Editing Todmorden (section)

==History==
===Etymology===
The name ''Todmorden'' is first attested in 1246, in the form ''Totmardene'';<ref name=":0" /> other pre-modern spellings include ''Tottemerden'', ''Totmereden'' and ''Totmerden''.<ref name=":1" /> This is thought to originate in [[Old English]] as a personal name, ''Totta'', combined with the Old English words ''mǣre''  ('border, boundary') and ''denu'' ('valley'). Thus the name once meant 'Totta's border-valley'.<ref name=":0">''The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society'', ed. by Victor Watts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), s.v. ''Todmorden''.</ref><ref name=":1" />  The valley in question is thought to have been the one running north-west from the town,<ref name=":1">Nicolaisen, Gelling & Richards, ''The Names of Towns and Cities in Britain'', p.&nbsp;181</ref> and the border the one between Lancashire and Yorkshire.<ref name=":0" />

Although fanciful and historically implausible, alternative etymologies circulate, such as the speculation that the name derives from two words for death: German ''Tod'' and French ''mort'',<ref>Glyn Hughes, foreword in "Todmorden Album 4", (Birch R.) p.&nbsp;6</ref> or that the name meant "marshy den of the fox", supposedly from ''tod'', a word of uncertain origin meaning 'fox' first attested around 1200,<ref>{{cite dictionary|url=https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/202809 |title=tod, n.1. |dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary Online |edition=3rd |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2023 |accessdate= 18 April 2023}}</ref> ''moor'' (which in Old English meant 'marsh'), and ''den'' (also attested in Old English to mean an animal's lair).{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

'Tod' is an informal name for Todmorden, often used in everyday conversation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.todmordennews.co.uk/news/our-prince-loved-tod-1-2893223|title=Our Prince loved Tod!|date=30 December 2010|work=Todmorden News|access-date=11 May 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813034429/https://www.todmordennews.co.uk/news/our-prince-loved-tod-1-2893223|archivedate=13 August 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southpennines.co.uk/explore/todmorden/|title=Todmorden |work= South Pennines|accessdate=23 May 2018}}</ref>

===Prehistory===
In 1898, Blackheath Barrow—a [[ring cairn]] monument situated above Cross Stone in Todmorden<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/leisure/localhistory/glimpse-past/archaeology/ancient-circle.html |title=Blackheath Barrow: Archaeology |publisher=Calderdale Council |access-date=20 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201173626/http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/leisure/localhistory/glimpse-past/archaeology/ancient-circle.html |archive-date=1 February 2014 }}</ref>—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.<ref>Russell's note of the excavations appears in H. Ling Wroth, The Yorkshire Coiners 1767–1783, and Notes on Old and Prehistoric Halifax</ref>  Various [[Bronze Age]] items were discovered, including [[Sepulchre|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 [[cairn]]s, positioned at the [[Cardinal direction|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".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://megalithix.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/blackheath-circle/ |title=Blackheath Circle, Todmorden, West Yorkshire &#124; The Northern Antiquarian |publisher=Megalithix.wordpress.com |date=19 November 2010 |access-date=20 January 2014}}</ref>

The various finds from the 1898 dig are now housed in the Todmorden Library, on permanent display.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/branches/todmorden.html |title=Todmorden Library |publisher=Calderdale Council |access-date=20 January 2014}}</ref>

===Early history===
[[File:Tod 1800s.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Todmorden c.1870]]
Settlement in [[Middle Ages|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 [[Yeoman|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 [[Pennines|Pennine]] streams and rivers were able to power the machine [[loom]]s. Improvements in textile machinery (by [[John Kay (flying shuttle)|John Kay]], [[James Hargreaves]] and [[Richard Arkwright]]), along with the development of [[Turnpike trust|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 {{convert|2885|yd|m|adj=mid|-long|abbr=off}} [[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 railway station|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 [[Hanging|hanged]] in [[Manchester]], at the New Bailey prison.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/victorian/poplit/curiosities/small/curio214.html |title=Execution and Confession of Miles Weatherhill, The Young Weaver, and his Sweetheart, Sarah Bell |access-date=13 September 2007 |first=Charles |last=Hindley |year=1871 |publisher=University of Virginia Library |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109001927/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/victorian/poplit/curiosities/small/curio214.html |archive-date=9 November 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite newspaper The Times |title=The Murder At Todmorden Parsonage |department=News |date=5 March 1868 |page=12 |issue=26064 |column=A }}</ref><ref>{{cite newspaper The Times |title=Northern Circuit. Manchester, 13 March., The Todmorden Murders |department=Law |date=14 March 1868 |page=11 |issue=26072 }}</ref><ref>{{cite newspaper The Times |title=Executions. Manchester |department=News |date=6 April 1868 |page=10 |issue=26091 |column=D }}</ref> 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&nbsp;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 Motor Company|Lancashire Steam]] (predecessor of [[Leyland Motors]]) and one by [[Ryknield Motor Company|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&nbsp;km) through the rugged South Pennine terrain.

Until 1938, the town was served by no fewer than six railway stations: [[Todmorden railway station|Todmorden]], [[Stansfield Hall railway station|Stansfield Hall]], [[Cornholme railway station|Cornholme]], [[Portsmouth (Lancs) railway station|Portsmouth]], [[Walsden railway station|Walsden]] and [[Eastwood (L&Y) railway station|Eastwood]]. With the exception of Todmorden railway station, all closed during the middle third of the 20th&nbsp;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 [[Summit Tunnel fire|derailed in the Summit Tunnel]] between Todmorden and [[Littleborough, Greater Manchester|Littleborough]] causing what is still considered as one of the biggest underground fires in transport history.<ref>''Survivor! The Summit Tunnel.'' Parry, K. {{ISBN|0-948287-00-4}}</ref>

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 [[Autopsy|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.<ref name="adamski">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAc41UINwts  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/pAc41UINwts| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|title=U.F.O. In Todmorden Part 2.Alien Abduction |publisher=YouTube |date=1 August 2008 |access-date=20 January 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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".<ref name="adamski"/> Among the explanations to gain currency was that Adamski was the victim of [[Alien abduction|extraterrestrial abduction]], following comments by police officer Alan Godfrey about what he saw on 29 November 1980, described in [[Jenny Randles]]' 1983 book ''The Pennine UFO Mystery''.<ref name="randles">{{cite book|isbn=978-0722189351|title=Pennine UFO Mystery|first=Jenny |last=Randles |author-link=Jenny Randles |year=1983|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]}}</ref><ref name="forteantimes">{{cite web|url=http://www.forteantimes.com/features/fbi/4903/policeman_probed.html |title=Policeman Probed &#124; FBI |work=[[Fortean Times]] |access-date=20 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/yorkslincs/series2/ufo_alien_abduction_yorkshire_pennine_sighting_adamski_mystery.shtml |title=BBC Inside Out – Alien abduction claims in Yorkshire |publisher=BBC |date=3 February 2003 |access-date=20 January 2014}}</ref> After intense media interest, the Todmorden police force were forbidden from talking further to the press about the case.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.todmordennews.co.uk/news/local/adamski_case_still_fascinates_1_1838255 |title=Adamski case still fascinates |work=Todmorden News |date=13 February 2006 |access-date=20 January 2014}}</ref> In 2017, ''Blurry Photos'' host Dave Stecco said he believes that Adamski could have been a [[Nazism|Nazi]] before immigrating from [[Poland]].<ref>{{cite web|first1=Dave |last1=Stecco|first2=David|last2= Flora|title=The Bizarre Death of Zigmund Adamski|url=http://www.blurryphotos.org/ep-188-the-bizarre-death-of-zigmund-adamski/|date=17 June 2017|website=Blurry Photos|access-date=15 December 2020}}</ref>

In the 1980s and 1990s, a prominent [[lesbian]] [[intentional community]] grew up Todmorden — and subsequently<ref name="QMUL Golding">{{cite web |url=https://www.qmul.ac.uk/history/people/postdoctoral-researchers-/profiles/goldingvictoria.html |title=Dr Victoria Golding |publisher=[[Queen Mary University of London]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115182046/https://www.qmul.ac.uk/history/people/postdoctoral-researchers-/profiles/goldingvictoria.html |date= |archive-date=15 November 2022 |access-date=15 November 2022 }}</ref> [[Hebden Bridge]]<ref name="Yorkshire Post 2017-07-26">{{cite news |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/hebden-bridge-the-gay-friendly-town-where-everyone-feels-welcome-1096168 |title=Hebden Bridge: The gay-friendly town where everyone feels welcome |author= |work=[[The Yorkshire Post]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115183047/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/hebden-bridge-the-gay-friendly-town-where-everyone-feels-welcome-1096168 |date=26 July 2017 |archive-date=15 November 2022 |access-date=15 November 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://wyqs.co.uk/stories/todmorden-and-hebden-bridge/ |title=Todmorden and Hebden Bridge |first=Dominic |last=Bilton |work=[[West Yorkshire Queer Stories]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115185055/https://wyqs.co.uk/stories/todmorden-and-hebden-bridge/ |date=11 November 2018 |archive-date=15 November 2022 |access-date=15 November 2022 }}</ref> — "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]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/29/theobserver.uknews2 |title=Lesbians the toast of the Two Ferrets |first=Amelia |last=Hil |date=29 July 2001 |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |access-date=17 November 2016}}</ref> and community events,<ref name="IHR 2022-11-15">{{cite web |url=https://www.history.ac.uk/events/using-oral-history-trace-lgbtq-intimacies-and-politics-late-twentieth-century-northern |title=Using Oral History to Trace LGBTQ Intimacies and Politics in late Twentieth Century Northern England |publisher=[[Institute of Historical Research]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115175842/https://www.history.ac.uk/events/using-oral-history-trace-lgbtq-intimacies-and-politics-late-twentieth-century-northern |date=2022 |archive-date=15 November 2022 |access-date=15 November 2022 }}</ref> such as a "famous Todmorden Women's Disco" held monthly.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2022/03/the-inside-guide-to-hebden-bridge-west-yorkshires-inclusive-hotspot |title=The inside guide to Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire's inclusive hotspot |first=Ella |last=Braidwood |work=[[National Geographic]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115184326/https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2022/03/the-inside-guide-to-hebden-bridge-west-yorkshires-inclusive-hotspot |date=29 March 2022 |archive-date=15 November 2022 |access-date=15 November 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitcalderdale.com/love-revolution-5-reasons-why-calderdale-is-the-best-lgbt-friendly-destination-in-the-uk/ |title=Love Revolution: 5 reasons why Calderdale is the best LGBT-friendly destination in the UK |publisher=Visit Calderdale |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115183837/https://www.visitcalderdale.com/love-revolution-5-reasons-why-calderdale-is-the-best-lgbt-friendly-destination-in-the-uk/ |date=17 March 2022 |archive-date=15 November 2022 |access-date=15 November 2022 }}</ref> The nature of that community has changed with evolving queer politics, away from [[lesbian feminism]] and towards "[[homonormativity|homonormative]] [[cultural assimilation|assimilation]]".<ref name="IHR 2022-11-15"/><ref name="Duggan 2002">{{cite book |first=Lisa |last=Duggan |chapter=The New Homonormativity: The Sexual Politics of Neoliberalism |title=Materializing Democracy: Toward a Revitalized Cultural Politics |editor1=Russ Castronovo |editor2=Dana D. Nelson |pages=175–94 |publisher=Duke University Press |date=2002 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv125jgrq.10 }}</ref>

===21st century===
In 2008, a group of local residents initiated the [[Incredible Edible]] project to raise awareness of food issues and in particular local food and food provenance.<ref name=IET>Paull, John (2013) [http://orgprints.org/24956/28/24956.pdf  "Please Pick Me" – How Incredible Edible Todmorden is repurposing the commons for open source food and agricultural biodiversity],  In J. Franzo, D. Hunter, T. Borelli & F. Mattei (Eds.). Diversifying Foods and Diets: Using Agricultural Biodiversity to Improve Nutrition and Health. Oxford: Earthscan, Routledge, pp.336–345.</ref> 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.<ref name="IET" />  The project has attracted publicity, media attention and visitors and the idea has been replicated in at least fifteen towns and villages in the UK.<ref name="IET" />