Tolpuddle Martyrs festival
Encyclopedia
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which celebrates the memory of the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Tolpuddle Martyrs
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of 19th century Dorset 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...
. The event is a celebration of trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ism and labour politics organised by the Dorset Committee of the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers
National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers
The National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers was a trade union in the United Kingdom.It was established as the Eastern Counties Agricultural Labourers & Small Holders Union at a conference of Norfolk agricultural workers at the Angel Hotel, North Walsham on 20 July 1906...
now section of the TGWU and the Trades Union Congress
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
(TUC) and featuring a parade of banners from many trade unions, a memorial service, speeches and music. The festival is usually held in the third week of July.
Each year a wreath is laid at the grave of James Hammett, one of the martyrs.
The main festival events are held outside the Martyrs' Museum on the western edge of the village. The main speeches and performances take place on a small stage in front of the Tolpuddle cottages and museum, with audience space on the green. The adjacent field, as well as having camping space, has a marquee, Workers Beer Company
Workers Beer Company
The Workers Beer Company is a trading name of BWTUC Ltd and is a British-Irish organisation which runs temporary bars at events and festivals in Europe. It was set up by and is owned by the Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council. The bars are run by volunteers and raise money for trade...
bar and merchandise stalls.
Recent festivals have featured speakers including politicians Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
, Dennis Skinner
Dennis Skinner
Dennis Edward Skinner is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Bolsover since 1970, the Chairman of the Labour Party from 1988 to 1989, and has sat on the National Executive Committee numerous times since 1978.Born in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, Skinner is the...
, Jim Knight
Jim Knight
James Philip Knight, Baron Knight of Weymouth is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for South Dorset from 2001 until 2010, when he lost his seat. Knight held several ministerial posts during his time as an MP including Minister for the South West and Minister for...
and Estelle Morris
Estelle Morris
Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, PC was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley from 1992 to 2005, and served briefly in the Cabinet as Education Secretary.-Early life:...
, British trade union leaders and many union organisers from around the world, especially countries where organising unions is difficult, such as Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. Musicians include Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, now an (almost) annual fixture, Dick Gaughan
Dick Gaughan
Richard Peter Gaughan usually known as Dick Gaughan is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs.-Early years:...
, David Rovics
David Rovics
David Rovics is an American indie singer/songwriter. His music concerns topical subjects such as the 2003 Iraq war, anti-globalization and social justice issues. Rovics has been an outspoken critic of former President George W...
and Graham Moore.
External links
- http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/ Martyrs' Museum
- http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.online-today.co.uk/
- http://www.country-standard.blogspot.com/ Country Standard
- http://www.bymoore.co.uk/ 'Tolpuddle Man'