Todmorden Unitarian Church

Todmorden Town Hall – Situated in the centre of Todmorden, this
impressive Town Hall is considered one of the best municipal buildings in the
country, paid for by John Fielden MP.

Stoodley Pike is a 1,300-foot (400 m) hill in the south Pennines, noted for
the 121 feet (37 m) Stoodley Pike Monument at its summit, which dominates
the moors above Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. 

HCT owns two other buildings nearby: Wainsgate Chapel which is a few
miles away above Hebden Bridge, and Farfield Quaker Meeting House,
which is in Addingham about 20 miiles away. You could also take in the
Bronte Parsonage Museum at Haworth, which is on the way to Addingham
and well worth a visit.

Todmorden Unitarian Church, was built in 1864-9 by sons of ‘Honest’ John
Fielden MP, a mill-owner and radical who was responsible for the ‘Ten Hours
Act’ of 1847 that limited working hours of women and children. The Unitarian
Movement originated in Todmorden and Fielden was a leading member.

John Gibson, who worked with Charles Barry on the rebuilding of the Palace
of Westminster, designed the church. Among its important features are its
alignment (south-west), its rose and 5-light chancel windows, the 59m,
3-stage octagonal tower and its lavish decorative scheme which survives
largely intact.

Pevsner states that it “survives complete as one of the most elaborate
Non-Conformist churches to adopt the style and arrangements of the
Established Church during the High Gothic Revival”. Christopher Stell, a
national authority on Nonconformist architecture, wrote: “as an example of
High Victorian church architecture, this bears comparison with some of the
best buildings of the Established Church; as representing the Nonconformist
architecture of its period, it is unrivalled”.

Since HCT acquired the Grade I listed Todmorden Church in 1994 over £1m
of restoration work has been completed, but there is much still to do. The
restoration work was made possible thanks to generous grants from Historic
England, the Heritage Lottery Fund, several grant giving trusts as well as
many private individuals. The work has included:

• Repairs to roof, the 59m spire and the chancel
• Conservation of the stained glass, which was designed by
  Jean-Baptiste Capronnier (1814-1891)
• Restoring the derelict lodge
• New heating system, WCs and small kitchen.

In 2014, thanks to a generous legacy from a former bell-ringer the ring of
bells was also restored.