Welcome to Tolpuddle Old Chapel

A place of history, reflection, and community

• Explore our amazing story
• Discover how to visit
• Find out how you can support us and be part of our future

The Old Chapel is a small building with a big story to tell. Originally opened in 1818 it is a rare example of a Wesleyan chapel of this period.

In bringing the building back from dereliction the Trust has endeavoured to show something of its biography through the passage of time as it changed from being a chapel into an agricultural building for storage and stabling.

But the Old Chapel is not any building; it has a rich history and stands as testimony to the agricultural labourers who built it, some of whom later became known as Tolpuddle Martyrs – George Loveless, Thomas Standfield, James Loveless and John Standfield.

As a vernacular building – built primarily from cob – it is a remarkable survivor and a superb example of a ‘hand-built’ structure made out of the scant resources available locally and the earth of the Piddle valley.

Today, it is a Grade II* listed heritage building open for visitors, craft skills education, heritage tours, concerts, talks, and community events. Why not come and see us?