Tolpuddle and Southover Villages

About Tolpuddle and Southover

Tolpuddle is a beautiful, peaceful village in West Dorset situated 8 miles (13 km) east of Dorchester, the county town, and 12 miles (19 km) west of Poole. The estimated population in 2020 was 489. It is a linear village and up until 1999, it was on the route of the busy A35. Thankfully the bypass was opened at that time and the diversion of traffic transformed the village. The chocolate box thatched cottages co-exist with new builds designed to blend into the old village landscape.

It is believed Tolpuddle was named after Tola, the wife of Orc, who had been given several villages in Dorset by King Canute in 1024. One of these villages was then called Pidela and the river became known as the Piddle, the name prefixed / suffixed to many villages along the river. Other names in the recent past have been Tolpuddell and Tolpiddle.

The Parish of Tolpuddle, with an area of about 2,000 acres, extends north and south of the River Piddle at altitudes between 140 ft above sea-level in the valley bottom and 380 ft on the northern boundary. The land is wholly chalk, except for small patches of Reading Beds on Southover Heath to the south and on Tolpuddle Common to the north. The village stands in the middle of the Parish, mainly on the north bank of the Piddle; its mediaeval open field system extended to the north. The water meadows to the south of Tolpuddle were created in the 1630s and were important in the farming of sheep locally. Tolpuddle may well be represented among the numerous Domesday entries for 'Piddle'. On the opposite bank of the stream is the hamlet of Southover, formerly called Throop or Thorpe, which is closely aligned with Tolpuddle. .

The Roman Road from Exeter to Dorchester to Winchester is traceable in earthworks and field boundaries as it traverses the parish from SW to NE crossing through Tolpuddle itself in the centre of the village in the Church / Green area although unfortunately there is no evidence within the village itself remaining.
See OS Map Explorer 117.

The oldest building in the village is the Parish Church of St John the Evangelist which is of 12^th century origin but is believed to stand on the site of a much earlier church.

Please click here for more information about the Church and here for more of the Church's history.

The Enclosure Act of 1794 split the lands of the Tolpuddle Manor into three: West Farm leased to Joseph Bowering; Middle of Mill Farm to George Riggs; and East Farm to James Northover. This marked turbulent times in the Dorsetshire countryside seeing stirrings of political and religious dissent in the village. In the early 19^th century, new machines and methods were leaving workers with falling pay and unemployment. Dorset was already a low-paid area but the employers wanted to cut pay even further. At this time agriculture was the dominant industry. Families survived on a meagre income and lived in crowded cottages. Methodism and other non-conformist forms of worship were spreading with their more open and free approach to religious service.

Tolpuddle will forever be associated with the birth of trade unionism and the six men known to history as the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Like most small villages, the same surnames run down the generations and with large families, the six farm workers who became the Tolpuddle Martyrs, were part of a close-knit community and many were related in some way. Five of the Tolpuddle Martyrs were Methodists, with George and James Loveless local preachers.

In 1834, the six men met in secret to discuss forming a union to bargain for better pay. At that time the weekly wage for workers was set at 9 shillings, a figure which really represented little more than starvation wages. The local squire, alarmed at the prospect of social revolt, convinced Home Secretary, Lord Melbourne, that charges should be brought against the men, not for forming a union, which was perfectly legal, but for administering a secret oath, which was not. By combining unrelated laws aimed at suppressing revolt in the armed forces, Squire James Frampton was able to get the six men convicted, and sentenced to transportation to Australia.

The public outcry was such that the government was forced to back down and after three years the men were eventually exonerated and allowed to return. Their 'martyrdom' is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in the history of trade unionism.

Martyrs Museum:
At the west end of the village is the Martyrs’ Museum, incorporated into a set of six almshouses built in 1934 in memory of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Each of the almshouses is named after one of the men and there is a row of seated statues at the front of the buildings commemorating the Martyrs. Please click here for more information about the Museum and the Martyrs.

Martyrs Cottage:
Thomas Standfield’s cottage where the men met stands on the main road near what is now Orchard Meadow and is known as Martyrs’ Cottage.

The Old Chapel:
Next to the Martyrs’ Cottage is a tiny cobb chapel now known as The Old Chapel. For more information about the Old Chapel click here.

The Martyrs Tree:
A thatched hut on the triangular village green was erected in the Martyrs’ memory in the 1930s, and near the hut is the 320 year old Sycamore tree, the Martyrs’ Tree, under whose boughs the men are said to have gathered and made their secret oath. A plaque at the base of the tree commemorates the fact that it has been designated one of fifty “Great British Trees” by The Tree Council and it is now under the care of the National Trust. Click here for the Martyrs and more information page.

The Methodist Chapel:
The current Methodist Chapel was built in 1862 and is a Methodist Heritage site. In front of the Chapel stands a memorial arch to the Tolpuddle Martyrs erected by the TUC dating from 1912. For more information please click here.

Only one of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, James Hammett, remained in Tolpuddle after returning from exile, and his grave can be found in the churchyard of the village church, a short stroll from the Green.

In Victorian times the village contained a post office, a small Wesleyan chapel and a National School constructed in 1857. The school had about fifty pupils in its early days eventually closing in the 1930s. It was sold in the 1960s and became the Village Hall.

Today, Tolpuddle is a vibrant and pleasant village with a close knit community. We hope that exploring this website will inform and link people further.