Toponymy The name
Todmorden is first attested in 1246, in the form
Totmardene; and the border the one between Lancashire and Yorkshire. or that the name meant 'marshy den of the fox', supposedly from , a word of uncertain origin meaning 'fox' first attested around 1200,
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.
Prehistory In 1898, Blackheath Barrow—a
ring cairn monument situated above Cross Stone in Todmorden—was excavated and proved to be a site of "surpassing archaeological interest", according to J. Lawton Russell, one of the men who carried out the excavation. Various
Bronze Age items were discovered, including
sepulchral urns, a human skull, teeth and hands. Russell contended that Blackheath Barrow was primarily a religious site, specifically intended for the "performance of funeral rites", as there was no evidence that it had been settled for domestic use. Of particular interest were the four
cairns, positioned at the
cardinal points of the compass, and it has been suggested that this indicates "a ritual evocation of the airts, or spirits of the four directions, with obvious correlates in relation to spirits in the land of the dead". The various finds from the 1898 dig are now housed in the Todmorden Library, on permanent display.
Early history 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
Summit Tunnel. A second railway, from Todmorden to Burnley, opened as a single line in 1849, being doubled to meet demand in 1860. A short connecting line, from
Stansfield Hall to Hall Royd, completed the "Todmorden Triangle" in 1862, thus enabling trains to travel in all three directions (Manchester, Leeds and Burnley) without reversing. The
Industrial Revolution caused a concentration of industry and settlement along the valley floor and a switch from woollens to cotton. One family in the area was particularly influential on the town; the Fielden family. They created a "dynasty" that changed the town forever by establishing several large mills, putting up assorted impressive buildings and bringing about social and educational change. A double murder took place at Christ Church, Todmorden on 2 March 1868. The victims' graves lie in the churchyard. Miles Weatherhill, a 23-year-old weaver from the town, was forbidden from seeing his housemaid sweetheart, Sarah Bell, by the Reverend Anthony John Plow. Armed with four pistols and an axe, Weatherhill took revenge first on the vicar and then on Jane Smith, another maid who had informed Plow of the secret meetings. Miss Smith died at the scene, while the vicar survived another week before succumbing to his injuries. Weatherhill also seriously injured the vicar's wife. On 4 April 1868, Weatherhill became the last person to be publicly
hanged in
Manchester, at the New Bailey prison. Local legend has it that the face of a young woman is sometimes seen in the window of the vicarage, now in private ownership.
20th century Throughout the first decade of the 20th century, the population of the Borough of Todmorden remained constant. The ten-yearly UK census returns show figures of 25,418 in 1901 and 25,404 in 1911. Like the rest of the
Upper Calder Valley, Todmorden's economy experienced a slow decline from around the end of
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. In 1980, Todmorden found itself at the centre of a celebrated murder enquiry. On 11 June that year police were called to J.W. Parker's coal yard in Todmorden after the discovery of a body, subsequently identified as 56-year-old Zigmund Adamski from
Tingley, near
Wakefield. The former coal miner had not been seen since setting out on a local shopping trip five days earlier. Although still wearing a suit, his shirt, watch and wallet were missing. A
post-mortem established that he died of a heart attack earlier that day, and discovered burns on his neck, shoulders and back of his head. These appeared to have been dressed by a green ointment, which toxicology tests were unable to identify. Adamski's case has never been solved, no suspect was ever arrested and in a television documentary the coroner, James Turnbull, described it as "one of the most puzzling cases I've come across in 25 years". After intense media interest, the Todmorden police force were forbidden from talking further to the press about the case. In 2017,
Blurry Photos host Dave Stecco said he believes that Adamski could have been a
Nazi before immigrating from
Poland. In the 1980s and 1990s, a prominent
lesbian intentional community grew up Todmorden — and subsequently
Hebden Bridge — "promot[ing] forms of queer intimacy outside of the
nuclear family unit", with "a close-knit community of care" and mutual support, sharing
child care and community events, such as a "famous Todmorden Women's Disco" held monthly. The nature of that community has changed with evolving queer politics, away from
lesbian feminism and towards "
homonormative assimilation".
21st century In 2008, a group of local residents including Mary Clear initiated the
Incredible Edible project to raise awareness of food issues and in particular local food and food provenance. 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. ==Governance==