Tolpuddle

Photograph © Donna King 2003	Tolpuddle (also called Tolpuddell & Tolpiddle) is a village and parish on the River Trent or Piddle. It is 7 miles north east from Dorchester. These days it is famous for being the birthplace of the Tolpuddle Martyrs when six farm workers who had a wage of nine shillings a week tried to establish a trade union.
The parish church is a stone and flint building dedicated to St John. The parish registers date from the year 1718, although the church is much older than this. It underwent a restoration in 1855. In Victorian times the village contained a post office, a small Wesleyan chapel and a National School constructed in 1857. The 2040 acres of land are light loam and the chief crops used to be wheat, barley and roots. In 1891 the population was 288	The Burial ground. © Donna King 2003
The Online Parish Clerk (OPC) for Tolpuddle is Donna King
Census	1841 [Kim Parker] 1861
Parish Registers	Baptisms 1719-1812, 1813-1882 [PR][Kim Parker] Marriages 1719-1840 [PR] [Kim Parker] Burials 1719-1812, 1813-1920 [PR] [Kim Parker]
Postal Directories	Harrod & Co 1865
Other Records	Militia Lists 1756 & 1796 1807 Poll Book Monumental Inscriptions
Maps	The 1891 Ordnance Survey maps of the parish can be seen at the old-maps site, just enter 'Tolpuddle' under place search
	For modern location maps visit:- www.multimap.com
Mailing List	To subscribe to the Tolpuddle e-mail list, send an e-mail message to the following address: Tolpuddle-L-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'subscribe' as the subject
	THE TOLPUDDLE MARTYRS This plaque placed here by members of various trade unions affiliated to the Plymouth District Trades Council to commemorate the landing near this spot on 18th march 1838 of James Loveless, James Brine, Thomas and John Stanfield (4 of the 6 Dorset farm workers after exile in Australia) "Freedom & justice was their cause" 5th May '95

Pictures from old postcards of Tolpuddle, this one circa 1950

Tolpuddle Village circa 1940's??	Martyrs Seat, Tolpuddle

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