Dobroyd Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Dobroyd Castle stands on a wooded hill overlooking Todmorden, a small industrial town in the upper Calder valley, on the border between Lancashire and Yorkshire. Despite its name, it is not a medieval fortress. It is a large Victorian castle-style mansion, built in the late 1860s for John Fielden, heir to a powerful family of cotton spinners. Corner towers, turrets and a tall entrance tower give the building a military silhouette visible from afar, but the interior is that of a wealthy residence. The arcaded great hall, crowned by a glazed dome, and the imperial staircase with its cast-iron balustrade are its centrepieces. Four tympana carved in Caen stone depict the stages of cotton production, from picking by enslaved people to women's work in the mill. Having served as a school and then a Buddhist centre, the house is now a residential activity centre for primary schools. It is not open to individual visitors.