A History of Todmorden (293)

The name Todmorden first appears in 1641 and is generally accepted to mean Totta’s boundary-valley, probably a reference to the valley running northwest from the town, although the name “marshy valley of the fox” has also been proposed. The earliest written record of the area is in the Domesday Book (1086), at which time most people were living in scattered farms or in isolated hilltop agricultural settlements. Packhorse trails were marked by ancient stones of which many still survive.