Saturday, 8 July 2023

Fielden Square: A Canvas of Todmorden's Past

Todmorden's Fielden Square is a place with a story etched into its very foundations. Today, it serves as a busy car park, but a century ago, it was a space designed for a grander purpose: to honour one of the town's most influential figures, John Fielden.

Fielden was a local businessman, a major benefactor, and a dedicated social reformer. The town chose this square as the perfect spot for his statue, a place where his legacy could be a constant reminder to the people he served. However, in 1939, the statue was moved to Centre Vale Park, leaving the square to evolve with the changing needs of the town.

This photograph, taken on a cold November day in 2013, captures the square's modern-day utility. The sky, which was originally flat and grey, has been replaced with a vibrant, dramatic cloudscape, a testament to the power of digital editing. This change breathes new life into the image, giving it a sense of dynamism that the original lacked.

The picture also features a few other key Todmorden landmarks. To the left, you can see the Golden Lion Pub, which was closed at the time due to severe flooding. Its reopening a year later was a symbol of the town's resilience. Looming over the entire scene is the stunning spire of Todmorden Unitarian Church, a building that the Fielden family themselves helped to construct. This connection reinforces the lasting impact the family had on the town's identity.

Fielden Square may no longer hold a statue of its namesake, but the ghosts of its past are still very much present, in the architecture, the history of its surrounding buildings, and the stories they tell.


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The image remains the copyright of Colin Green.

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