John Fielden was born in Todmorden into a Quaker family. He became an important mill owner in partnership with his brothers. His support of Chartism and other movements focused on workers' rights earned him the local nickname of 'Honest John'. The statue was erected in celebration of the Ten Hours Act of 1847. Designed by J. H. Foley in 1863 and cast in 1869. The Ten Hours Act reduced the permitted maximum hours of work for women and children to 10 hours per day and 58 in any one week. The sculpture shows Fielden in contemporary dress, standing and holding a document (probably the Ten Hours Act which Fielden initiated). It was originally sited to the side of the Town Hall and then moved to Fielden Square prior to its present position.