Dobroyd Castle

In the mid 19th century Todmorden was a booming, successful cotton town. It is in this setting that rich industrialist, John Fielden (Junior) fell in love with local worker, Ruth Stansfield and asked her to be his wife. It is often said that her reply was that she would marry him if he built her a castle. John and Ruth Fielden lived in the Castle but the couple became progressively distant and estranged, a Swiss chalet was built in the valley bottom for Ruth and it is said that she became an alcoholic. and there was concern locally for the future of the Castle, especially because the roof was in a state of disrepair and the work required to renovate it was going to cost around £200,000. The…

Fielden commissioned John Gibson to design the Castle. It was to "Immortalise the name of Fielden" and to be "the most commanding object in the neighbourhood". The total cost of the building came to a total of £71,589 making it more expensive than either Todmorden Town Hall or Todmorden's Unitarian Church, both prestigious and architecturally significant buildings designed by Gibson. The 2 storey building has 4 turrets on its corners, several bay windows and a substantial 4 storey tower. The vast majority of the top of the building is castellated with battlements although of course this is for aesthetic rather than defensive reasons. Inside the castle are large columns of Devonshire Marble,…