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Tolpuddle Dorset Photographs
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Title: St Johns Church
Place: Tolpuddle
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About: St Johns Church in Tolpuddle is said in parts to date back to as early as the 1300's. James Hammett one of the Tolpuddle martyr's grave is in this graveyard.
Photograph Added: 4th September 2005
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About Tolpuddle Dorset.
The village of Tolpuddle is located 7 miles north east of Dorchester. Also called Tolpuddell or Tolpiddle the village is on the River Trent or Piddle.
The parish has a church of flint and stone dedicated to St. John but its fame lies on the village green under a giant sycamore tree. This was the meeting place of the farm labourers, who became known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs, James Brine, James Hammett, George and James Loveless and Thomas and John Standfield. Between 1831 and 1833 these six men formed the first Trade Union, the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers (F.S.A.L.). The conditions of hardship and poverty at the time led the men to form this union to try and strengthen their bargaining power. At Dorchester assizes in March 1834 the men were sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia for the crime of administering unlawful oaths. Forming the union was not their crime but taking a pledge of loyalty was under the Unlawful Oaths Act of 1797 this act was originally set to deal with naval mutiny. Public pressure against the injustice of their sentence forced the government to grant free pardons to the men in 1836.
Only James Hammet returned to Tolpuddle his grave is in the churchyard and the cottage that belonged to Thomas Standfield, where the union members met, can still be seen in the village today. Also in Tolpuddle, built by the Trade Union Congress or TUC, are six memorial cottages erected in 1934 to commemorate the centenary of the Martyrs trial.
A commemoration takes place in the village each summer to remember the Tolpuddle Martyrs with a special festival held that attracts trade union members from all over the world.
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