A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry . The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but the basic function is the same.
130-569: Todmorden ( / ˈ t ɒ d m ər d ən / TOD -mər-dən ; locally / ˈ t ɒ d m ɔːr d ən , ˈ t ɒ d m ər d ən , ˈ t ɔː m d ɪ n / ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale , West Yorkshire , England. It is 17 miles (27 kilometres) north-east of Manchester , 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Burnley and 9 miles (14 km) west of Halifax . In 2011, it had
260-460: A Grade II* listed manor house ( Elizabethan ) in the centre of town, and St. Mary's Church which dates from 1476. Todmorden is situated alongside the Pennine Way , Pennine Bridleway , Mary Towneley Loop and Calderdale Way and is popular for outdoor activities such as walking , fell running , mountain biking and bouldering . Its attractions include canals and locks, a park containing
390-527: A "famous Todmorden Women's Disco" held monthly. The nature of that community has changed with evolving queer politics, away from lesbian feminism and towards " homonormative assimilation ". 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. The project has been responsible for the planting of 40 public fruit and vegetable gardens throughout
520-440: A community space on the upper floor. The oldest surviving structures date from the mid-17th century. In Scotland, borough markets were held weekly from an early stage. A King's market was held at Roxburgh on a specific day from about the year 1171; a Thursday market was held at Glasgow , a Saturday market at Arbroath , and a Sunday market at Brechin . In Scotland, market towns were often distinguished by their mercat cross :
650-527: 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
780-514: A crossing-place on the River Thames up-river from Runnymede , where it formed an oxbow lake in the stream. Early patronage included Thomas Furnyvale, lord of Hallamshire , who established a Fair and Market in 1232. Travelers were able to meet and trade wares in relative safety for a week of "fayres" at a location inside the town walls. The reign of Henry III witnessed a spike in established market fairs. The defeat of de Montfort increased
910-470: A crossroads or close to a river ford , for example, Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan. When local railway lines were first built, market towns were given priority to ease the transport of goods. For instance, in Calderdale , West Yorkshire , several market towns close together were designated to take advantage of the new trains. The designation of Halifax , Sowerby Bridge , Hebden Bridge , and Todmorden
1040-503: A darning egg and a separate comb-like piece with teeth to hook the warp over; these are used for repairing knitted garments and are like a linear knitting spool . Darning looms were sold during World War Two clothing rationing in the United Kingdom and Canada, and some are homemade. Circular looms are used to create seamless tubes of fabric for products such as hosiery, sacks, clothing, fabric hoses (such as fire hoses) and
1170-491: A full list, see this table at Danish Misplaced Pages ). The last town to gain market rights ( Danish : købstadsprivilegier ) was Skjern in 1958. At the municipal reform of 1970 , market towns were merged with neighboring parishes, and the market towns lost their special status and privileges, though many still advertise themselves using the moniker of købstad and hold public markets on their historic market squares . The medieval right to hold markets ( German : Marktrecht )
1300-559: A good deal is known about the economic value of markets in local economies, the cultural role of market-towns has received scant scholarly attention. In Denmark, the concept of the market town ( Danish : købstad ) emerged during the Iron Age. It is not known which was the first Danish market town, but Hedeby (part of modern-day Schleswig-Holstein ) and Ribe were among the first. As of 1801, there were 74 market towns in Denmark (for
1430-627: A green ointment, which toxicology tests were unable to identify. 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". Among the explanations to gain currency was that Adamski was the victim of 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 . After intense media interest,
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#17327722304971560-591: A group of villages or an earlier urban settlement in decline, or be created as a new urban centre. Frequently, they had limited privileges compared to free royal cities . Their long-lasting feudal subordination to landowners or the church is also a crucial difference. The successors of these settlements usually have a distinguishable townscape. The absence of fortification walls, sparsely populated agglomerations, and their tight bonds with agricultural life allowed these towns to remain more vertical compared to civitates. The street-level urban structure varies depending on
1690-455: A local shopfront such as a bakery or alehouse, while others were casual traders who set up a stall or carried their wares around in baskets on market days. Market trade supplied for the needs of local consumers whether they were visitors or local residents. Braudel and Reynold have made a systematic study of European market towns between the 13th and 15th century. Their investigation shows that in regional districts markets were held once or twice
1820-477: A loom that folds into a narrow space when not in use. Loom frames can be roughly divided, by the orientation of the warp threads, into horizontal looms and vertical looms. There are many finer divisions. Most handloom frame designs can be constructed fairly simply. The back-strap loom (also known as belt loom) is a simple loom with ancient roots, still used in many cultures around the world (such as Andean textiles ). It consists of two sticks or bars between which
1950-441: A lot of floor space, and full-time professional weavers are unlikely to use them as they are unergonomic. Their cheapness and portability is less valuable to urban professional weavers. In a treadle loom, the shedding is controlled by the feet, which tread on the treadles . The earliest evidence of a horizontal loom is found on a pottery dish in ancient Egypt , dated to 4400 BC. It was a frame loom, equipped with treadles to lift
2080-468: A market town at Bergen in the 11th century, and it soon became the residence of many wealthy families. Import and export was to be conducted only through market towns, to allow oversight of commerce and to simplify the imposition of excise taxes and customs duties . This practice served to encourage growth in areas which had strategic significance, providing a local economic base for the construction of fortifications and sufficient population to defend
2210-563: A market town is the provision of goods and services to the surrounding locality. Although market towns were known in antiquity, their number increased rapidly from the 12th century. Market towns across Europe flourished with an improved economy, a more urbanised society and the widespread introduction of a cash-based economy. Domesday Book of 1086 lists 50 markets in England. Some 2,000 new markets were established between 1200 and 1349. The burgeoning of market towns occurred across Europe around
2340-606: 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
2470-473: A number of market towns in Saxony throughout the 11th century and did much to develop peaceful markets by granting a special 'peace' to merchants and a special and permanent 'peace' to market-places. With the rise of the territories, the ability to designate market towns was passed to the princes and dukes, as the basis of German town law . The local ordinance status of a market town ( Marktgemeinde or Markt )
2600-465: A parkrun since 9 March 2019. The 120-foot (40-metre) Stoodley Pike monument (built 1814 and rebuilt in 1854) stands atop the 1,300-foot (400-metre) hill of the same name. It commemorates the defeat of Napoleon and the surrender of Paris . It is a prominent feature of Todmorden's moors, and is a landmark on the Pennine Way . Todmorden has been used as a location for the 1980s BBC TV police drama Juliet Bravo , Territorial Army series All Quiet on
2730-604: A place where the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by a ruling authority (either royal, noble, or ecclesiastical). As in the rest of the UK, the area in which the cross was situated was almost always central: either in a square; or in a broad, main street. Towns which still have regular markets include: Inverurie , St Andrews , Selkirk , Wigtown , Kelso , and Cupar . Not all still possess their mercat cross (market cross). Dutch painters of Antwerp took great interest in market places and market towns as subject matter from
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#17327722304972860-542: A population of 15,481. Todmorden is at the confluence of three steep-sided Pennine valleys and is surrounded by moorlands with outcrops of sandblasted gritstone . The historic boundary between Yorkshire and Lancashire is the River Calder and its tributary, Walsden Water, which run through the town. The administrative border was altered by the Local Government Act 1888 placing the whole of
2990-412: A relationship with customers and may have offered added value services, such as credit terms to reliable customers. The economy was characterised by local trading in which goods were traded across relatively short distances. Braudel reports that, in 1600, grain moved just 5–10 miles (8.0–16.1 km); cattle 40–70 miles (64–113 km); wool and woollen cloth 20–40 miles (32–64 km). However, following
3120-708: A residential activity centre for schoolchildren; the Edwardian Hippodrome Theatre, and the Grade I listed Todmorden Unitarian Church (built 1865–1869). Dobroyd Castle, the town hall and the Unitarian church were all built at the behest of John Fielden and his sons and designed by John Gibson , who had been a member of Charles Barry 's team at the Houses of Parliament . Pre-Victorian buildings include two 18th century pubs ; Todmorden Old Hall,
3250-402: A root of unknown origin; the whole word geloma meant a utensil, tool, or machine of any kind. In 1404 "lome" was used to mean a machine to enable weaving thread into cloth. By 1838 "loom" had gained the additional meaning of a machine for interlacing thread. Weaving is done on two sets of threads or yarns, which cross one another. The warp threads are the ones stretched on the loom (from
3380-418: A shed. To create the counter-shed, a heddle-bar is usually used. A heddle-bar is simply a stick placed across the warp and tied to individual warp threads. When it is lifted, it pulls the warp threads it is tied to out of position, creating a shed. A warp-weighted loom (see diagram) typically uses a heddle-bar. It has two upright posts (C); they support a horizontal beam (D), which is cylindrical so that
3510-591: A single-shaft loom. The different shafts (also called harnesses) must be controlled by some mechanism. While non-rigid heddles generally mean that two shafts are needed even for a plain tabby weave , twill weaves require three or more (depending on the type of twill), and more complex figured weaves require still more harnesses. Treadle looms can control multiple harnessess with multiple treadles. The weaver selects which harnesses are engaged with their feet. One treadle may be connected to more than one harness, and any number of treadles can be engaged at once, meaning that
3640-561: A site a few yards north of the original 1845 railway station. In December 1984, a goods train carrying petrol derailed in the Summit Tunnel between Todmorden and Littleborough causing what is still considered as one of the biggest underground fires in transport history. 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
3770-465: A site of "surpassing archaeological interest", according to J. Lawton Russell, one of the men who carried out the excavation. Various Bronze Age items were discovered, including 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
3900-428: A small seaport or a market town prior to export. This encouraged local merchants to ensure trading went through them, which was so effective in limiting unsupervised sales ( smuggling ) that customs revenues increased from less than 30% of the total tax revenues in 1600 to more than 50% of the total taxes by 1700. Norwegian "market towns" died out and were replaced by free markets during the 19th century. After 1952, both
4030-445: A sports centre, an outdoor skateboard park, tennis courts, a golf course and a cricket ground. There are wooded areas around the town and cafés and restaurants. The Hippodrome Theatre shows films as well as putting on live performances. The town has a small toy and model museum, a library and a tourist information centre, along with independent retailers. Annual events include a carnival, agricultural show, beer festival, music festival and
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4160-455: A successful market town attracted people, generated revenue and would pay for the town's defences. In around the 12th century, European kings began granting charters to villages allowing them to hold markets on specific days. Framlingham in Suffolk is a notable example of a market situated near a fortified building. Additionally, markets were located where transport was easiest, such as at
4290-482: A tabletop. others are backstraps looms with a rigid heddle , and very portable. There exist very small hand-held looms known as darning looms. They are made to fit under the fabric being mended, and are often held in place by an elastic band on one side of the cloth and a groove around the loom's darning-egg portion on the other. They may have heddles made of flip-flopping rotating hooks (see Loom#Rotating-hook heddles ) . Other devices sold as darning looms are just
4420-478: A tributary of the River Calder, and was situated in both Lancashire and Yorkshire until the administrative county boundary was moved on 1 January 1888. Designed by John Gibson of Westminster, this imposing building has a northern end which is semi-circular. One interesting external feature of the town hall is the pediment to the front elevation, which reflects the fact that it straddled the boundary as it depicts
4550-419: A week while daily markets were common in larger cities. Over time, permanent shops began opening daily and gradually supplanted the periodic markets, while peddlers or itinerant sellers continued to fill in any gaps in distribution. The physical market was characterised by transactional exchange and bartering systems were commonplace. Shops had higher overhead costs, but were able to offer regular trading hours and
4680-584: Is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages , a market right , which allowed it to host a regular market ; this distinguished it from a village or city . In Britain, small rural towns with a hinterland of villages are still commonly called market towns, as sometimes reflected in their names (e.g. Downham Market , Market Rasen , or Market Drayton ). Modern markets are often in special halls , but this
4810-399: Is a device that replaces the drawboy, the weaver's helper who used to control the warp threads by pulling on draw threads. "Dobby" is a corruption of "draw boy". Mechanical dobbies pull on the draw threads using pegs in bars to lift a set of levers. The placement of the pegs determines which levers are lifted. The sequence of bars (they are strung together) effectively remembers the sequence for
4940-487: Is a relatively recent development. Historically the markets were open-air, held in what is usually called (regardless of its actual shape) the market square or market place , sometimes centred on a market cross ( mercat cross in Scotland). They were and are typically open one or two days a week. In the modern era, the rise of permanent retail establishments reduced the need for periodic markets. The primary purpose of
5070-478: Is an example of this. A number of studies have pointed to the prevalence of the periodic market in medieval towns and rural areas due to the localised nature of the economy. The marketplace was the commonly accepted location for trade, social interaction, transfer of information and gossip. A broad range of retailers congregated in market towns – peddlers, retailers, hucksters, stallholders, merchants and other types of trader. Some were professional traders who occupied
5200-533: Is haunted by a builder who died in the construction of the building in 1811. Before May 2009, the links to Lancashire and the North West were also seen in the media with Todmorden receiving an analogue TV signal from BBC North West . The local television transmitter relayed BBC One and BBC Two to the Todmorden area, however ITV and Channel 4 was different and has always been relayed from Emley Moor (via Cornholme) which broadcasts ITV Yorkshire . Since 2009
5330-506: Is much reduced (at one time Todmorden had the largest weaving shed in the world). Todmorden also services the local rural area and attracts visitors through its market (indoor and outdoor), various events, heritage and the local Pennine countryside. It has for centuries been considered the safest accessible route directly across the Pennines. Pubs in the town centre include the Duke of York,
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5460-701: Is no single register of modern entitlements to hold markets and fairs, although historical charters up to 1516 are listed in the Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales . William Stow's 1722 Remarks on London includes "A List of all the Market Towns in England and Wales; with the Days of the Week whereon kept". Market houses were a common feature across the island of Ireland . These often arcaded buildings performed marketplace functions, frequently with
5590-512: Is perpetuated through the law of Austria , the German state of Bavaria , and the Italian province of South Tyrol . Nevertheless, the title has no further legal significance, as it does not grant any privileges. In Hungarian, the word for market town "mezőváros" means literally "pasture town" and implies that it was unfortified town: they were architecturally distinguishable from other towns by
5720-620: Is reflected in the prefix Markt of the names of many towns in Austria and Germany , for example, Markt Berolzheim or Marktbergel . Other terms used for market towns were Flecken in northern Germany, or Freiheit and Wigbold in Westphalia . Market rights were designated as long ago as during the Carolingian Empire . Around 800, Charlemagne granted the title of a market town to Esslingen am Neckar . Conrad created
5850-650: Is the setting for several pieces of local art, including tree carvings by the sculptor John Adamson, and an iconic bandstand. The bandstand is unique in construction and is designed in an arc shape because this gives it better acoustics. It opened in 1914, and in July 2019 was condemned to be demolished by Calderdale Borough Council. A campaign by local activists resulted in the bandstand being granted grade II listed status by Historic England in January 2020, and in March 2022 funding
5980-409: Is used for narrow work . It is also used to finish edges, weaving decorative selvage bands instead of hemming. There are heddles made of flip-flopping rotating hooks, which raise and lower the warp, creating sheds . The hooks, when vertical, have the weft threads looped around them horizontally. If the hooks are flopped over on side or another, the loop of weft twists, raising one or the other side of
6110-563: Is used to control each warp thread separately, allowing very complex patterns. A drawloom requires two operators, the weaver, and an assistant called a "drawboy" to manage the figure harness. The earliest confirmed drawloom fabrics come from the State of Chu and date c. 400 BC. Some scholars speculate an independent invention in ancient Syria , since drawloom fabrics found in Dura-Europas are thought to date before 256 AD. The draw loom
6240-402: Is woven starting at one end of the warp threads, and progressing towards the other end. The beam on the finished-fabric end is called the cloth beam . The other beam is called the warp beam . Beams may be used as rollers to allow the weaver to weave a piece of cloth longer than the loom. As the cloth is woven, the warp threads are gradually unrolled from the warp beam, and the woven portion of
6370-589: 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 (predecessor of Leyland Motors ) and one by 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,
6500-664: The Channel 4 programme The Secret of Luck , in which Derren Brown sought to convince the town that the dog statue in Centre Vale Park brought good luck. In September 2010, Todmorden received a visit from then- Prince Charles (his second visit to the town) who came to support Mary Clear's Incredible Edible project. This featured on BBC Yorkshire . Todmorden's local newspaper is the Todmorden News owned by Johnston Press , now merged (since October 2015) with
6630-656: The Hebden Bridge Times from the neighbouring town by the same publisher. Singletrack , a national mountain biking magazine, is based in Todmorden. Todmorden Cricket Club has existed since 1837 and currently play at Centre Vale in the town. They are the only Yorkshire team in the Lancashire League . John Mitchell Nuttall (1890–1958) was a Todmorden-born physicist remembered for the Geiger–Nuttall law . Market town A market town
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#17327722304976760-564: The Local Government Act 1888 , the Lancashire-Yorkshire boundary ran through the centre of Todmorden, following the River Calder to the north-west and the Walsden Water for less than 1 mi (2 km) to the south before turning south-eastwards across Langfield Common. Todmorden Town Hall , which was presented to Todmorden by the Fielden family and opened in 1875, straddles the Walsden Water; thus, from 1875 to 1888 it
6890-471: The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale , within the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire . At the local government level, the majority of the town is within Todmorden ward of Calderdale Council with the eastern part of the town, including Eastwood, sharing the adjoining Calder ward with the town of Hebden Bridge and parishes of Blackshaw , Heptonstall , Erringden and Wadsworth As of
7020-506: The Proto-Indo-European * werp , "to bend" ). Each thread of the weft (i.e. "that which is woven") is inserted so that it passes over and under the warp threads. The ends of the warp threads are usually fastened to beams. One end is fastened to one beam, the other end to a second beam, so that the warp threads all lie parallel and are all the same length. The beams are held apart to keep the warp threads taut. The textile
7150-491: The Upper Calder Valley include Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd . The territory of the civil parish of Todmorden also extends to cover Eastwood , Walsden , Cornholme , Mankinholes , Lumbutts , Robinwood, Lydgate, Portsmouth, Shade, Stansfield , Dobroyd, Ferney Lee, Gauxholme and Cross Stone. Medieval Todmorden had consisted of the townships of Langfield and Stansfield in Yorkshire, and Todmorden/Walsden section of
7280-510: The Yiddish term shtetl . Miasteczkos had a special administrative status other than that of town or city. From the time of the Norman conquest, the right to award a charter was generally seen to be a royal prerogative. However, the granting of charters was not systematically recorded until 1199. Once a charter was granted, it gave local lords the right to take tolls and also afforded
7410-526: The koopman, which described a new, emergent class of trader who dealt in goods or credit on a large scale. Paintings of every day market scenes may have been an affectionate attempt to record familiar scenes and document a world that was in danger of being lost. Paintings and drawings of market towns and market scenes Bibliography Loom The word "loom" derives from the Old English geloma , formed from ge- (perfective prefix) and loma ,
7540-659: The "small seaport" and the "market town" were relegated to simple town status. Miasteczko ( lit. ' small town ' ) was a historical type of urban settlement similar to a market town in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . After the partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th-century, these settlements became widespread in the Austrian , German and Russian Empires. The vast majority of miasteczkos had significant or even predominant Jewish populations ; these are known in English under
7670-457: The (then) longest tunnel in the world, the 2,885-yard-long (2,638-metre) 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 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
7800-426: The 16th century. Pieter Aertsen was known as the "great painter of the market" Painters' interest in markets was due, at least in part, to the changing nature of the market system at that time. With the rise of the merchant guilds, the public began to distinguish between two types of merchant, the meerseniers which referred to local merchants including bakers, grocers, sellers of dairy products and stall-holders, and
7930-555: The 1980s, the town was used for two consecutive episodes of BBC fashion series The Clothes Show. Todmorden featured in the ITV paranormal show Strange but True which in their pilot episode from May 1993 investigated the UFO claims in the Todmorden area. The programme included a closed surgery in which Harold Shipman worked for a number of years, as well as the town hall (haunted by a grey lady), and Oddfellows Hall (known as Baxter's bar), which
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#17327722304978060-560: The 2023 Local Elections, the three Todmorden councillors and three Calder councillors are all part of the Labour Party. Todmorden's postal county was Lancashire until their abolition in 1996. Only Labour and the Liberal Democrats stood candidates in 2023. The turnout was 9740 and 132 ballots were rejected. The turnout was 9973 and 154 ballots were rejected. Todmorden's twin towns are: Other villages and towns in
8190-431: The 20th century, the special rights granted to market towns mostly involved a greater autonomy in fiscal matters and control over town planning, schooling and social care. Unlike rural municipalities, the market towns were not considered part of the counties . The last town to be granted market rights was Ólafsvík in 1983 and from that point there were 24 market towns until a municipal reform in 1986 essentially abolished
8320-516: The European age of discovery, goods were imported from afar – calico cloth from India, porcelain, silk and tea from China, spices from India and South-East Asia and tobacco, sugar, rum and coffee from the New World. The importance of local markets began to decline in the mid-16th century. Permanent shops which provided more stable trading hours began to supplant the periodic market. In addition,
8450-592: The Preston Front , parts of The League of Gentlemen , BBC TV miniseries Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit , the BBC1 series Life on Mars , a town in the book Spooks Blood and a film adaptation of the novel My Summer of Love . The BBC One crime drama series Happy Valley , written by Sally Wainwright (who grew up in nearby Sowerby Bridge), is filmed in and around the town, amongst other locations. In
8580-534: The Todmorden police force were forbidden from talking further to the press about the case. In 2017, Blurry Photos host Dave Stecco said he believes that Adamski could have been a Nazi before immigrating from Poland . In the 1980s and 1990s, a prominent lesbian intentional community grew up Todmorden — and subsequently Hebden Bridge — "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 and community events, such as
8710-635: The Wellington, and the Pub. The Golden Lion is a renowned live music venue, with its own vinyl-only record label. The White Hart Wetherspoons at Station Approach was offered for sale in September 2023 and ceased trading, after being sold, in March 2024. Todmorden Town Hall , which was designed in the Neo-Classical style , dominates the centre of the town. The building straddles the Walsden Water,
8840-549: The area. It also served to restrict Hanseatic League merchants from trading in areas other than those designated. Norway included a subordinate category to the market town, the "small seaport" ( Norwegian lossested or ladested ), which was a port or harbor with a monopoly to import and export goods and materials in both the port and a surrounding outlying district. Typically, these were locations for exporting timber, and importing grain and goods. Local farm goods and timber sales were all required to pass through merchants at either
8970-505: The backstrap loom. The warp-weighted loom is a vertical loom that may have originated in the Neolithic period. Its defining characteristic is hanging weights (loom weights) which keep bundles of the warp threads taut. Frequently, extra warp thread is wound around the weights. When a weaver has woven far enough down, the completed section (fell) can be rolled around the top beam, and additional lengths of warp threads can be unwound from
9100-477: The beams can be simply held apart by hooking them behind pegs driven into the ground, with wedges or lashings used to adjust the tension. Pegged looms may, however, also have horizontal sidepieces holding the beams apart. Such looms are easy to set up and dismantle, and are easy to transport, so they are popular with nomadic weavers. They are generally only used for comparatively small woven articles. Urbanites are unlikely to use horizontal floor looms as they take up
9230-552: 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
9360-538: The cloth is rolled up onto the cloth beam (which is also called the takeup roll ). The portion of the fabric that has already been formed but not yet rolled up on the takeup roll is called the fell . Not all looms have two beams. For instance, warp-weighted looms have only one beam; the warp yarns hang from this beam. The bottom ends of the warp yarns are tied to dangling loom weights. A loom has to perform three principal motions : shedding, picking, and battening. There are also usually two secondary motions , because
9490-519: The concept. Many of the existing market towns would continue to be named kaupstaður even after the term lost any administrative meaning. In Norway , the medieval market town ( Norwegian : kjøpstad and kaupstad from the Old Norse kaupstaðr ) was a town which had been granted commerce privileges by the king or other authorities. The citizens in the town had a monopoly over the purchase and sale of wares, and operation of other businesses, both in
9620-488: The day when the community congregated in town to attend church. Some of the more ancient markets appear to have been held in churchyards. At the time of the Norman conquest, the majority of the population made their living through agriculture and livestock farming. Most lived on their farms, situated outside towns, and the town itself supported a relatively small population of permanent residents. Farmers and their families brought their surplus produce to informal markets held on
9750-499: The design. Multiple rows of holes are punched on each card and the many cards that compose the design of the textile are strung together in order. It is based on earlier inventions by the Frenchmen Basile Bouchon (1725), Jean Baptiste Falcon (1728), and Jacques Vaucanson (1740). To call it a loom is a misnomer. A Jacquard head could be attached to a power loom or a handloom, the head controlling which warp thread
9880-470: 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 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
10010-546: The early market towns have continued operations into recent times. For instance, Northampton market received its first charter in 1189 and markets are still held in the square to this day. The National Market Traders Federation , situated in Barnsley , South Yorkshire , has around 32,000 members and close links with market traders' federations throughout Europe. According to the UK National Archives , there
10140-398: The era from which various parts of the city originate. Market towns were characterized as a transition between a village and a city, without a unified, definite city core. A high level of urban planning only marks an era starting from the 17th-18th centuries. This dating is partially related to the modernization and resettlement waves after the liberation of Ottoman Hungary . While Iceland
10270-415: The fell. The nature of the loom frame and the shedding, picking, and battening devices vary. Looms come in a wide variety of types, many of them specialized for specific types of weaving. They are also specialized for the lifestyle of the weaver. For instance, nomadic weavers tend to use lighter, more portable looms, while weavers living in cramped city dwellings are more likely to use a tall upright loom, or
10400-422: The finished cloth can be rolled around it, allowing the loom to be used to weave a piece of cloth taller than the loom, and preserving an ergonomic working height. The warp threads (F, and A and B) hang from the beam and rest against the shed rod (E). The heddle-bar (G) is tied to some of the warp threads (A, but not B), using loops of string called leashes (H). So when the heddle rod is pulled out and placed in
10530-466: The forked sticks protruding from the posts (not lettered, no technical term given in citation), the shed (1) is replaced by the counter-shed (2). By passing the weft through the shed and the counter-shed, alternately, cloth is woven. Heddle-rods are used on modern tapestry looms. Tablet weaving uses cards punched with holes. The warp threads pass through the holes, and the cards are twisted and shifted to created varied sheds. This shedding technique
10660-682: The four cairns , positioned at the 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". The various finds from the 1898 dig are now housed in the Todmorden Library, on permanent display. Settlement in 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
10790-533: The fox", supposedly from tod , a word of uncertain origin meaning 'fox' first attested around 1200, moor (which in Old English meant 'marsh'), and den (also attested in Old English to mean an animal's lair). 'Tod' is an informal name for Todmorden, often used in everyday conversation. In 1898, Blackheath Barrow—a ring cairn monument situated above Cross Stone in Todmorden—was excavated and proved to be
10920-482: The greater township of Hundersfield in the Ancient Parish of Rochdale, Lancashire. The township of Todmorden and Walsden was created in 1801 by the union of the older villages of Todmorden and Walsden . Heavy industry is now part of Todmorden's history, not its present. The industrial chimneys have largely gone and the remaining mills have mostly been converted for other purposes. The town's industrial base
11050-417: The grounds of their church after worship. By the 13th century, however, a movement against Sunday markets gathered momentum, and the market gradually moved to a site in town's centre and was held on a weekday. By the 15th century, towns were legally prohibited from holding markets in church-yards. Archaeological evidence suggests that Colchester is England's oldest recorded market town, dating to at least
11180-413: The lack of town walls. Most market towns were chartered in the 14th and 15th centuries and typically developed around 13th-century villages that had preceded them. A boom in the raising of livestock may have been a trigger for the upsurge in the number of market towns during that period. Archaeological studies suggest that the ground plans of such market towns had multiple streets and could also emerge from
11310-404: The legal basis for defining a "town". For instance, Newport, Shropshire , is in the borough of Telford and Wrekin but is separate from Telford . In England, towns with such rights are usually distinguished with the additional status of borough . It is generally accepted that, in these cases, when a town was granted a market, it gained the additional autonomy conferred to separate towns. Many of
11440-497: The like. Tablet weaving can be used to knit tubes, including tubes that split and join. Small jigs also used for circular knitting are also sometimes called circular looms, but they are used for knitting, not weaving. It is possible to weave by manually threading the weft over and under the warp threads, but this is slow. Some tapestry techniques use manual shedding. Pin looms and peg looms also generally have no shedding devices. Pile carpets generally do not use shedding for
11570-519: The local town council . Failing that, the Crown can grant a licence. As the number of charters granted increased, competition between market towns also increased. In response to competitive pressures, towns invested in a reputation for quality produce, efficient market regulation and good amenities for visitors such as covered accommodation. By the thirteenth century, counties with important textile industries were investing in purpose built market halls for
11700-436: The loop, which creates the shed and countershed. Rigid heddles are generally used on single-shaft looms. Odd warp threads go through the slots, and even ones through the circular holes, or vice-versa. The shed is formed by lifting the heddle, and the countershed by depressing it. The warp threads in the slots stay where they are, and the ones in the circular holes are pulled back and forth. A single rigid heddle can hold all
11830-419: The main industries of the two counties. The fine carved stonework has two central female figures on a pedestal. The left-hand sculpture represents Lancashire (cotton spinning and weaving industries), and the right-hand one Yorkshire (wool manufacturing, engineering and agriculture). Todmorden has the look of a Victorian mill town. Other notable buildings include Dobroyd Castle (completed in 1869), now used as
11960-589: The majority of services were relayed via Cornholme although some parts of Walsden retained their television signal from the North West. In February 2010, Todmorden featured in the BBC Radio 4 programme Costing the Earth: The New Diggers . Members of a guerrilla gardening group spoke about reclaiming unused land for growing vegetables, how this helps the local community and how it can be a driver for change. In November 2011, Todmorden featured in
12090-464: The market. If the travel time exceeded this standard, a new market town could be established in that locale. As a result of the limit, official market towns often petitioned the monarch to close down illegal markets in other towns. These distances are still law in England today. Other markets can be held, provided they are licensed by the holder of the Royal Charter, which tends currently to be
12220-418: The name once meant 'Totta's border-valley'. The valley in question is thought to have been the one running north-west from the town, and the border the one between Lancashire and Yorkshire. 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 , or that the name meant "marshy den of
12350-636: The newly constructed fabric must be wound onto cloth beam. This process is called taking up. At the same time, the warp yarns must be let off or released from the warp beam, unwinding from it. To become fully automatic, a loom needs a tertiary motion , the filling stop motion. This will brake the loom if the weft thread breaks. An automatic loom requires 0.125 hp to 0.5 hp to operate (100W to 400W). A loom, then, usually needs two beams, and some way to hold them apart. It generally has additional components to make shedding, picking, and battening faster and easier. There are also often components to help take up
12480-417: The number of different sheds that can be selected is two to the power of the number of treadles. Eight is a large but reasonable number of treadles, giving a maximum of 2 =256 sheds (some of which will not have enough threads on one side to be useful). The weaver must remember the sequence of treadling needed to produce the pattern. A drawloom is for weaving figured cloth. In a drawloom, a "figure harness"
12610-586: The pattern. Speed is lower, and shedding and picking devices may be simpler. Looms used for weaving traditional tapestry are called not as "vertical-warp" and "horizontal-warp", but as "high-warp" or "low-warp" (the French terms haute-lisse and basse-lisse are also used in English). Inkle looms are narrow looms used for narrow work . They are used to make narrow warp-faced strips such as ribbons, bands, or tape. They are often quite small; some are used on
12740-409: The pile, because each pile thread is individually knotted onto the warps, but there may be shedding for the weft holding the carpet together. Usually weaving uses shedding devices. These devices pull some of the warp threads to each side, so that a shed is formed between them, and the weft is passed through the shed. There are a variety of methods for forming the shed. At least two sheds must be formed,
12870-513: The purchasing habits of the monks and other individuals in medieval England, suggests that consumers of the period were relatively discerning. Purchase decisions were based on purchase criteria such as consumers' perceptions of the range, quality, and price of goods. This informed decisions about where to make their purchases. As traditional market towns developed, they featured a wide main street or central market square . These provided room for people to set up stalls and booths on market days. Often
13000-410: 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
13130-487: The rise of a merchant class led to the import and exports of a broad range of goods, contributing to a reduced reliance on local produce. At the centre of this new global mercantile trade was Antwerp , which by the mid-16th century, was the largest market town in Europe. A good number of local histories of individual market towns can be found. However, more general histories of the rise of market-towns across Europe are much more difficult to locate. Clark points out that while
13260-433: The sale of cloth. Specific market towns cultivated a reputation for high quality local goods. For example, London's Blackwell Hall became a centre for cloth, Bristol became associated with a particular type of cloth known as Bristol red , Stroud was known for producing fine woollen cloth, the town of Worsted became synonymous with a type of yarn; Banbury and Essex were strongly associated with cheeses. A study on
13390-574: The same time. Initially, market towns most often grew up close to fortified places, such as castles or monasteries, not only to enjoy their protection, but also because large manorial households and monasteries generated demand for goods and services. Historians term these early market towns "prescriptive market towns" in that they may not have enjoyed any official sanction such as a charter, but were accorded market town status through custom and practice if they had been in existence prior to 1199. From an early stage, kings and administrators understood that
13520-574: The sample testing of markets by Edward I the "lawgiver" , who summoned the Model Parliament in 1295 to perambulate the boundaries of forest and town. Market towns grew up at centres of local activity and were an important feature of rural life and also became important centres of social life, as some place names suggest: Market Drayton , Market Harborough , Market Rasen , Market Deeping , Market Weighton , Chipping Norton , Chipping Ongar , and Chipping Sodbury – chipping
13650-408: The shed and the countershed. Two sheds is enough for tabby weave ; more complex weaves, such as twill weaves , satin weaves , diaper weaves , and figured (picture-forming) weaves, require more sheds. A shed-rod (shedding stick, shed roll) is simply a stick woven through the warp threads. When pulled perpendicular to the threads (or rotated to stand on edge, for wide, flat shedding rods), it creates
13780-419: 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 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
13910-477: The threads (those passing through the heddles), and lowering the shaft lowers the same threads — the threads passing through the spaces between the heddles remain in place. A treadle loom for figured weaving may have a large number of harnesses or a control head. It can, for instance, have a Jacquard machine attached to it (see Loom#Shedding methods) . Tapestry can have extremely complex wefts, as different strands of wefts of different colours are used to form
14040-466: The time of the Roman occupation of Britain's southern regions. Another ancient market town is Cirencester , which held a market in late Roman Britain. The term derived from markets and fairs first established in 13th century after the passage of Magna Carta , and the first laws towards a parlement . The Provisions of Oxford of 1258 were only possible because of the foundation of a town and university at
14170-428: The town and in the surrounding district. Norway developed market towns at a much later period than other parts of Europe. The reasons for this late development are complex but include the sparse population, lack of urbanisation, no real manufacturing industries and no cash economy. The first market town was created in 11th century Norway, to encourage businesses to concentrate around specific towns. King Olaf established
14300-747: The town erected a market cross in the centre of the town, to obtain God's blessing on the trade. Notable examples of market crosses in England are the Chichester Cross , Malmesbury Market Cross and Devizes, Wiltshire. Market towns often featured a market hall , as well, with administrative or civic quarters on the upper floor, above a covered trading area. Market towns with smaller status include Minchinhampton , Nailsworth , and Painswick near Stroud, Gloucestershire . A "market town" may or may not have rights concerning self-government that are usually
14430-408: The town some protection from rival markets. When a chartered market was granted for specific market days, a nearby rival market could not open on the same days. Across the boroughs of England, a network of chartered markets sprang up between the 12th and 16th centuries, giving consumers reasonable choice in the markets they preferred to patronise. Until about 1200, markets were often held on Sundays,
14560-480: The town was granted a Charter of Incorporation and the area covered by the Urban District Council became a municipal borough . The number of wards was increased from four to six: Central, Walsden, Langfield, Stansfield , Stoodley and Cornholme. Todmorden Rural District was later renamed Hepton Rural District . Since the local government reforms of 1974 , Todmorden has been administered as part of
14690-485: The town within the West Riding . The town is served by Todmorden and Walsden railway stations. The name Todmorden is first attested in 1246, in the form Totmardene ; other pre-modern spellings include Tottemerden , Totmereden and Totmerden . 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
14820-411: The town, with each plot inviting passers-by to help themselves to the open source produce. 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. Todmorden has a complex geo-administrative history. It lies along the historic county boundary of Yorkshire and Lancashire . Until the boundary reformation by
14950-659: The traditional Easter Pace Egg plays . Todmorden is home to many churches and chapels that serve the town and surrounding villages/hamlets. One notable church is the Grade I listed Todmorden Unitarian Church . Its spire is the tallest landmark in the town and surrounding area due to being on a hill. It continues to serve as a religious and civic centre. Other churches include the Central Methodist Church, St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Roomfield Baptist Church and St Mary's Church . Centre Vale Park in Todmorden
15080-444: The undertaking operated 40 vehicles over 50 route miles (80 km) through the rugged South Pennine terrain. Until 1938, the town was served by no fewer than six railway stations: Todmorden , Stansfield Hall , Cornholme , Portsmouth , Walsden and Eastwood . With the exception of Todmorden railway station, all closed during the middle third of the 20th century although Walsden railway station reopened on 10 September 1990 on
15210-583: The vicar's wife. On 4 April 1868, Weatherhill became the last person to be publicly hanged in Manchester , at the New Bailey prison. Local legend has it that the face of a young woman is sometimes seen in the window of the vicarage, now in private ownership. Throughout the first decade of the 20th 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
15340-416: The warp threads, leaving the weaver's hands free to pass and beat the weft thread. A pit loom has a pit for the treadles, reducing the stress transmitted through the much shorter frame. In a wooden vertical-shaft loom, the heddles are fixed in place in the shaft. The warp threads pass alternately through a heddle, and through a space between the heddles (the shed ), so that raising the shaft raises half
15470-450: The warp threads, though sometimes multiple rigid heddles are used. Treadles may be used to drive the rigid heddle up and down. Rigid heddles (above) are called "rigid" to distinguish them from string and metal heddles, where each warp thread has its own heddle, which has an eye at each end and one in the middle for the warp thread. The eyes in the ends are fastened to a shaft, all in a row. This requires multiple shafts; it cannot be done on
15600-563: The warps are stretched. One bar is attached to a fixed object and the other to the weaver, usually by means of a strap around the weaver's back. The weaver leans back and uses their body weight to tension the loom. Both simple and complex textiles can be woven on backstrap looms. They produce narrowcloth : width is limited to the weaver's armspan. They can readily produce warp-faced textiles, often decorated with intricate pick-up patterns woven in complementary and supplementary warp techniques, and brocading. Balanced weaves are also possible on
15730-400: The weaver. Computer-controlled dobbies use solenoids instead of pegs. The Jacquard loom is a mechanical loom, invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1801, which simplifies the process of manufacturing figured textiles with complex patterns such as brocade , damask , and matelasse . The loom is controlled by punched cards with punched holes, each row of which corresponds to one row of
15860-408: The weights to continue. This frees the weaver from vertical size constraint. Horizontally, breadth is limited by armspan; making broadwoven cloth requires two weavers, standing side by side at the loom. Simple weaves, and complex weaves that need more than two different sheds, can both be woven on a warp-weighted loom. They can also be used to produce tapestries. [REDACTED] In pegged looms,
15990-460: Was accepted by Calderdale Council for a project to improve Centre Vale Park, including the bandstand. Also in the park are the reconstructed remains of Centre Vale Mansion, next to Todmorden War Memorial in the Garden of Remembrance, and nearby there is a sculpture of a dog. This was sculpted by local sculptor David Wynne in 2005, and was cast in steel at the local Todmorden foundry Weir Minerals. It
16120-482: Was derived from a Saxon verb meaning "to buy". A major study carried out by the University of London found evidence for least 2,400 markets in English towns by 1516. The English system of charters established that a new market town could not be created within a certain travelling distance of an existing one. This limit was usually a day's worth of travelling (approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)) to and from
16250-447: Was donated to the park by the sculptor and the foundry, but installation was delayed for several years due to the extensive flood alleviation works. In 2011, the dog was featured on an episode of Derren Brown 's The Experiments . Brown spread a rumour that the dog was lucky; it then gained a reputation for bringing luck to anyone that touched it. During World War I the mansion was used as a military hospital. Centre Vale Park has hosted
16380-562: Was invented in China during the Han dynasty ( State of Liu ?); foot-powered multi-harness looms and jacquard looms were used for silk weaving and embroidery, both of which were cottage industries with imperial workshops. The drawloom enhanced and sped up the production of silk and played a significant role in Chinese silk weaving. The loom was introduced to Persia, India, and Europe. A dobby head
16510-541: Was possible to dance in the town hall ballroom, forward and back, across two counties of England . Following the Local Government Act 1894 , the Todmorden Local Board became an Urban District Council, comprising the wards of Todmorden, Walsden , Langfield and Stansfield. At the same time, Todmorden Rural District Council, comprising the nearby parishes of Blackshaw, Erringden, Heptonstall and Wadsworth, came into being. Two years later, on 2 June 1896,
16640-402: Was raised during shedding. Multiple shuttles could be used to control the colour of the weft during picking. The Jacquard loom is the predecessor to the computer punched card readers of the 19th and 20th centuries. The weft may be passed across the shed as a ball of yarn, but usually this is too bulky and unergonomic. Shuttles are designed to be slim, so they pass through the shed; to carry
16770-414: Was that the strong Pennine streams and rivers were able to power the machine looms . Improvements in textile machinery (by John Kay , James Hargreaves and Richard Arkwright ), along with the development of turnpike roads (1751–1781), helped to develop the new cotton industry and to increase the local population. In 1801, most people still lived in the uplands; Todmorden itself could be considered as
16900-405: Was under Danish rule, Danish merchants held a monopoly on trade with Iceland until 1786. With the abolishment of the trading monopoly, six market town ( Icelandic kaupstaður ) were founded around the country. All of them, except for Reykjavík , would lose their market rights in 1836. New market towns would be designated by acts from Alþingi in the 19th and 20th century. In the latter half of
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