In this context, in the early 1860s, the local board of health decided to procure a town hall: the site they selected straddled the Walsden Water, a tributary of the River Calder, which formed the historic boundary between Yorkshire and Lancashire.

[3] The Fielden family, who owned many of the cotton mills in the town, acquired the site, appointed John Gibson as the new architect and took over financial responsibility for the development.

[10][9] The town hall continued to be used as a public venue and concert performers included the contralto singer, Kathleen Ferrier, who made an appearance on 21 December 1943.

[12] The building subsequently became the meeting place of Todmorden Town Council[9] and a committee room was re-named after the locally-born Nobel laureate, Sir John Cockcroft, in September 2018.

[13] Works of art in the building include sculptures by Giovanni Maria Benzoni depicting the Flight from Pompeii[14] and the Biblical Ruth[15] as well as a bust of John Fielden MP by Thomas Campbell[16] and a memorial plinth by Gilbert Bayes.