Tolpuddle Martyrs' Memorial Shelter - Tolpuddle, Dorset, UK
Posted by: Dragontree
N 50° 44.966 W 002° 17.800
30U E 549617 N 5622197
This shelter stands on the village green in Tolpuddle and is a memorial to the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
Waymark Code: WM9VM1
Location: South West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/01/2010
Views: 3
Thatched and with four supports this shelter has a bench underneath and sits on a stepped, concrete base.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs' story is related on Wikipedia, an extract of which is below:
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'The Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of 19th century English agricultural 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 to be the predominant role of trade unions. The Tolpuddle Martyrs were subsequently sentenced to transportation to Australia.'