Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum

Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum

This modern museum stands at the centre of a row of six cottages built in memory of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. The Memorial Cottages were built in 1934 by the Co-operative Wholesale Society to commemorate the centenary of the Martyrs' trial.

The museum tells the story of the six Tolpuddle farm labourers whose attempt to create a union of local farmworkers resulted in their arrest and transportation, and eventual exoneration and return to Britain.

The museum uses a combination of display panels, interactive touch-screens, and recreations of original newspaper articles to tell the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, whose tribulation proved a vital event in the history of trade unionism.

At the roadside below the museum is a striking modern sculpture by Thompson Dagnall depicting George Loveless in Dorchester prison. The sculpture is inscribed with Loveless's words, “We will, we will, we will be free.”

George Loveless sculpture

There is a Tolpuddle Trail which guides visitors around the village to places with a connection to the fateful events of 1834.

I confess I knew little beyond the outline of the Martyrs' story before visiting the museum, and I left with a great appreciation for the courage shown by these simple men with a strong belief in the rightness of their cause.

If you'd like to learn more about the Tolpuddle Martyrs I can highly recommend the book 'Six for the Tolpuddle Martyrs' by Alan Gallop.