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The 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' were a group of 19th century British labourers who were arrested for and convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the ''Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers''. The rules of the society show it was clearly structured as a friendly society and operated as a trade-specific benefit society. But at the time, friendly societies had strong elements of what we now consider is the predominant role of trade unions. They were subsequently sentenced to transportation to Australia.

Contents

The historical events

Cultural and historical significance

Image gallery

References

See also

External links

The historical events

The Reform Act of 1832 made unions legal, and that year six men from Tolpuddle in Dorset founded the ''Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers'' to protest against the gradual lowering of wages in the 1830s. They refused to work for less than 10 shillings a week, although by this time wages had been reduced to seven shillings and were due to be set at 6 shillings a week. The society, led by George Loveless, a Methodist local preacher, met in the house of Thomas Standfield.
In 1834 James Frampton, a local landowner, wrote to the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, to complain about the union, invoking an obscure law from 1797 prohibiting people from swearing oaths to each other, which the Friendly Society had done. 'James Brine', 'James Hammett', 'George Loveless', George's brother 'James Loveless', George's brother in-law 'Thomas Standfield', and Thomas' son 'John Standfield' were arrested, found guilty, and transported to Australia.
George Loveless, one of the Tolpuddle Martyrs when sentenced to seven years‘ transportation wrote on a scrap of paper the following lines:

God is our guide! from field, from wave, From plough, from anvil, and from loom;
We come, our country's rights to save, And speak a tyrant faction's doom:
We raise the watch-word liberty; We will, we will,
we will be free!

They became popular heroes and all, except James Hammett, were released in 1836, with the support of Lord John Russell who had recently become Home Secretary. Four of the six returned to the UK, disembarking at Plymouth, a popular stopping point for transportation ships. A plaque resides next to the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth's historic Barbican area to commemorate this.
Hammett was released in 1837. Meanwhile the others moved, first to Essex, then to London, Ontario, Canada, where there is now a monument in their honour and an affordable housing/ trade union complex named after them. They are buried in a small London, Ontario, cemetery on Fanshawe Park Road East. Hammett remained in Tolpuddle. He died in the Dorchester workhouse in 1891.

Cultural and historical significance

There was a monument erected in their honour in Tolpuddle in 1934, and a sculpture of the martyrs made in 2001 stands in the village in front of the Martyrs Museum there.

An annual festival is held in Tolpuddle, organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) featuring a parade of banners from many trade unions, a memorial service, speeches and music. Recent festivals have featured speakers such as Tony Benn and musicians such as Billy Bragg, as well as others from all around the world. The festival is usually held in the third week of July - see Tolpuddle Martyrs festival
The story of Tolpuddle has enriched the history of trade unionism, but the significance of the Tolpuddle Martyrs continues to be debated since Sidney Webb and Beatrice Webb wrote the ''History of Trade Unionism'' (1890) and continues with such works as Dr Bob James ''Craft Trade or Mystery'' (2001).
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were portrayed in the 1987 film ''Comrades'', directed by Bill Douglas.
There are streets named in their honour in:

★ Islington, north London

★ Taunton, Somerset

★ Allerton, Liverpool

Image gallery

References

★ ''Tolpuddle Martyrs' Story'' Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum Trust

★ ''History of Trade Unionism'' (1890) Sidney and Beatrice Webb

★ ''Craft Trade or Mystery'' (2001) Dr Bob James

★ ''The Book of the Martyrs of Tolpuddle 1834-1934'', London : The Trades Union Congress General Council (1934) — Memorial Volume (printed by the Pelican Press) 240 pages. Modern reprint (1999) Tolpuddle Martyrs Memorial Trust, ISBN 1-85006-501-2

★ Marlow, Joyce, ''The Tolpuddle Martyrs'', London : History Book Club, (1971) and Grafton Books, (1985) ISBN 0-586-03832-9

★ ''Tolpuddle - an historical account through the eyes of George Loveless''. Contemporary accounts, letters, documents, etc., compiled by Graham Padden, TUC, 1984, updated 1997.

★ "The Martyrs of Tolpuddle - Settlers in Canada". Geoffrey R. Anderson 2002. A privately published 70 page booklet available at the London Public Library, and also at the Regional Collection, UWO

See also

★ Peterloo Massacre

★ Chartism

External links

★ The Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum

★ ''The Wrong End of the World'', The stirring story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs: An epic documentary drama with traditional music, for Salisbury Playhouse, 1987, by Graham Padden.

★ Tolpuddle Martyrs Online