) and within sight of Pendle Hill. Whitaker states that it had already been demolished in 1725 but had been a large square building with three cylindrical towers on one side. The site is visible from almost a mile away after leaving the A679 once you know where to look - as a gap in a distant field wall, containing a single fence post and below the Hambledon Hill masts. Routes from the A679 go through the Enviro skip distribution site at Old Barn, which is very muddy; the path to the east, leaving the A646 by the side of the cemetery, may be better but I haven't tried it.

Cliviger Mill was situated near Cliviger Mill Bridge (SD 864 305), again off the A646, between Walk Mill and the Towneley Hall estate and was in existence for about six hundred years from at least 1270, with a mill pond and water wheel and later a smithy and five cottages. It can be found by taking the turn after the one signed Walk Mill, going towards Burnley, and then almost immediately going left down Park Road. The drained and overgrown mill pond is still visible, but the mill site has made way for modern houses and gardens.

Titus Thornber6 points out that there was a well defined system of green lanes in the area, the focus being the mill and mill bridge "to enable everyone in the township to carry produce to and from the corn mill". Thus an extension of Jack Hey Lane led from the mill to Bearnshaw Tower and another trade route ran through Hapton to Accrington, so the mill was nearly at the hub of the places mentioned in the Sybil story. A minor point is that cats are quite capable of travelling vast distances in a night - entire toms have been known to cover twenty miles, while from Hapton Tower to Cliviger Mill was less than five miles.

Unfortunately, at this point everything ceases to gel together. The Towneley family tree contains no William before 1714 (and he married a Cecilia Standish). Also, although one or two of the Towneleys were knighted, they were never ennobled, so 'Lord' William has to be a fiction even if he belonged to an obscure and minor branch.

Bearnshaw Tower was occupied by one Richard Lomax in 16267. The Lomaxes were not a noble family either and held the Tower as tenants. There are no entries for Lomax in the surviving early fragment of the Todmorden Parish registers 1617-1641, which was published with the Rochdale Parish Registers, although an unnamed wife of a Hugh Lomax died in 1625 and is entered under Rochdale. Winnie Marshall states that Bearnshaw Tower "will not date back beyond the middle of the seventeenth century" and that a stone on the farmhouse inscribed AL IL refers to the Lomax family, before the Tower was sold to the Towneleys. So it would seem that although there may be no clear evidence either way of a solitary heiress named Sybil living in the Tower, it seems unlikely. Also, the name Sybil itself gives rise to suspicion, being just too convenient for a witch or prophetess. Sibyl and Sibylla were common in England, however, from the twelfth century onwards, according to the Oxford Dictionary of Christian Names. I have not been able to find any record of who was living in Cliviger Mill at the time and Hapton Tower was inhabited by a Jane Assheton in 1632, the widow of Richard Towneley.

The earliest written source of the legend appears to be by John Roby. He had a fulsome style, embroidering his narrative with lengthy conversations and a vast amount of detail. However, he seems to have regarded himself as a genuine collector, weaving his 'glimmerings of truth' into tales of 'romantic interest' and using a mass of local tradition from the memories of the inhabitants. He does himself point out one of the anomalies in the tale, that of Jane Assheton living in Hapton, and is careful to state that Lord William is a 'connection' of the Towneley family8. However, he does make one glaring error in stating that Cliviger Mill is at the east side of Cliviger Gorge and Harland and Wilkinson are highly critical of his accuracy in another of his tales, that of Father Arrowsmith's Dead Man's Hand9. Wilkinson however did include the Sybil story in his own Ancient Mansions near Burnley, Their History and Owners

The legend itself is oddly structured in that it is two tales in one - the capture of the doe /woman with the silken noose and the injury to the cat occurring in the witch herself. The latter is a constantly recurring theme in legend and there are two other similar local versions - that of Betty of Halifax and the farmer's wife of Weir, near Bacup . Interestingly, there are are also several similarities with the actual Lancashire witch trials of 1633-412, when seventeen women were arrested and tried on the flimsy evidence of a boy named Edmund Robinson. Four of the woman were even sent to London to be examined by Charles I and his physician; the case was eventually dismissed through lack of evidence. The boy's tale, seemingly invented to explain his failure to find his father's cattle, involved being abducted to join a witches' feast, and he then gained some notoriety as a local witch-finder, being displayed at church services by his father and uncle, where he sat on a stool looking for witches. He caused 'some disturbance' among the congregations in so doing, as might well be imagined! Later, he admitted that he had been suborned to give false evidence.

The date attributed to the Sybil legend is the most obvious similarity, but also one of the women arrested was called Frances Dickonson - a possible connection with the miller in Roby's tale, whose wife Goody turned to witchcraft through her desire for a child. There may even be a parallel between the name Robinson and Robin the miller's servant. Jessica Lofthouse points out that the name Robinson seems to crop up in witch trials - also at Pendle in 1612 and at Fewston in 1621.

But the only character who has crossed neatly from fact into legend would seem to be Loynd wife, one of Edmund Robinson's major suspects, who frightened him by sitting astride his father's roof and sticking thorns into pictures, and who is also now credited with watching for her victims from Eagle's Crag

So - grains and glimmerings of truth, yes. But Sybil herself? Apparently not.

Perhaps the Sybil legend grew from the fear and hysteria generated by the witch trials of the time, growing like a modern urban myth, Perhaps a legend becomes valid if it captures the imagination sufficiently to be retold, so that lady Sybil, documented or not, has created her own validity.

The Story of a Serial Killer
Dr Harold Shipman : The killer doctor of Todmorden

His patients – mainly elderly women – were living alone and vulnerable.

55-year-old Shipman died by his own hand whilst serving 15 consecutive life sentences in Frankland Prison, County Durham. He was also given four years for forging the will of his last victim, Kathleen Grundy.

Shipman learned his endearing bedside manner whilst a young man, watching his ill mother slowly die from cancer. He watched the family doctor inject her with morphine to ease her pain . Etched upon the 17-year-old's mind, was a scene he would re-create hundreds of times in the future.

While at college he met Primrose 3 years his junior. Shipman married her when she was 17 and 5 months pregnant.

By 1974 he had joined a medical practice in the Yorkshire town of Todmorden.

He became confrontational and combative with many staff in the medical offices, to the point where he belittled and embarrassed them. But his senior partners saw him as a Godsend. His career in Todmorden came to a sudden halt when he began having blackouts. His partners were devastated when he told them he was suffering with epilepsy.

However some disturbing entries in a druggist's controlled narcotics ledger showed how Shipman had been prescribing large and frequent amounts of pethidine in the names of several patients. Ultimately he was forced out of the practice and into a drug re-hab center in 1975. Within two years, he was back in business as a general practitioner. He was accepted into the Donneybrook Medical Center in Hyde in the north of England. Where he played the role of a dedicated, hardworking and community-minded doctor.

Professor Richard Baker of the University of Leicester, examined the number and pattern of deaths in Harold Shipman's practice.
When he compared Shipman’s patient list with those of doctors with similar lists, Professor Baker concluded that Shipman had 236 more in-home patient deaths than would normally be expected.
Most of these deaths involved women over 75. However he also killed men too.

It is stated that he murdered these women with an overdose of Morphine, in order to gain money from inheritances. His final death toll was estimated at 260.

ALSO IN TODMORDEN

1980 /11 /28 ENGLAND, TODMORDEN, WEST YORKSHIRE
Source: UFO Abduction
Police officer Alan Godfrey was coming off duty when he found an oval-shaped object hovering over the road ahead. He sketched it into his report pad and found himself down the road further than he should have been. He went back to the spot and found the road dry in a swirled pattern. Later it was revealed that he was abducted and given a medical exam by little beings.
EFFECTS: Abduction
Medical examination
Time loss

150 Facts About Todmorden

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.

61. In 1968 Lydgate United carried off a terrific treble, including Halifax league and cup double. Locally the strikeforce of Tony Lyons and Barry Shackleton was as well known as any in the league.

62. Lydgate, with a history dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, became part of a new era at the start of the 21st century, becoming part of the new Todmorden Borough Football Club, who play in the West Lancashire League, part of football’s “pyramid”.

63. The club’s home ground is Bellholme at Walsden. Eventually pushed through to fruition by the Bellholme Sports Association, the ground boasts a clubhouse and can be hired out.

64. There aren’t many sports not available to Todmordians, which boasts clubs and societies ranging from angling to archery and from swimming to snooker.

65. Some of these take place in the new Todmorden Sports Centre at
Ewood Lane, which incorporates a new swimming pool. It opened in June 2000.

66. Todmorden Golf Club, at Rive Rocks overlooking the town, boasts a record breaker. Helen Gray has won the club’s ladies’ championship 38 times, a feat which has given her a place in the “Guinness Book of Records”.

67. One sportsman deserves to be singled out for mention as in professional terms he is the most successfully of them all. Neil Cowie played for Wigan Rugby League Club in its most successful side of the modern era in the 1980s and 1990s.

68. Neil crowned his career with a string of performances for Wales and Great Britain . He began playing as an amateur with Todmorden Rugby League Club, who sadly folded in the summer after more than a quarter of a century.

69. The rugby club’s Centre Vale Park pitch was on the area in front of the bandstand which is due to play a major role in increasing Todmorden’s flood defences.

70. Work costing millions of pounds will re-sculpt that section of the park to create a massive holding tank to deal with floodwater to a “one in 25 year” level. Throughout Todmorden’s history nature has waged battle against attempts to channel it away.

71. There are two floods in recent memory which caused millions of pounds worth of damage to homes and businesses, in 1982 and 2000.

72. The 1982 flood particularly devastated the Cornholme valley, where a block culvert was unable to cope with flash flooding and ripped up part of the main Burnley road on what had begun as a sunny August day.

73. In June 2000, torrential downpour into an already saturated river system saw river walls break their banks at Shade and at Industrial Street in the worst flooding Todmorden has seen. It made national headlines and the Environment Agency began formulating plans to minimise the risk of something so devastating happening again.

74. One of the places badly flooded in Halifax Road
was the Hippodrome Theatre, which dates back to Edwardian times and is now owned by Todmorden Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society.

75. As well as being the town’s theatre for a century, it was also one of Todmorden’s three cinemas.

76. The Olympia , on Burnley Road, was later a bingo hall and is now Kwik Save supermarket, but one glance at the building gives away its origins. Its art deco exterior reminds people that once it was a state-of-the-art venue for public entertainment.

76. The other cinema was the Gem, in Cornholme, whose name lives on the electrical goods store which is in the village not far from where the cinema once stood, in those pre-television days.

77. One of the town’s biggest gems, and its most obvious landmark, is Stoodley Pike - but the existing monument, visible for miles around, is not the original. . .

78. According to “History of Todmorden”, by Malcolm and Freda Heywood and Bernard Jennings, an earlier Pike was built to commemorate the surrender of Paris to the allies towards the end of Napoleonic War in 1814, although there was some evidence even then of earlier structures.

79. It collpased and eventually rebuilt in 1854, on a design by the aforementioned James Green. “History of Todmorden” says its obelisk shape may reflect the freemasonary of Samuel Fielden, who not only subscribed £50 towards the project but also cleared the final debt of £212.

80. Local history has long been keenly followed in Todmorden, and the town boasts a thriving Antiquarian Society, whose Millennium publication “Todmorden Cameos” details biographies of several dozen notable Todmorden folk.

81. For example, did you know that a black sheep of the Fielden family, Simeon Lord, was transported to Australia after stealing some cloth, but made a real success of his life after landing at Botany Bay - he settled in the Sydney area and had a hand in naming various parts of the city. Sydney ’s Dobroyd is named after his birthplace.

82. “Cameos” brought recognition to the achievement of many Todmordians including one who has since been properly honoured in the town - railway engineer John Ramsbottom.

83. In July this year a plaque was unveiled to Ramsbottom’s memory at Todmorden Railway Station. John Ramsbottom was one of the 19th century’s leading railway engineers and one of his inventions, the split piston ring, is still in use on petrol and diesel engines 150 years later!

84. The “Cameos” book was beautifully illustrated by Dennis O’Neill, who along with Coun Albert Marshall also produced a special book, “Todmorden Centenary”, to mark a hundred years of borough status in 1996.

85. That year saw Todmorden in high profile across the county. To tie in with its centenary it was an honour for the town when Yorkshire Day was held here, including a parade of red-robed Mayors from all over the county.

86. It was a proud day for Coun Albert Marshall MBE, who as Mayor of Todmorden led the parade. Albert served the town with distinction and is the only person to have been Mayor of both Todmorden’s borough and town councils.

87. The first Mayor of the Borough of Todmorden was Abraham Greenwood Eastwood, from June 2, 1896, to November 9, 1896, but his position was only provisional. the first elected Mayor, in office from November 9, 1896, to November 9, 1899.

88. The first Mayor of Todmorden Town Council, in office from May 11, 1974, to May 3, 1975, was Peter Cockcroft.

89. There are other Todmordens, including a Todmorden Mills in Canada and a Todmorden sheep station in Australia .

90. The town may also have links further afield, if the experiences of former policeman Alan Godfrey are anything to go by - under hypnosis (consciously Alan can remember nothing of this incident) and with a senior officer present he was taken aboard a UFO in 1980.

91. As sightings of strange phenomena were reported the same night by police officers from two forces, it has become one of the most documented cases of its kind and was only months after the disapperance of a Polish man, Zygmunt Adamski.

92. Alan’s story and the Adamski case were linked together in a national newspaper and since the incidents have been made into a television film in America , by filmaker Michael Grais, who worked on the “Poltergeist” films.

93. It also means Alan is likely to be the only Todmordian to appear on the biggest chat show in America - the “Johnny Carson Show”. In the UK he is constantly in demand by television companies making programmes about the paranormal, including prime time shows like Michael Aspel’s “Strange, But True”.

94. Locally Alan has honed his television and media experiences to good effect, raising money for a number of charitable causes, including the Walsden Community Fund.

95. The Walsden Community fund is one example of the townspeople’s ability to lend a helping hand. Good contacts can put the icing on the cake - when the fund presented a special electronic wheelchair to youngster Jonathan Knowles in the mid 90s, local comedian Tony Jo was able to get friend and colleague Jeremy Beadle to present it to him.

96. Tony’s own career has gone from strength to strength and to most folk outside Todmorden he is now better known as a key member of the famous comedy group, The Grumbleweeds.

97. Another example of local folk prepared to go the extra mile to raise money for charity came in the form of Todmorden Cancer Research UK’s own Calendar Girls, who bared (almost) all for a special 2003 fundraising calendar.

98. In the past few months the charity has also received television and newspaper headlines thanks to a marathon walker who chalked up many hundreds of miles walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

99. But Stephen Perry’s trek was a little out of the ordinary and believed to be unique - Stephen climbed more than 300 mountains, and walked every major path along his route, to get there. It took more than seven months and some appalling weather conditions.

100. Some of these were probably predicted by John Kettley. John, who grew up in the Kilnhurst area, has been a television and radio weatherman for 20 years. A pop song, “John Kettley Is A Weatherman”, paid homage to him in the 80s!

101. On one return visit home, John opened Todmorden Tourist Information Centre, on Burnley Road, in 1988.

102. Since then the centre has offered advice and help to more than 400, 000 visitors to Todmorden. Unlike most TICs, it is run by a trust. It’s a real success story.

103. Tourism is one area the town should surely make a success of and the complete re-opening last year of the Rochdale Canal , which links Yorkshire with Manchester , should mean more visitors arriving by barge.

104. In Todmorden’s industrial heyday the canal was crucial link to get raw materials to the mill manufacturers and then onto the markets. These days Todmorden’s population numbers around 13, 500 - about half it was in its heyday, when cotton was king.

105. The First World War marked a watershed. Todmorden not only lost many of its sons in the trenches - it never totally recovered its economic strength afterwards.

106. Centre Vale Park in Todmorden is home to Todmorden’s war memorial, which also includes tributes to the town’s fallen in subsequent conflicts, including the second world war.

107. Another integral part of the park is its bandstand, rebuilt according to the original design after it was destroyed by fire in the late 1990s.

108. The bandstand is no white elephant, forming a focal point for many events over the years, including the town’s Greenpeace support group’s Day on the Green events, which ran for the best part of 20 years until 2002.

109. And some things stay the same - it is used for its original purpose through the series of Brassworks concerts, held throughout the summer and culminating with a major brass band in the spotlight. This year the famous Brighouse and Rastrick band played to the firework finale.

110. Todmorden’s brass band musical tradition continues in the form of the Todmorden Community Brass Band, following disputes which saw Todmorden Old Brass Band drift away from its roots in the town and eventually fold.

111. These cirumstances were a controversial end to a band which had its roots in the 19th century and which had competed at the highest levels.

112. The community brass band offers the chance to play at a number of levels and offers beginners’ and learners’ sections. Other musical groups which form part of the town’s culture include Todmorden Orchestra and Todmorden Choral Society.

113. It has become a pre-Christmas tradition for the Choral Society and Orchestra to link up for a usually sell-out and rousing performance of Handel’s “Messiah”.

114. The big switch-on of Todmorden’s Christmas tree lights by the Mayor fires the starting gun for Christmas. . .

115. . . . And last year the council linked up with local traders and Calderdale to vastly increase the amount of festive lighting, meaning Todmorden had one of its brightest Christmases ever!

116. These days firework displays have become all the rage at New Year too, something which seemed to start on Millennium Eve.

117. Among events to mark the Millennium in Todmorden was a specially-commissioned Millennium Textile, which now hangs in Todmorden Town Hall .

118. Carefully and pain-stakingly designed and hand stitched by a team of volunteers, in addition to symbolising people, places and achievements it also replicated Todmorden’s geography, building up the land’s contours with layers of fabric.

119. Place names can reveal much about Todmorden’s early history, as the “History of Todmorden” book shows. The River Calder has a British name, meaning “violent stream” - something flood victims through the ages will testify to.

120. The English (Anglo-Saxons) conquered the British kingdom of Elmet in the AD630s, it says, and helnce Walsden is an English name describing British neighbours, in this case “the valley of the Walhs”.

121. Todmorden itself derives from Tott-mer-den - “the valley of Totta ’s marsh”.

122. The Danish conquest of Yorkshire in 867 does now however seem to have much impact on Todmorden, with the one distinctive Scandanavia name being Mankinholes - “Mancun’s hollow”.

123. Mankinholes Youth Hostel is a long-established rest place for weary travellers and many of them keep coming back. The hostel was hard hit by the foot-and-mouth scare of 2001 but the following year saw it bounce back with bookings up 21 per cent.

124. The nearby Lumbutts area is also host to two prominent Todmorden “landmarks”, one of them physical and the other a tradition - Gaddings Dam and the Lee Dam Swim.

125. The Gaddings Dam Group have recently bought the dam with the aim of keeping it open for people to enjoy. It’s known as the “highest beach in England ”.

126. The swim, on the other hand, used to be on New Year’s Day but although the date now varies a little it’s still near the start of January - and it’s always very cold!

127. One of the best ways to get around the tops in Todmorden is to tackle the Todmorden Boundary Walk, organised annually by Todmorden Rotary Club with help from Todmorden Inner Wheel Club.

128. It is approximately 22 miles long and although the route or direction can change a little, the hard work of walking the distance is rewarded with some of the most breathtaking views of the town.

129. Having mentioned Gaddings and the Pike, mention should perhaps be made of Whirlaw rocks above the Burnley valley, which lent their title to William Holt’s novel, “The Wizards of Whirlaw”.

130. One of the ways William Holt sold his books was by loading up the saddlebags of his equally famous white horse, Trigger, who outlived Billy by a year and is buried in a field at Kilnhurst.

131. This is just over the hill from the Folly Dam, one of Todmorden Angling Society’s most popular waters.

132. With a membership reaching outside of Todmorden, the society controls waters on the Lancashire-Yorkshire border and a decade ago the Cliviger Fishponds project won a major environmental award.

133. Todmorden’s environment began to change at the end of the 1960s, when an extensive renewal scheme began, involving the clearance of many homes and the occasional business premises, such as the Grapes pub.

134. Barbrara Rudman’s book “The Old Pub Trail” took readers through pen portraits of every pub or beer house that Todmorden had had to that date. The landlady of the Grapes landlady from the 20s to the 50s, Mrs Crowther, was renowned for her firmness and dignity - she often told customers, politely, when she felt they had drunk enough!

135. Following the clearances many properties, including the famous Town Hall, lost the sooty covering they had had for years and the beautiful honey-coloured natural stone beneath was revealed.

136. A host of “general improvement areas” followed, performing similar stone cleaning duties and road tarmacing schemes along the way - a precursor to the carefully tragetted regeneration projects of the last three years.

137. These have seen a number of gateway sites created for the town, a major project to renovate Todmorden Market, the bringing back into use of historic buildings such as the Fielden Sunday School and building a garden area next to St Mary’s Church.

138. The same period of time has seen Todmorden gain a growing reputation in the Yorkshire in Bloom competitions, held several times each year.

139. Steered by the Todmorden In Bloom group, in addition to encouraging the town to generally keep itself neat and tidy, it also hosts a competition of its own with a good selection of categories.

140. Regeneration moves have brought major funding to the town and Todmorden became a pilot scheme in the country for the Government’s Market Town Initiative programme.

141. This autumn has seen regeneration links forged with Spain and America , proof that in developing and bringing improvements to towns, communities across the world can help each ohter.

142. Over the past quarter of a century Todmnorden has already formed cultural links and has always had a thriving Town Twinning Association.

143. Todmorden has two direct twins, first twinning with Bramsche, in West Hermany a quarter of a century ago. Bramsche Square
was named in recognition of this.

144. Roncq, in France , was twinned with Todmorden in the early 1980s and, as with Bramsche, twice-yearly exchange trips give an insight into each other’s culture.

145. As part of Calderdale, Todmorden has a twin area of the Czech Republic called Strakonice. A few years ago the practical help and understanding organisations like this can bring was demonstrated after the Todmorden flood of 2000.

146. Strakonice residents gave a sum of money to help with the extensive claning up operations needed for many householders. Todmorden was then able to reciprocate when Strakonice fell victim to even more severe flooding a short time afterwards.

147. Sometimes a little can make a difference - for some years now Todmorden Rotary Club, sometimes in conjunction with other organisations in the town, have packed emergency boxes which have been sent to disaster areas worldwide by Rotary International.

148. It shows an international dimension to Todmorden which showed itself as far back as the 19th century, when the famous Fielden family’s business interests included shipping lines and running a power company in South America.

149. In those far off says, before television or radio, newspapers were the only way to widely disseminate news from far afield. Realising the opportunity, Richard Chambers first published the “Todmorden Advertiser” on November 5, 1853.

150. It was one of several newspapers eventually amalgamated under the Waddington family ownership as the “Todmorden News And Advertiser” which, 150 years on, brings its readers the best in local news and sport each week as the “Todmorden News”. They celebrate our 150th birthday next week!

THE WEATHERILL FAMILY ;- TODMORDEN

The story of a dysfunctional Todmorden family that
ends in murder most foul

Our story begins in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales area of Bainbridge, takes us to the mill town of Todmorden and ends on the gallows at the New Bailey Priso