THE FIELDEN TRAIL

Stoodley Pike Monument, standing at 1310 feet above sea level is the highest point reached by the Fielden Trail. It is also the coldest, bleakest and wildest point! The Pike appears to be welcoming, yet when you get there you soon find that it offers little in the way of shelter from the elements. After groping your way through pitch darkness up the staircase to reach the viewing platform, you find that it's actually colder in the Pike than it was at ground level, where you at least had stone buttresses to break the wind. On a wet, cold and windy day, with grey clouds billowing over the moors, Stoodley Pike can be a miserable place indeed.

Stoodley Pike has been in existence much longer than the rather lugubrious egyptian monument that crowns it. In 1274 Stoodley was mentioned in the Wakefield Manor Court Rolls, and it seems fairly certain that originally a large cairn stood on the Pike, probably covering an ancient burial, for tradition asserts that a skeleton was found on the spot when the first Monument was constructed in 1814.

The first Stoodley Pike Monument was constructed by public subscription to commemorate the surrender of Paris to the Allies in March 1814. Among the names associated with its construction we find Greenwoods, Halsteads, Lacys, Inghams and, of course, Fieldens. The foundation stone was laid with Masonic honours and a feast and celebration held. The completed Monument was 37 yds. 2 ft. 4 in. high. For the first 5 yards it was square, above which height the structure was circular, tapering to the top. Inside, a staircase of around 150 precarious steps led to the top where there was a small room with a fireplace. While work was continuing on the monument, Napoleon escaped from Elba and finally met his 'Waterloo', and it was in that year, 1815, that the monument was finally completed.

Its career was ill starred. Within a few years it had suffered vandalism, and the entrance had been walled up. Nemesis arrived on February 8th 1854 when, during the afternoon, after a rumbling which startled the entire neighbourhood, it was discovered that the Monument had collapsed. By an unhappy coincidence this happened on the same afternoon that the Russian Ambassador left London before the declaration of war with Russia. As a result of this, Stoodley Pike Monument has since been saddled with the myth that its collapse heralds the approach of war.

On March 10th 1854 a meeting was held at the Golden Lion in Todmorden with John Fielden in the chair. Object, to rebuild the Monument. John's brother, Samuel Fielden, was also among the speakers at the meeting. It was estimated that the rebuilding would cost between 300 and 400 pounds. On March 30th another meeting was held and it was decided, on the motion of Samuel Fielden, that the Monument should take its present obelisk form. The Fieldens, Sam, John and Joshua, contributed to the project along with other local worthies, and 300 pounds was raised. On June 1st they held another meeting, at which designs were submitted for the new Monument, resulting in the acceptance of the design of local architect Mr. James Green of Portsmouth, Todmorden. A Committee of Works was appointed:

Chairman. John Fielden of Dobroyd.
Treasurer. Samuel Fielden of Centre Vale.
J. Ingham, Joshua Fielden of Stansfield Hall, John Eastwood,
Edward Lord, John Veevers, Wm. Greenwood of Stones, J. Green (architect), John Lacy and Mr. Knowles of Lumb (secretary).

By now 600 pounds had been raised, helped by subscriptions from Thomas Fielden of Crumpsall, Manchester, and Mrs. James Fielden of Dobroyd. In the end the total bill came to over 812 pounds with 212 pounds outstanding. This debt was generously liquidated by (guess who!) Mr. Samuel Fielden of Centre Vale.

Thus it was that in 1856, the year of the Peace (Crimean War) the Monument was reconstructed in its present form. Within a few years the fabric was in need of repair, and when this work was carried out in 1889, again assisted by funding from John and Samuel Fielden, improvements were made; among them more adequate lighting for the staircase and a lightning conductor. Once again, costs exceeded estimates, and once again Fieldens cleared the debt. The emblems and inscriptions over the entrance to the monument were carved by Mr. Luke Fielden, and it is believed that John Fielden himself composed the inscription. The lettering is not too easy to read these days, so I will save you the trouble:-

"STOODLEY PIKE
A PEACE MONUMENT
Erected by Public Subscription.
Commenced in 1814 to commemorate the Surrender of Paris to the Allies and finished after the Battle of Waterloo when peace was established in 1815. By a strange co incidence the Pike fell on the day the Russian Ambassador left London before the declaration of war with Russia in 1854 and it was rebuilt when peace was proclaimed in 1856. Repaired and lightning conductor fixed 1889."

What of the Pike today? If you can find a pleasant enough day to visit this bleak spot, the views are excellent, ranging from Holme Moss and Emley Moor to the south and Boulsworth Hill and the Haworth moors to the north. Less far afield we can see right into the heart of Todmorden and up the gorge towards Cornholme and Hartley Royd. Immediately below, the main Burnley Road can be seen through a gap in the hills, passing through the vicinity of Eastwood. It is incredible to think that it was somewhere down there, near Callis Bridge, that James Shepherd rescued the little boy, Samuel S. Fielden, from the raging river, after he had been swept there all the way from the centre of Todmorden. No wonder the poor boy did not survive his ordeal!

Stoodley Pike Monument belongs to Todmorden, despite being perhaps nearer to Hebden Bridge. The Pike is not visible from Hebden Bridge, whereas it dominates Todmorden from a distance and can be seen from every part of the town. It is not for nothing that the Monument is displayed in Todmorden's Coat-of-Arms. Yet it is not unique. The strange compulsion that led 19th century Yorkshiremen and Lancashire folk to build bizarre 'follies' on their hilltops is something of a mystery. A tradition was established that in an odd, and more functional, kind of way has persisted into the 20th century with the masts and towers of Holme Moss and Emley Moor, not to mention the host of smaller TV booster transmitters to be found on hillsides all over the area. Yet the old 'follies'... Wainhouse Tower, The Pecket Memorial, Rivington Pike, the Earl Crag Monuments near Keighley, Wainman's Pinnacle and Lund's Tower, the Jubilee Tower on Almondbury at Huddersfield .... all bear mute testimony to this strange urge. Perhaps it is similar to the one which prompts lesser mortals to add stones to cairns on the Pennine Way. Who knows?

It is time to move on. If you are feeling really energetic you can follow the Pennine Way to Kirk Yetholm. If you are following the Fielden Trail, however, you will ignore such temptations and head back towards Todmorden.

From the entrance to the Monument walk straight forwards towards the edge of the scarp, bearing slightly left. Soon a path can be seen descending the steep face of the hillside towards a cluster of hospital buildings on the 'shelf' below. This is the Fielden Hospital, which was built at Leebottom in 1892 by John Ashton Fielden, who was carrying out the wishes of his father, the late Mr. Samuel Fielden of Centre Vale. Samuel had long displayed an interest in the welfare of children and the building of a children's hospital had always been his dearest wish. Near the end of the Fielden Trail at Centre Vale Park is the Fielden School of Art. This was originally built and maintained as an elementary school at Samuel's own private expense. His wife, Sarah Jane, was particularly notable in this respect. She was the daughter of Joseph Brookes Yates of Liverpool, (Samuel married her at Childwall Church near to that town in 1859), and no doubt she would have been quite familiar with the conditions endured by the slum children of that sleazy, bustling port. All this may be speculation, but even if she was not influenced by such realities, her interest in the welfare of Todmorden's children is in no doubt. In August 1874 the first School Board in the Todmorden district was elected and Mrs. Fielden was its most distinguished and active member. She devoted many years to the study of the education of younger children, at first in unpretentious buildings in Cobden St., then later in her own school at Centre Vale, where she engaged in education work along lines which she herself had searched out and practically tested. (Centre Vale School continued until 1896). But back to the Fielden Trail. The path from Stoodley Pike passes steeply down to the left through Red Scar and after meandering down the moor eventually reaches London Road near Higher Greave. Bear left, following this track to Mankinholes.

Further down the hillside below London Road is yet another hospital, Stansfield View. This was originally the Union Workhouse, although it wasn't constructed until the 1870s (the original Poor Law Amendment Act having been passed in 1834). The reason for the delay was the fierce and often violent opposition to this despised institution, an opposition in which the Fieldens were particularly vociferous and active. Events in Mankinholes in 1838 were to have a particular impact on the area and delay the implementation of the new Poor Law for many years.

Descending slightly, the walled lane emerges on the metalled road leading to Lumbutts at the southern end of Mankinholes village. Beyond Lumbutts this road connects with the Salter Rake Gate we passed over earlier on the Fielden Trail. At the end of London Road turn right into Mankinholes village. On the right is a beautifully designed stone trough which was constructed as a watering place for the packhorse trains, which at one time were the almost universal traffic of the area. It is hard to imagine that in the centuries prior to the Industrial Revolution this sleepy little community lay astride what was then a busy trade route.

. . . IS DELIGHTFUL! Apart from the tarmac lane which brings the odd speeding motorist through its meandering, tree shaded heart, Mankinholes is venerable and peaceful, a community that time seems to have passed by. It is tempting to call the place "pre industrial", but more accurate to call it "pre Industrial Revolution", for although mills, canals, towns and railways have left Mankinholes alone on the hillside with its memories, it was nevertheless, in the days of its prosperity, almost entirely given over to the domestic textile industry. Even with the Industrial Revolution, textiles did not die out up here, as the traditional domestic woollen industry was simply replaced by Fielden's cotton spinning mill at nearby Lumbutts, just a little further along the hillside. Up here on the 'shelf of land just below Stoodley Pike we are given the rare opportunity of seeing two small and different industrial communities side by side, the one domestic and the other factory based, representing two different epochs in the history of the area.

In Mankinholes we see the earlier epoch. A woollen industry characterised by the spinning wheel and the handloom, the jingling packhorses and their colourful drivers, the "broggers". When Defoe passed through this area in the 18th century, he remarked upon the 'pieces' of cloth which could be seen on every hillside, stretched upon their tenter frames (the origin of the expression 'on tenter hooks'). Weavers would often carry pieces to market on their backs as we have seen. Besides the weavers there were the croppers with their enormous shears for cutting the nap on the cloth; there were dyers, fullers with their stocks and waterwheels, their tiny mills serving an industry centred on the hillfarmer's hearth and home, yet pointing towards the new industrial age that was to come, for in the end the 'hearth and home' would come to serve the mill and the flow of progress would create new communities and environments, leaving the time honoured industries of communities like Mankinholes high and dry.

So Mankinholes remains aloof and detached from the bustle below, nursing its memories, a community put out to pasture. Mankinholes, like other places we have encountered along the route, was a stronghold of early Quakerism, the first recorded meetings in the area being held here at the house of Joshua Laycock, to which a burial ground was attached on December 3rd 1667. Half a little croft called 'Tenter Croft' was rented as a burial ground at a yearly rent of 'one twopence of silver' for a term of 900 years. This plot of ground still forms part of one of the farms at the northern end of the village, and on one of the outbuildings is a gravestone with the inscription "J.S. 1685". Within a short time of the passing of the Toleration Act in 1689, Quaker Meeting Houses were registered in Haworth, Mankinholes, Bottomley and Todmorden. Eventually, as the development of the area began to centre on the valley below, the Quakers moved nearer to Todmorden, to Shoebroad and ultimately to Cockpit Hill behind Fielden Square in Todmorden.

With the end of the Quaker persecutions, Mankinholes returned to its tranquil life. In the wake of the Quakers came the Methodists, who built a chapel here in 1815, and in the same year a school was opened with Mr. William Bayes of Lumbutts as headmaster. As the cotton spinning industry developed at nearby Lumbutts, the traditional domestic industries of Mankinholes declined, and this little community might simply have passed into oblivion and obscurity had it not been for the sudden and extremely violent scenes which took place here on the afternoon of Friday November 16th 1838, events which were to have a profound effect on the neighbourhood for some years to come.

These troubles were caused by the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, which abolished the old system of parish relief for the poor which dated back to the time of Elizabeth I, and brought in a new regime, administered by three commissioners who rapidly became known as the 'Three Bashaws (Pashas) of Somerset House'. These commissioners were empowered to group parishes into Unions where workhouses (which came to be called Unions) would be established. As a result of this, the able-bodied might receive no relief except within the workhouse, where conditions were deliberately made harsh. In the workhouse men and women were kept apart to prevent childbearing, and to enter it meant leaving one's home and loved ones to suffer perpetual imprisonment simply for having the misfortune to be poor or unemployed.

In the south the new act was quickly implemented, but in the north it was resolutely and often violently opposed. "The New Bastilles" as the workhouses were called, were set on fire or pulled down; and in many northern towns it was many years before the act could be enforced. To understand the reason for this violent opposition we must look more closely at the objects and aims of the act, and at the social and economic differences between the northern and southern regions.

The aim of the Poor Law Amendment Act was primarily to reduce vagrancy by making it impossible for the poor to get an easy living by "scrounging" off the parish. In certain areas this situation was indeed the case, with many people preferring to live on relief rather than seek honest employment. It was reasoned that the introduction of this new system would make living "on the Parish" so harsh, restrictive and unpleasant that a man would take on any kind of work rather than submit himself to the horrors of the workhouse. The implementation of the law proved that there had indeed been some point to the argument. The numbers of people seeking relief dropped drastically in the south, but unfortunately the government of the day completely misjudged the effects of the new Poor Law upon the industrial north, where a completely different situation was to be found. In the north things were different. Work was centred on the new factories and the factories were having difficult times. Traditional industries like handloom weaving were in decline, and in factories with the new machines fewer hands were needed to do the work of many. Wages were poor and unemployment was widespread. Naturally enough, the arrival of the workhouse upon the scene proved to be the last straw. In the south it may have persuaded the 'idle poor' to seek work, but in the north there was often no work of any kind to be had, especially in areas where the whole community was often entirely dependent on a single industry, or even a single employer. People were forced to enter the workhouse through no fault of their own and be separated from their loved ones with no prospects save harsh labour and perpetual imprisonment. Furthermore, the workhouse initiated a downward spiral, for if work was available, the poor, rather than submit to the rigours of the workhouse and the workhouse test and lose their homes, would accept lower wages and longer hours and thus aggravate still further the great struggle with poverty in which so many of the weavers and workers were at that time engaged. Lower wages and longer hours would, of course, benefit the mill masters, giving them an endless supply of cheap labour, but thankfully there were those more enlightened souls who were aware of the injustice of the new Poor Law, and who were ready to organise local opposition to the hated workhouse.

In Yorkshire there were two hotbeds of Poor Law opposition, Huddersfield, led by Richard Oastler, and the workers of Todmorden, led by 'Honest John' Fielden. On May 13th 1837 'Honest John' was speaker at a huge West Riding anti Poor Law rally held on Hartshead Moor near Liversedge, and on 19th February 1838 he became vice chairman of Earl Stanhope's Anti Poor Law Association. The struggle against the workhouse in Todmorden was bitter. Elections of 18 Guardians for the seven townships in the Union were ordered in January 1837, but Todmorden, Walsden and Langfield refused to proceed, and when the Guardians did meet on 6th July 1838, their opponents forced them to adjourn. As regards John Fielden's involvement in these events, his opposition was vigorous: "A most extraordinary course of conduct was pursued by Messrs. Fielden & Co.," who dismissed all their workers to overload the system and force the Guardians to resign. Unfortunately they "wholly failed in this remarkable endeavour to intimidate the Guardians" and re opened their works within days, on the 16th. John then warned the Guardians with an ominous placard:

"To oppose force we are not yet prepared, but if the people of this and surrounding districts are to be driven to the alternative of either doing so, or surrendering their local government into the hands of an unconstitutional board of lawmakers, the time may not be far distant when the experiment may be tried, and I would warn those who provoke the people to such a combat of the danger they are incurring."

The warning was duly noted and the Guardians were at first cautious, not attempting to implement the Act fully for some time. But attempts to levy rates through the Todmorden and Langfield Overseers led to tangled legal actions, and when two Constables were sent from Halifax to Mankinholes to seize the household goods of Mr. William Ingham, the Overseer, for his refusal on behalf of the township of Langfield to pay the new Poor Law levy, they could not have been aware of the seething cauldron of violent resentment that they were about to overturn.

What happened next is best expressed in the words of the time, from a pamphlet account published in 1838:-

"The Overseer of Todmorden, Mr. Ingham, has recently had a fine imposed upon him for neglecting to pay the demands made upon him under the new [Poor] Law. In consequence a distress warrant was taken out against him on 8th December Thursday. Feather, the Under Deputy and King, Sergeant of the Watch, proceeded to Langfield to mark the goods and give the usual notice that if the fine was not paid the goods would be taken and sold ... On Friday 16th May they went, taking with them a horse and a cart ... Immediately upon the Officers being seen, a woman, who was standing with several others upon a piece of rising ground at a short distance called out. "Ring the 'larum bell", she repeated, and forthwith a bell commenced ringing ... with tremendous violence. In almost an instant the bell of Mr. Fielden's factory situated at Lumbutts about two fields length from Ingham's house was set a ringing and was followed by several others. These bells were rung from 10 to 15 minutes incessantly.

The game was now commenced, factories emptied of men armed with clubs, etc., hastening to the scene of action. Soon there was a mob of two thousand people gathered!" The mob threatened to raze his house if Ingham would not deliver up the Constables, who, after having been mauled by the mob, were now hiding in Ingham's house. Eventually, however, an agreement was reached whereby the Officers agreed to take an oath that they would not return here again on such an errand. The mob was now slightly pacified, but not content with this they demanded that the Constables should apologise on their knees. Neither Officer was willing to submit to this kind of degradation, so when Ingham finally opened the door "both Officers were seized in an instant and the mob commenced stripping them of their clothes. Feather, now seeing the position they were in, begged for mercy. The mob shouted: 'we will spare your lives! Mr. Fielden told us to spare your lives!'

Left now to the mercies of the mob the Officers were "most severely kicked, thrown upon the ground, dragged by their heels upon the ground and suffered the most murderous treatment. Their hats were taken off, filled with mud, and then with great violence forced over their faces. Thus blinded and choked they continued to make their way towards Stoodley Bridge." Half a dozen of the mob protected them for a time, but, being attacked by the remainder, they left them to their fate.

Upon arriving at the last turn in Stoodley Plantation the mob threatened to throw them into the canal: "One man who was holding King's left arm said 'Now if you will make a split [run] I will give you a chance!' [They were about forty yards away from the canal]. He [King] did so but was immediately pursued by the man who had hold of his right arm. This fellow, who King says was one of Mr. Fielden's mechanics, proved to be a treacherous rogue who tried to pitch him into the cut . . ." The Officers eventually found refuge at a Mr. Oliver's, and managed to get some clothes and catch the 'Perseverance' Mail Coach back to Halifax (their cart having been smashed and burned and the horse turned loose by the mob).

That might have been an end to it, but on the following Wednesday, (21st November), a rumour spread to the effect that the Constables were returning once more, this time with a body of soldiers. The balloon went up and the mob gathered; but the rumour turned out to be a damp squib. Not to be thwarted however: "The infuriated mob determined to manifest their indignation at the new Poor Law and its advocates in the following summary manner...From Mankinholes they proceeded to Mutterhole, the residence of Mr. Royston Oliver, one of the Poor Law Guardians, and broke the whole of his windows and doors; after which they proceeded to Wood Mill, breaking the windows of Mr. Samuel Oliver's house, and the windows of the inn where the Guardians hold their meetings."
From here the mob went "then to Stones Wood, the residence of Messrs. Ormerod Bros., destroying windows, doors and furniture, and on their return called on Mr. Helliwell of Friths Mill." The mob then went to Wattey Place (Wm. Greenwood), Jeremiah Oliver (the surgeon) and the house of Miss Holt, the draper, whose windows were smashed. Also suffering damage were the houses of Mr. Henry Atkinson (shoemaker) and Mr. Stansfield, Solicitor and Clerk to the Board of Guardians.

On reaching Todmorden Hall, which was at this time the residence of James Taylor Esq, the Magistrate, they destroyed windows, doors, furniture, family paintings and carriages, and carried off spirits, wines and the contents of the cellar. Next they went to the house of Mr. James Suthers, who lived up Blind Lane and who was the Collecting Overseer under the new Poor Law for the Todmorden District. Here again, windows were smashed and the house plundered, and the mob would have made a bonfire of the furniture but for the appeal of a lady nearby who feared for the houses catching fire; so instead they threw it into the nearby watercourse. The mob ended its rampage at the residence of Mr. Greenwood at Hare Hill, where, after breaking windows and doors they set the house on fire, which was quickly extinguished by a fire engine sent from Fielden's Mill at Waterside before much damage was done. All the people whose houses were attacked were either Union officials or "other persons supposed to be friendly to the Law"; Miss Holt for example, whose windows disappeared under the vengeance of the mob, was sister in law to Joshua Fielden, but had shown herself by chatter over her shop counter to be in favour of the new Poor Law.

Retribution was swift. Soldiers were brought in and large numbers of Fielden's workers were arrested by police and troops. Of 40 men tried however, only one was actually imprisoned. The Fieldens and their workers had won ... it was not until 1877 that Todmorden finally agreed to build a workhouse.

After these events Mankinholes reverted back to its former tranquility (although it must have seen a little activity four years later with the Chartist and Anti Corn Law disturbances). Mr. Ingham's house still remains, standing in a cluster of trees in Mankinholes with its gable to the road. It seems hard to imagine the scenes that took place here on that fateful Friday afternoon in 1838. Such violence seems somehow incongruous in this gentle place.

But back to the present. From Mankinholes the Fielden Trail follows the route of the Calderdale Way into Todmorden, via Lumbutts. Just beyond the northern end of the village the Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School appears on the right. This was built by public subscription in 1833. The adjoining ground was the site of Mankinholes Methodist Church, and a sign by the gate informs us that it was "built in 1814, enlarged in 1870, rebuilt in 1911 and closed in 1979." Opposite the chapel gate a paved track leads between walls to the Dog and Partridge or Top Brink Inn at Lumbutts, one of the oldest hostelries in the district. Sheep fairs were once held here, and business deals clinched over a pint of ale. The Langfield Moor Gateholders met here and the pub was a traditional haunt of the 'Broggers' (the packhorse men).

Before reaching the front of the Top Brink, a cobbled ginnel leads down to the Lumbutts Road near the water tower. Turn right here: soon a stream passes beneath the road and an imposing mill house appears on the left in front of the water tower. This house, and the tower, is all that remains of Fielden's Spinning Mill. Around this mill in the 19th century mushroomed the cotton manufacturing community of Lumbutts.

Lumbutts.

Sited on the fast flowing stream flowing down Black Clough from Langfield Common, Lumbutts was the ideal site for the development of a small manufacturing community of the Industrial Revolution. Whereas Mankinholes owed its livelihood to farming and to the domestic based textiles of an earlier age, Lumbutts, in contrast, was almost entirely created by, and centred around, its cotton mill; which was one of the many remote outposts of the Fielden's cotton manufacturing 'empire'. Nearly all of its 200 or so inhabitants were employed by Fieldens in the 19th century.
The mill that stood in front of the huge tower was (on the authority of a local retired postman I conversed with) Fielden's Scutching and Carding Department. On the other side of the road stood the Spinning Shed. Today only the water tower, the dams that fed it, the manager's house, and some workers' cottages remain to testify to the substantial manufacturing establishment that developed here. The water tower especially was a fine work of engineering. In its day it housed three overshot waterwheels which were fed from the dams up Black Clough. The three wheels were arranged in a vertical sequence so that each wheel had its own feed, but was also driven by the water falling from the wheel above it. The top water fell a total distance of 90 feet and the whole system was capable of generating 54 horse power. Today, though ruined, the tower is still a fascinating structure and is a landmark visible from all the surrounding moorland edges.

From Lumbutts follow the metalled road onwards towards the Shepherd's Rest. On this tarmac road we are, in fact, walking along part of the Salter Rake Gate. A little further along, near the pub, the old stone causey coming down from the moors joins up with the modern road, where it disappears beneath the tarmac. The Fielden Trail however, leaves the road before reaching this point. After passing 'Causey West' on the right, turn right by pole no. 215 at Croft Gate to Croft Farm. Just beyond Croft Farm pass through a stile and follow the footpath to Far Longfield Farm. (Look for the Calderdale Way waymarks). The Shepherd's Rest and the road can be seen across fields on the left. At Far Longfield, go through a stile by pole no. 273, following the path through Longfield Stables to a farm road beyond which llamas may sometimes be seen grazing. (Yes, I did say llamas!). On reaching a junction of farm roads a small dam appears in the field opposite. Turn right, following a walled lane. to:-

Shoebroad Quaker Burial Ground.

If you wish to explore this place more closely it will be necessary for you to shin over the wall, as the entrance gate was walled up long ago. The exercise is hardly worth the effort, however, as apart from a few gravestones belonging to the Oddy family, there is really nothing there to see. This is a Quaker Burial Ground, and Quakers were not allowed headstones or grave monuments until relatively recent times, the tradition being one of anonymous burial in an unmarked plot of ground. It might come as rather a surprise therefore, when I tell you that there are at least 24 Quaker Fieldens buried in this tiny plot of ground, and goodness knows how many other people from other Quaker families in the district. Here lie the mortal remains of Joshua Fielden (I) of Bottomley, who along with his brother John Fielden of Hartley Royd, were amongst the first people in the district to become Quakers. He was buried here on 21st April 1693, and was followed by successive Joshuas, the last Joshua being 'Honest John's' father, the enterprising Joshua Fielden (IV) of Edge End and later Waterside, who was buried here in April 1811. The last Fielden to be buried here was old Joshua's youngest surviving daughter, Salley Fielden, who died at Waterside on 18th September 1859 aged 79. (She was Mary Fielden's aunt.) Also buried here are John and Tamar Fielden of Todmorden Hall, whom we will shortly encounter on the last lap of the Fielden Trail.

From the Quaker cemetery the track continues to descend towards Todmorden, passing Shoebroad Farm (another Quaker meeting place) on the left. On reaching the bend at Honey Hole, do not follow it, but instead continue onwards through an iron gate which leads into the cemetery. The gravel path turns left, descends through trees and shrubbery and finally emerges at the chancel end of Todmorden Unitarian Church. On the left, at the corner of the church, are the graves of Samuel and Joshua Fielden, two of the three brothers who left such a lasting mark on the architectural character of Todmorden. (The third brother, John Fielden J.P. of Dobroyd Castle, is buried at Grimston Park near Leeds.) Also buried here is Samuel Fielden's wife, Sarah Jane, whose educational works were recently discussed. The inscription tells us that she was born at West Dingle, Liverpool, on 5th November 1819 and died at Centre Vale in 1910. There is less inscription on Joshua's grave, although we note with some surprise that Joshua, by a strange twist of fate, died on his 70th birthday, being born on March 8th 1827 and dying on the same date in 1897. My first visit here seemed a rather haunting experience. There I stood, with one of Samuel Fielden's letters in my pocket, along with correspondence written by his sister Mary. It was strange to reflect that had fate not brought this material into my possession, I would not even have been aware of his existence, still less visited his grave. It was equally strange to think that his birthday was the same as my own, 21st January. For me, my own personal Fielden Trail began right here.
From the two graves, bear right, around the front of the church, passing through the magnificent porch beneath the tall spired tower. In the mosaic pavement is a small, circular device containing the names of Samuel, Joshua and John Fielden. On reaching the far end of the building, bear right, to where the main entrance to the church stands near a magnificent 'rose' window.

Todmorden Unitarian Church.

Todmorden Unitarian Church was built by the three Fielden Brothers, John, Samuel and Joshua, in memory of their famous father, 'Honest John' Fielden M.P. The first sod was cut in April 1865, and the corner stone was laid by Samuel Fielden on December 23rd 1865. Prior to its opening the structure was complete in almost every detail, and the gathering of 800 people who met for the offical opening on April 7th 1869 saw the church as a finished work of art. Like most of the Fielden buildings in Todmorden the Unitarian Church was designed by the Westminster architect John Gibson, who created a Gothic style church of remarkably fine taste. (Victorian 'Gothick' was very often quite the opposite.) "Internally this massive church, constructed in stone, marble and oak, is 128 feet long and 46 feet wide. The magnificent spire is 196 feet in height. To ensure its safety the steeple has its foundations 30 feet down into the ground, and the pinnacles increase the stability of the tower by their downward thrust. The lofty nave with its two aisles has seven pointed and moulded arches on each side, springing from pillars of Devon marble six feet in circumference. Each window in the nave has its arch finished with the carving of a human, alternately male and female. A unique feature of its oak roof is the insertion of a number of small windows admitting light. These cannot be seen from the outside. On the south side of the chancel is the vestry, originally planned as a mortuary chapel, and on the north side is the organ chamber and original vestry. The rose window at the western end of the nave is one of the finest features of the church. In some lights the 35,000 pieces of glass used in its design gleam like a precious jewel. The only other windows of stained glass are those in the chancel, which contain representations of biblical incidents. These windows, with colours rich and glowing, were the work of M. Capronnier of Brussels. The beauty of this church has not been spoiled by the addition of unsuitable memorials. It contains only four, one to the memory of those members who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-18, and the other three to the Fielden brothers by whose munificence the church was built . . ."

So much for the "guide book" details. Now to the sad reality. On my second visit here I was lucky enough to arrive when the custodian of the church, Mr. Rushworth, was showing round an architect and a surveyor from London, who had been requested to come and inspect the fabric, judge what repairs were necessary, and estimate the cost. Mr. Rushworth explained to me that the church is normally locked because of repeated acts of vandalism carried out by the youth of the neighbourhood. Only recently the church had been broken into and a lot of damage done. My guide informed me that he had once worked as a secretary at Fielden's Mill. He showed me pews at the front of the church which were slightly larger and more comfortable than the others (I wouldn't have noticed the difference had it not been pointed out to me). These were obviously the Fieldens' own private pews.

Unfortunately the future prospects for this beautiful building are none to good. Not only has the church been vandalised, but the lead on the roof has become so decayed that it is raining in, with resultant damage to the church's fabric. Mr. Rushworth informed me at the time that they had put in for a grant to restore the church, but did not feel that it would be of much use, as the cost that was estimated for the repair work was in excess of 50,000 pounds (it only cost 36,000 pounds to build). Sad to say, this magnificently beautiful building is today something of a white elephant. Built in an age of Victorian wealth and opulence, the Fielden brothers would never have imagined that perhaps one day future Unitarians might be quite unable to keep up to this grandiose memorial to their father's memory. Its very scale and magnificence denies it any use other than that for which it was intended. If it were smaller, and older, there would be lots of potential uses and sources of revenue to ensure its continued survival. Alas, this is not the case. It remains, a massive, decaying church with only a small congregation.

The irony of the situation is that a few years ago, when faced with the choice of selling either the old Sunday School or the church, they sold the former on the grounds that it would be unthinkable to part with the magnificent latter building. The Sunday School (which was the original Unitarian Chapel) is now a workshop and the Unitarians are beginning to regret that they sold it. It was smaller, more adaptable and historically of greater significance than its more magnificent yet less venerable successor. There would have been far less difficulty in attracting funds to restore and modernise it. Now, alas, they are left with an unspoilt, unaltered, architecturally beautiful 'white elephant', and an enormous financial headache. There is light at the end of the tunnel though; at the time of writing, a grant has been obtained, and there are plans currently afoot to turn the church into a Fielden museum and exhibition centre. Hopefully they will succeed and Todmorden Unitarian Church may be rescued from oblivion before it is too late. From the entrance porch of the church return to Honey Hole Road and pass Meeting House Cottage on the right. Here was the Banktop Quaker Meeting House which was built in 1808 after the meeting house at Shoebroad had been taken down. A little further on, near a high wall and a trough on the right, bear left past modern railings to an iron gate in a stone wall. This leads into the graveyard of Todmorden Unitarian Sunday School:-

Todmorden Unitarian Sunday School.

The first thing we encounter at the old Sunday School is 'Honest John' Fielden's grave, which lies almost at your feet as you enter the graveyard. It is substantial but plain, being little more than a large expanse of gravel surrounded by four kerbstones.

Why, you might ask, was this relatively humble spot chosen as the last resting place of such a distinguished man as 'Honest John' Fielden? Surely it would have been more fitting to inter his remains in a more suitably grandiose tomb, sited in the magnificent church that was erected nearby to his memory? The reason is simple. The Old Sunday School was the original seat of Unitarian worship in the area and was the building that 'Honest John' knew and loved during his lifetime. Indeed, 'Honest John' Fielden's role in the development of the Unitarian Faith in Todmorden cannot be ignored, for without his enthusiasm and support that faith might well have foundered and passed into oblivion.

The story of local Unitarianism begins in 1806 with a schism among Methodists in the Rochdale area. This was caused by the expulsion from his ministry of the Reverend Joseph Cooke, who was removed from the Rochdale Methodist Circuit on account of his heretical opinions. Joseph Cooke was both young and popular, and his expulsion caused a secession from the ranks of Methodists in Rochdale, Padiham, Burnley and Todmorden, which were the areas where Cooke preached. These people gathered into Bible Reading Societies known as "Cookite" Congregations. Cooke's friends built for him the Providence Chapel in Clover Street, Rochdale, from which centre he established a 'circuit' and ministered to the various Cookite groups in neighbouring towns and villages. He died in 1811 aged 35. After his death Cookite numbers dwindled and those that remained became known as Methodist Unitarians, and it was to one such group, in Todmorden, to which John Fielden, the Quaker, was attracted.

In 1818 the renowned Unitarian Missionary, the Revd. Richard Wright, preached at Clover Street when some Todmorden hearers were present. They invited him to come and preach in Todmorden, and when he did so the local Cookite group were deeply impressed, realising that Unitarianism and their own beliefs were pretty much in agreement. Equally impressed by his meeting with Richard Wright was John Fielden, the Quaker millowner, who was converted to Unitarianism as a result. Already renowned for his sincerity, ability and work as an educationalist, John Fielden was the natural choice to lead this small band of Todmorden Unitarians, and the first result of Wright's visit was the formation of the group into a "Unitarian Society", with 'Honest John' as its most influential member. Fielden invited local Unitarian Ministers to visit Todmorden on a fortnightly basis and was successful in his endeavour. The Society at first met in a meeting room at Hanging Ditch, but, as they prospered and grew in number they resolved to build a Meeting House "Where the worship of God in one Person shall be carried on and a school taught."

Thus it was that in 1824 the Todmorden Unitarian Chapel (which later became the Sunday School) was opened on Cockpit Hill, with an outstanding debt of about 500 pounds. Times were hard for the cotton operatives who were the main support of the chapel. The trustees, finding the situation a burden, begged to be relieved of the office. 'Honest John', in typical Fielden fashion solved the problem by buying the Chapel, School and all accoutrements for 480 pounds. He appointed a regular Minister and paid his salary. This Minister was to also act as Schoolmaster in 'Honest John's' own Factory School at Waterside, which we encountered earlier in our travels. 'Honest John' superintended the Sunday School in person, beginning at 9.30 am with prayers, service, and scripture reading; followed by the 'three Rs', spelling and history. From 1828 onwards Fielden provided a day school with accomodation for 100 children between the age of four and the time of going to work. A fee of 2d per week was charged. This covered the cost of materials, the teacher's salaries being paid by 'Honest John'.

On 29th May 1849, after a distinguished but alas rather brief Parliamentary career, 'Honest John' Fielden died at Skeynes in Kent and was brought to Todmorden to be buried in the yard of the chapel he had loved so well. The funeral took place on 4th June, and according to the account published in the Ashton Chronicle, it was quite a substantial affair:

"The remains of Mr. John Fielden of Centre Vale, late M.P. for Oldham, were interred on Monday in his own chapel yard at Honey Hole. The funeral procession began to move from Centre Vale about 12 o'clock, headed by the minister, Mr. James Taylor and the Revd. J. Wilkinson of Rochdale, followed by the principal gentlemen of the neighbourhood ... The hearse was followed by two mourning coaches containing his sons and brothers ... these were followed by four other coaches, with relatives and intimate acquaintances, among whom were Mr. Charles Hindley, M.P. for Ashton, and Mr. John and Mr. James Cobbett. These were followed by a large procession of gentlemen and operatives from Oldham, Bolton and Manchester, who had come unsolicited to pay a mark of respect to their friend and benefactor. The road was lined with spectators from ... Centre Vale to the chapel, and thousands were on the hillsides and the tops of houses to witness the sad procession."

After 'Honest John's' death his three sons and their wives took over leadership of the Unitarian Congregation, and in 1869, when the new church was endowed, a new school was opened in the old chapel, which became the Todmorden Unitarian Sunday School. The old chapel was further extended and modernised in later years. A stone over the entrance reads:

"To the memory of Samuel, John and Joshua Fielden; constant benefactors of the Unitarian Church and School this stone was laid by Salfred Steintha June 17th 1899."

Today the Sunday School is a workshop, yet another chapel building fallen to the ravages of today's unbelieving consumer society. In the 19th century both family and community life was centred on the chapel ... today's urban man dedicates his spare time to TV. The material has replaced the spiritual, and in thousands of demolished or secularised chapels all over the region we are witnessing the "Fall of Zion". Today's society, living in the shadow of nuclear annihilation, sees no tomorrow, and it is hardly surprising to find that the solid faith and confidence in the future enjoyed by our Victorian forebears is singularly lacking today.
Chapels have now become workshops, recording studios, offices. There has even been a recent attempt to turn one into a witches' temple, and a century ago this would not only have been impossible but inconceivable! Today we are no longer subject to the tyrannical restrictions that were imposed on us by the blinkered guardians of Christian morality, but equally we are no longer able to enjoy the strength, fellowship and confidence that they took so much for granted. In rejecting the bad, alas, we have also rejected that which was good.
Before leaving the Sunday School yard take a look at the grave of James Graham, blacksmith of Dobroyd, whose headstone bears the following inscription:

"JAMES GRAHAM of DOBROYD, Todmorden.
Born March 18th 1837
Died February 12th 1876.
My sledge and hammer lay reclined my bellows too have lost their wind
my fires extinguished and my forge decayed my vice now in the dust is laid.
My iron and my coals are gone,
my nails are drove, my work is done;
my fire dried corpse lies here at rest
my soul is waiting to be blest! "
From the graveyard descend steps to:-

The Golden Lion Inn.

One of the older local hostelries, the Golden Lion has witnessed much of Todmorden's history. Situated in the old township of Langfield, it has an old drainpipe bearing the date 1789 on its rainwater head. An old coaching inn, it was very important in the days of turnpikes, the turnpike came to Todmorden in 1750, when its innkeeper was both postmaster and coach proprietor. Both the 'Shuttle' and 'Perseverance' stagecoaches called here on their way to Halifax. The Golden Lion was the scene of many gatherings of local importance. It was for many years the meeting place of the Freeholders of Langfield Common, and as such was greatly involved with both the building and later re-building of Stoodley Pike Monument.

The Conservative Club.

Across the square from the Golden Lion stands the Conservative Club. This was originally opened in 1880 as the Fielden Hotel and Coffee Tavern, and was, in its day, a stand for temperance in an area rich in taverns and hard drinking. It was built through the generosity of John Fielden J.P. of Dobroyd Castle. Closing its doors in April 1913, it reopened afterwards as a Conservative Club, the function it retains to this day. Outside it stood the statue of 'Honest John' Fielden, which is now situated in Centre Vale Park, at the very end of our journey.

From Fielden Square we pass through the heart of Todmorden to Centre Vale Park and the end of the Fielden Trail. By now, your feet will be telling you that you have nothing left to prove after having walked 99 percent of the route. "What is the point of walking this extra distance into Centre Vale Park?", you will be saying. You will have to walk back into the town centre when you've been there anyway! Well, if that's how you feel you can go home now, but if you'll bear with me, I'm sure that you will find the extra bit of walking required to complete the Fielden Trail quite worthwhile, there are still some stories left to be told and some ends to tie up.
From the Conservative Club follow the main road towards the centre of Todmorden. After crossing the canal turn left up Hall Street to the grounds of Todmorden Hall. The Fielden Trail passes the front of the house to emerge into Rise Lane on the other side.

Todmorden Hall.

This magnificent house, formerly a Post Office and now used as a restaurant, stands at the very hub of Todmorden's history. The present hall was rebuilt in 1603 by Saville Radcliffe, whose family had lived there for several generations. It was a gentleman's house, built (by local standards) in the grandest possible style and up to the 1700s it was the very heart of Todmorden, which at that time was little more than the Hall, the Church, and a few cottages. Todmorden was unusual in those days; a small valley community, rare in a district where almost all the local population lived at a higher level on the surrounding hillsides. The main arteries of communication also tended to avoid the valleys in those times; so Todmorden was in many ways a quite untypical Pennine settlement.

By the 18th century Todmorden was growing, and the Hall passed into the hands of John Fielden, brother of Joshua (I) of Bottomley. John lived here from 1703 to 1734. Besides Joshua, John also had three other brothers, Nicholas and Samuel of Edge End, and Thomas of Hollingworth, all of them Quakers. In November 1707 John married Tamar Halstead of Erringden and they lived together at Todmorden Hall. John Fielden was a wealthy man: a prosperous woollen clothier who extended the Hall and built a "takkin' in shop" at the back, reached by a flight of external steps, which may still be seen. In the days of the handloom, weft and warp were given out to the weavers, and later the finished pieces were "taken in" here, hence the name. The weavers must have been a far cry from the gentry who would have visited the Hall in the days of the Radcliffes. John and Tamar Fielden must have been an industrious couple, for besides being deeply involved in the woollen trade they were also responsible for building the White Harte Inn which, like the Golden Lion, was witness to much of Todmorden's local history.

Tamar Fielden died on 8th January 1734 and was buried at Shoebroad. Her husband followed her on 20th May in the same year, having already made out his will in February. Their marriage had been childless, and John's estates, which also included Edge End, passed to his nephew Abraham, who in turn died at Todmorden Hall on 14th May 1779 aged 74. Like his uncle he was buried at Shoebroad. After this time the Hall passed from the Fieldens, later to become the residence of Mr. James Taylor Esq. the Magistrate, during which time the Hall suffered damage at the hands of the Anti Poor Law rioters. Now, in the 20th century, after a long career as a Post Office it has become a restaurant, and very attractive it is too, especially after a long, tiring hike. (But I wouldn't go in there wearing hiking boots if I was you!) Leave the hall grounds and turn left into Rise Lane, which leads to the station, and pass behind the church and the White Harte Inn. There was a temporary railway station here until 1844, but the present building dates from 1865. The massive goods yard retaining wall above the canal was built in 1881, and Fieldens were involved with much of this development. Both Thomas Fielden, 'Honest John's' brother, and his nephew Joshua were directors of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. On 1st March 1841 Thomas Fielden complained about the practice of compelling 'waggon passengers' to arrive at the station ten minutes early. He was, it is said, a constant thorn in the flesh of the Railway Board's Chairman. Suggestions he made for improving the comfort of second and third class passengers were greeted with derision, and at some stations the following notice appeared:

"The Companies Servants are strongly ordered NOT to porter for waggon passengers . . ."
(Not even the railway companies, it seems, were spared the endless efforts of the Fieldens to improve the lot of the lower classes!).

The White Harte.

Opposite the railway station stands the rear of the White Harte. The pub looks modern and indeed it is, being built on the site of John and Tamar Fielden's original White Harte which was demolished in 1935. The original pub was built in 1720 and was also known as the New Inn. It was in front of this inn that the first Todmorden market was established in 1801; and later, between 1821 and 1851, when George Eccles and family occupied the inn, a court of Petty Sessions was established, and held upstairs in a room used by the local Freemasons for their affairs. As a result, when anyone had to appear in court, it was referred to as "goin' up Eccles' steps!"

In December 1830 'Honest John' addressed a meeting at Lumbutts which petitioned Lord Radnor and Henry Hunt in support of Parliamentary Reform, to which Earl Grey's new ministry was pledged. A month later, Fielden presided over another assembly, here at the White Harte, to found a "Political Union". Thereafter the Todmorden men joined their fellows in a network of Political Unions dedicated to Parliamentary Reform. Their good faith was rewarded, and in 1832, 350 reformers held a banquet to celebrate the passing of the Reform Bill, with John Fielden in the chair. A free meal was also provided for 3,000 of Fielden's workers at his own expense. As a result of this reform 'Honest John' was elected first ever M.P. for Oldham, and embarked upon his campaign to secure for the oppressed operatives of the northern mills a Ten Hours Bill. Here, at the White Harte an important chapter in the annals of English social history was begun.

Beyond the White Harte bear left, and follow the route under the viaduct and up 50 steps (Ridge Steps) to emerge on the 'Lover's Walk'. Soon terraced housing and Christ Church (scene of dreadful murders in 1868) appear on the right. Continue onwards, into Buckley Wood to arrive at the site of:-

Carr Laithe.

Here at Carr Laithe in Buckley Wood once stood a farmhouse which was the setting for a romantic but rather sad episode in our "Fielden Saga". It was the home of John Stansfield, a poor farmer whose daughter Ruth was courted and married by John Fielden J.P. of Dobroyd Castle, 'Honest John's' second son. It was a classic "rags-to-riches-cum-Cinderella" story. When he and Ruth met she was a mere weaver at Waterside. He sent her away to be educated, but alas, she could never adapt to the Fielden's by now aristocratic lifestyle. She died, an alcoholic, on 6th February 1877 at the age of 50, and is buried at the Unitarian Chapel. In the same year John Fielden remarried, taking as his second wife Ellen, the daughter of the Revd. Richard Mallinson of Arkholme in Lancashire. John Fielden J.P. is buried, as we have already mentioned, at Grimston Park near Leeds. Perhaps it is from this story that the Lover's Walk derives its name? It would certainly be nice to think so.

From Carr Laithe follow the path, right, down into Centre Vale Park. Centre Vale Park is the site of the final "Fielden Mansion" to be visited on our route. Centre Vale was the first 'great' house of the Fielden family; a Georgian styled mansion which was the residence of 'Honest John' Fielden in later life, after he had sold Dawson Weir. (By the 1840's Dawson Weir was in the hands of the Holt family.) It ultimately became the residence of his eldest son, Samuel Fielden, until his death in 1889, after which his wife, Sarah Jane lived there until her death in 1910. In the Great War the house became a military hospital, and was eventually purchased, along with its estate of 75 acres, by Todmorden Corporation; who bought it from Samuel's son, John Ashton Fielden, for the sum of 10,547 pounds.

Between the wars the house was utilised as a museum, which housed fossils, butterflies, birds and relics of local prehistory. The Todmorden Historical Rooms were closed in 1947 because of dry rot, and the house was finally demolished in 1953. All that remains today is the park and a few of the old mansion's outbuildings. Part of the site now contains a war memorial and a garden of remembrance. Centre Vale Park is the scene of an annual summer gala, and the 1984 gala saw the staging of the Battle of Gettysburg by one of those societies of enthusiasts, who delight in re-creating great military conflicts of the past. It was a spectacular event. The smoke of carbines and the roar of cannons could be seen, heard, (and felt) all over the valley. As I stood there, feeling the ground shaking beneath my feet as the guns roared, I wondered if anyone had realised the curious relevance of this event to the real life history of Todmorden; for the cannons of Gettysburg closed the mills of Todmorden and brought a hardship every bit as great as that endured by the Confederacy when Sherman began his famous "march to the sea".

From the very outset the whole of Lancashire's textile industry had been dependent upon an uninterrupted supply of imported raw cotton, and with the onset of the American Civil War in 1861, and the North's subsequent blockade of the Confederacy, the supply of cotton from the South began to steadily dry up. This caused widespread distress in the cotton manufacturing areas of Lancashire. A wave of speculation on the Liverpool Cotton Exchange made prices soar, and cotton was even taken from mills to be resold. At the same time the employers took advantage of the Cotton Famine to force down wages to as little as 4s and 5s a week. Soon, however, mills had closed down all over Lancashire and jobless operatives flooded the Unions demanding relief. In 1861 the census population of the Todmorden Union was 29,727 and the rateable assessment for the poor rate 89,696 pounds.

In order to help the various Boards of Guardians to cope with the distress the Union Relief Act was passed in 1862. This gave special powers, by which the public authorities could at once undertake a programme of public works, making roads, enlarging reservoirs, and cleaning out river beds. The Fielden brothers helped by employing men on road mending and making schemes. In connection with this work there were 3,000 suits of clothing and 300 pairs of watertight boots distributed. In 1863, when Fieldens were shut down for 9 months the employees were paid half their usual wages, and were given work cleaning the machines and reclaiming wastelands. The Todmorden Relief Fund Committee met in rooms at Dale Street while the Cotton Famine lasted, with John Fielden J.P. as its chairman. Work was found in other trades, and a sewing school established where girls could earn 6d a day for a five day week. Cheques to shopkeepers, payable in provisions or goods, were issued to those in the most urgent need. All the mills in Todmorden were at a standstill; the only cotton available being Indian cotton, known as Shurat. This inferior cotton was notorious among cotton spinners for being 'bad' work. As one Todmorden operative put it, "we were fit for naught but to goa t't'bed when we'd done wi' it!". Even a generation later the word 'Shurat' was used in Lancashire as a synonym for 'rubbish'. A verse from a contemporary ballad, dating from the time of the 'Famine', and written by Samuel Laycock, who was a power loom weaver of Stalybridge, echoes the sentiment which must have been felt by the depressed and destitute operatives of Todmorden:

"Oh dear if yon Yankees could only just see
heaw they're clemmin' an' starvin' poor weavers loike me,
Aw think they'd sooin settle their bother and strive, to send us
some cotton to keep us alive. Come give us a lift, yo' 'at han
owt to give an' help yo'r poor brothers an' sisters to live, be kind
an' be tender to th' needy and poor, an' we'll promise when
t'toimes mend we'll ax yo' no moor . . ."
(Shurat Weaver's Song)

John Fielden's Statue (Terminus Absolute!).

Now, at last, we are approaching the end of the Fielden Trail. By a clump of rhododendrons, a little path from Carr Laithe meets another path coming up from the left. Turn sharp left and pass under trees to John Fielden's statue, which stands at a junction of park paths, near an aviary.

'Honest John's' statue has moved around a bit since it was unveiled at Todmorden on a blustery April day in 1875. Made by J. H. Foley in 1863, it stood originally by the western side of the Town Hall until 1890, when it was removed to Fielden Square and erected outside the present Conservative Club. It was moved to its present position in Centre Vale Park in 1938, and today there is talk of returning it to Fielden Square once again. The statue was unveiled by Lord John Manners, who "tried to persuade Joshua Fielden (who was M.P. for Eastern Division W.R. Yorkshire) to let me say something handsome of Shaftesbury, but found, if I did, that he would break out in abuse!" The Fieldens had never forgiven Lord Shaftesbury (Ashley) for his "treason" in accepting Grey's compromise Factory Act in 1850. Even the commemoration of the old radical was not peaceful!

John Fielden must have cut a strange figure when he first took his seat in the re- organised Parliament of 1832. Tall and awkward, he spoke in a thick northern accent, in a voice which was barely audible; yet his sincerity and dedication more than made up for his shortcomings as an orator.

Fielden soon established himself as the leader of northern opposition to the hated 1834 Poor Law, and as chief promulgator of the Ten Hours Act, to limit hours of labour in factories and mines, towards which end he campaigned, collected evidence and spent thousands of pounds. To his friends he became known as 'Honest John' while his enemies dubbed him "The Self-Regulating Mule" on account of his refusal to compromise on matters of conscience. No doubt this quality led to the rift with Shaftesbury, who, although he shared Fielden's aims, was quite unlike him in background or temperament. Ashley Cooper could not stomach Fielden's Chartism, and together, the sensitive, aristocratic Shaftesbury and the radical, gritty millmaster must have made a strange pair! In 1847, after an uphill struggle, the Ten Hours Movement's agitation succeeded, and Fielden was able to steer the Bill through Parliament. Yet at the end of 1847 Fielden must have had mixed feelings, for his political triumph was quickly followed by the collapse of his parliamentary career. In his opposition to the highly popular Anti Corn Law League, led by Bright, he lost many of his friends in Parliament, and in the hustings of that same year, 1847, he lost his seat to the Tories, who had rigged the election by threatening the livelihoods of voters. Losing his seat probably deprived him of his raison d'etre, for within two years he was dead.

Back in 1847 Fielden addressed a rally in Oldham of his supporters, where he made what was to be his farewell speech. Towards the end of it, he uttered the following words:

"I have served you faithfully for 14 years. I never bought you ... I never sold you. I have tried all I could to endeavour to do something calculated to make you more comfortable and more happy, and having succeeded in that object which I had so much at heart, I can now well afford to go out to grass . . ."

So here we are, tired and footsore, at the end of our Fielden Trail. Before you stands the frail figure of 'Honest John' cast in bronze; he stares benevolently across the park to where the children play. Foley made his likeness well. 'Honest John' looks like he could step off his pedestal and shake your hand, so lifelike is his expression! In his right hand he grasps that Ten Hours Bill which he struggled so single- mindedly to obtain. This was 'Honest John's' supreme achievement, the effect of which is well summed up in the words of Moses Heap, a Rossendale spinner: "For a while we did not know how to pass our time away. Before, it had been all bed and work, now, in place of 70 hours a week we had 55 and a half. It became a practice, mostly on Saturdays to play football and cricket, which we had never done before . . ."

Today 'Honest John's' statue watches over the park where local people still play football and cricket, enjoying the free time which John Fielden pioneered for them. Football and cricket, in his park! 'Honest John' would have liked that! Before we trudge back to Todmorden Bus Station, car park, chip shop, cafe or whatever, let me leave you with a few words that were written about this man, who has always been at the very heart of our Fielden quest, for without him, such a journey as this we have made would have neither point nor meaning. I will leave you with the following extract from R. G. Gammage's book 'The History of the Chartist Movement' in which he says of 'Honest John' Fielden:

"That gentleman was known as the successor to the principles and honour of the immortal Cobbett, and was deservedly popular for the warm and unceasing interest he had taken in the fate of the industrial millions. No man, according to his powers, had been a more strenuous opponent of the new Poor Law, and against the police system he had taken an equally decided stand. But what most gained for him the heartfelt affection of the working class, was the position which he, a rich manufacturer, had taken as the unqualified denouncer of factory oppression. There was scarcely a measure he was not prepared to adopt in order to protect the people from the grasping 'cottonocracy'. A Ten Hours Bill was the object of his constant advocacy, and it was he who succeeded at last in carrying that measure through the legislature . . . The man, standing apart from the generality of his class, ventured in whatever way to plead the claims of suffering humanity against wealth and power.

Fielden had shown himself to be something more than a mere factory reformer, he had everywhere declared himself to be the advocate of Universal Suffrage. He did not merely profess himself willing to protect the people against aggression, but, by striving to arm them with the Vote, he manifested a desire to give them the opportunity of protecting themselves. In this he proved himself to be something better than a mere 'humanity monger' aping philanthropy for the purpose of catching a little popularity. As a speaker, he was far from being effective, his sincerity rather than his oratory, gave him force. He was ever earnest, disdaining to strive after mere effect, but courageously plodding on in his own humble and unpretending way towards the attainment of his object. He has now gone to the tomb of his fathers, peace rest his ashes! The sun has seldom shone over a better man than John Fielden."

Copyright Jim Jarratt. 2006 First Published by Smith Settle 1989