Tolpuddle
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK place
Tolpuddle (Template:IPAc-en) is a village in the civil parish of Burleston and Tolpuddle, in Dorset, England, on the River Piddle from which it takes its name, Template:Convert east of Dorchester, the county town, and Template:Convert west of Poole. The estimated population of the parish in 2013 was 420.<ref name=dcc/>
The village is well known as the home of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, six men who were sentenced to be transported to Australia after they formed a friendly society in 1833. A row of cottages, housing agricultural workers and a museum, and a row of seated statues commemorate the martyrs. The annual Tolpuddle Martyrs festival is held in the village on the third weekend of July. An ancient sycamore tree on the village green, known as the Martyrs' Tree, is said to be the place where the Martyrs swore their oath. It is cared for by the National Trust.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Martyrs Inn public house is owned by nearby Athelhampton House, a Tudor house open to the public approximately Template:Convert to the west.
St John the Evangelist's Parish Church dates from the 13th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1999, the A35 trunk road through south Dorset, was moved to bypass both Tolpuddle and nearby Puddletown.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Etymology
Tolpuddle originally bore the name 'Tolpiddle'.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The entry for Tolpuddle in the Key to English Place-Names reads: Template:Blockquote
Governance
At the local government level, Tolpuddle is in the Puddletown Area parish council and the Dorset unitary authority area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For elections to Dorset Council is part of the Puddletown and Lower Winterborne electoral ward.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 1 April 2024 the parish was abolished and merged with Burleston to form "Burleston and Tolpuddle".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Historically, Tolpuddle was in Puddletown Hundred. It was part of Dorchester Rural District from 1894 to 1974,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and West Dorset district from 1974 to 2019.
In the UK national parliament, Tolpuddle is within the North Dorset parliamentary constituency, having been moved from West Dorset in 2024.
References
- Pitt-Rivers, Michael, 1969. Dorset. London: Faber & Faber.