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Todmorden is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is part of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough. Although now usually considered to be entirely in Yorkshire, the historic border between Yorkshire and Lancashire runs through the centre of the town, and the area comes under the Rochdale phone prefix of "01706" as well as an Oldham postcode of "OL".
Location and history
The town centre occupies the confluence of three steep sided valleys in the Pennines. The main valley is that of the River Calder; the valleys constrict the shape of the town. Streams from the surrounding hills provided water for corn and fulling mills, and later, power for cotton spinning and weaving. Until 1889, the area used to fall in the ancient parish of Hundersfield. Communications were provided in their turn by the building of roads, the Rochdale Canal, and then the main line of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway between Manchester and Leeds; now the Caldervale Railway line. Each occupy the gap through the hills via Hebden Bridge and Halifax. Harold Shipman, the G.P. who is believed to have killed over 200 patients in the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's, claimed some of his victims while working as a doctor in Todmorden.
In December 1984 a freight train carrying petrol derailed in the summit tunnel between Todmorden and Littleborough causing an underground fire on the Yorkshire/Lancashire border. More than 200 firefighters from both West Yorkshire and Manchester were employed to tackle the blaze, which burned for several days. Fortunately, no-one was killed or injured in the incident. TV footage of the fire showing flames shooting out of the ventilation shafts on the hillside was beamed all around the world as the derailment quickly turned into a major transportation disaster. The build up of heat in the surrounding ground led to the phenomenon of a 'false spring'. Many plants were seen to be producing flowers and buds as the warm soil triggered a period of new growth.
Todmorden today
Although its industrial base is much reduced (at one time Todmorden had the largest weaving shed in the world), it is now more of a commuter town for people working in Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, and other large cities. It also attracts visitors in connection with its locality: heritage and the countryside being its selling points.
The population of Todmorden in the 2001 UK census was 11,826. *.
Twin towns
Todmorden's twin towns are:
Famous people from Todmorden
- Keith Emerson, pianist, Founder / member of The Nice and Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- John Fielden (1784-1849), local landowner and national leader of the Ten Hours Campaign for factory reform
- John Cockcroft who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1951
- Geoffrey Wilkinson, won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1973
- Harold Shipman, the serial killer had his first medical practice in Todmorden
- John Helliwell of the band Supertramp
- Wilfred Judson (1902-1980), former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
- John Kettley, BBC Weatherman
- Chipps Chippendale, mountain biking journalist
Music
Music has always played an important part in the life of Todmordians. John Helliwell of Supertramp, Keith Emerson of The Nice and Emerson, Lake and Palmer were born and raised in Todmorden, as was Geoff Love a generation earlier. More recent artists include Carlospresents of Merry Men, and three groups formed by local constituency:
- Logger and the Lumberjacks
- Peter Daye and the Knights
- The Keys
There has also been wide enjoyment of more traditional musical forms:
- the Todmorden Brass Band
- the Todmorden Orchestra
- the Belvedere Dance Band
External links
"Todmorden"