There are several cottages associated with the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Most are in Tolpuddle in Dorset while one is in Essex.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Tollpuddle_Loveless_cottage.jpg/220px-Tollpuddle_Loveless_cottage.jpg)
The martyrs usually met in the cottage of Thomas Standfield in Tolpuddle on the Dorchester Road. This cottage and the adjoining, semi-detached cottage were listed for preservation as Grade I in 1956 as the Martyrs' Cottages (50°44′56″N 2°17′32″W / 50.748968°N 2.292084°W). They have since been merged to form a single residence. The two storey building was constructed around the 18th century using a mix of plastered cob and brick.[1]
History
editIn 1934, the Trades Union Congress sponsored a terrace of six cottages in Tolpuddle (50°45′02″N 2°18′05″W / 50.75042°N 2.30139°W) to commemorate the centenary of the martyrs' transportation – each cottage being named after one of the martyrs.[2][3] These were intended for elderly or infirm agricultural labourers who were commonly evicted from their tied cottages when they retired. A library for the residents developed into a museum about the martyrs and the trade union movement.[2]
In 2009, there was concern in the village that the use of these cottages was being changed – one being used as a shop, one being used by a museum warden and another being considered as a holiday let, while being reserved as a retirement home for the warden.[4] The widow of the warden, who then became the warden herself, was subsequently threatened with eviction when she retired in 2015.[citation needed]
Three of the martyrs returned to England after they were pardoned – George and James Loveless and James Brine. They then lived from 1838 to 1844 in a cottage in Greensted which had been built in the 16th century on a core from around the 14th century. This cottage was listed for preservation as grade II in 1984 as the Blackstock and Tudor Cottage (51°42′29″N 0°12′19″E / 51.70817°N 0.20526°E).[5]
References
edit- ^ Martyrs' Cottage, Historic England, 2018
- ^ a b Alexandra Richards (2015), Dorset, Bradt Travel Guides, p. 120, ISBN 9781841628677
- ^ Dave Musgrove (2011), 100 Places That Made Britain, Random House, p. 303, ISBN 9781409074090
- ^ Steve Morris (18 June 2009), "Tolpuddle martyrs cottage is no holiday home for the rich, say villagers", The Guardian
- ^ Blackstock and Tudor Cottage, Historic England, 2018