Funded by UK Government

Tolpuddle Family Lives ~ Programme of Speakers

A series of talks at Tolpuddle Old Chapel funded by Historic England, the National Heritage Lottery Fund, and TOCT

All talks are free of charge and will begin at 7pm in the Old Chapel unless otherwise noted. Talks will run for approximately 40-45 minutes, followed by time for questions and discussion

Please note that as we are limited in terms of numbers due to health and safety, it is essential that you book a place for each talk as soon as you are able by contacting Angela Herrera at:
deliverymanager@tolpuddleoldchapeltrust.org

Autumn 2024

Wednesday 29th November, Sturminster Newton Museum Trust, ‘The Swanskin Seafarers of Sturminster’

This presentation will tell the remarkable story of the Dorset people who emigrated to Newfoundland in the 1600s with the trade in ‘swanskin’ a waterproof and warm flannel fabric made in Sturminster. The history has been investigated and charted by the Trust in collaboration with schools and colleges in Sturminster and Newfoundland as well as local historians to provide a fascinating account.

Wednesday 2nd October Dr Rose Wallis, ‘The Dorset Agricultural Riots of the early 1830s’
In this talk, Rose Wallis (Associate Professor, University of the West of England, and Chair of Trustees, Shire Hall Museum Dorchester) will explore the agricultural riots of rural England in the early 1830s which directly preceded the Martyrs’ affair of 1834, with particular reference to Dorset

Saturday 12th October, at 7.30pm, featuring ‘No Strings Attached.’
This is an accomplished set of Dorset musicians (Elspeth and Richard Grace, Martin and Vera Jardine) well-known for their performances at Wimborne, Bridport and Purbeck Folk festivals.

Wednesday 16th October Tim Laycock, ‘The production of the Six Men of Dorset’
Tim Laycock, Dorset historian, folk musician and Artistic Director of the New Hardy Players will tell the story about the recent highly successful production of the ‘Six Men of Dorset’ (the 1934 play about the Tolpuddle Martyrs) that was staged this summer and autumn at the Corn Exchange and the Shire Hall Museum in Dorchester

Wednesday 23rd October Time and Tide Theatre Company, ‘To Win the Day’
Sophie Wright, writer and musician, together with her theatre company, will introduce and perform her play ‘To Win the Day’, a powerful folk-drama which follows the extraordinary lives of the wives, mothers and families of the Martyrs through local folk-music of the time. Please note: This performance will be in two acts of approximately 40 minutes each, with a 30 minute interval at which there will be refreshments served at a small charge. The performance will therefore close at 8.45.

Wednesday 30th October Brent Shore, ‘Chartism, the Plug Riots of the 1840s and a nod to the Tolpuddle Martyrs’
Brent Shore is a writer of contemporary and historical novels who lives in Tolpuddle. He is also a keen historian whose research has been mainly based around 19thC working-class life in his home town of Hyde, near Manchester. This talk revolves around Brent’s 19th century historical novel, Blessèd are the Meek, which tells the story of a real mill-worker in the town of Hyde, seven miles to the east of Manchester – a man who was imprisoned for his part in the Plug Riots of the 1840s. In spite of the geographical distance, the parallels with life in Tolpuddle at the time are stark. It is a story which highlights the conditions of workers, their fight for justice and for the right to impact society by voting in elections. Through a series of extracts from the novel, the talk will reflect on the political and social history of the time and will consider the importance of education and religious faith in the lives of the working poor.
Click here to watch the video

Wednesday 13th November, 7pm. Sarah Acton, ‘Celebrating Dorset Working-Class Histories: the Seine Fishermen of Chesil and the Portland quarrymen’

Join Tolpuddle Lives writer-in-residence Sarah Acton for a talk on her immersive projects in collaboration with local Dorset communities and artists across art-forms. Sarah’s work weaves narratives that explore relationships to the past and present in Dorset natural environments and working/worked landscapes, sharing forgotten stories to make new narratives to story the landscape through community plays, participatory events, performance and written materials from memories shared and co-created within communities. In this talk Sarah delves into recent research on Portland quarries pre-mechanisation, Portland stone industry and its families through accounts of lived experience and also the Seine fishing traditions of families along Chesil Beach. Sarah leads the (Reimagining) History Club at TOTC and gives an insight into this project. There will also be a Q&A.


Spring 2024

Wed 3rd April Philip Martin. Launch of ‘Tolpuddle Family Lives’
‘Tolpuddle Family Lives’ is a full programme of events running at Tolpuddle Old Chapel from April through to October. Philip will introduce the programme and provide further details of the events and opportunities for local residents. Refreshments will also be provided.

Note: there will also be an informal drop-in ‘launch’ on the afternoon of Saturday 6th April, 2- 4pm with refreshments. All are welcome, and there is no need to book for this event.

Wed 10th April Philip Martin, ‘The Building in our midst: A brief history of Tolpuddle Old Chapel and the stories it holds’.
What do we know about the Old Chapel and the people that built it? In this talk Philip will describe the Old Chapel’s history, what we know about those who worshipped there, and its social and religious contexts. Click here to watch the video

Wed 24th April Rachel Worth, ‘Rural Working-Class Clothing and Change in Victorian England’.
In this illustrated talk, Rachel will describe how the rural poor dressed in the nineteenth century with particular reference to Dorset. She will discuss the historical sources that help us create a clearer picture of a neglected topic: for example, rare surviving examples of dress, photographs, works of art and fictional literature, in the context of her knowledge of the economies of fabrics and clothes. Click here to watch the video

Wed 8th May Sophie Wright, ‘The Life of Tolpuddle’s landless, working folk’.
Sophie Wright, author the play, ‘To Win the Day’ about the Tolpuddle wives, will talk about the unsung people of Dorset and the hardships of nineteenth-century country life. Sophie will use song and quotations to illustrate the talk, drawing on a variety of sources including the local songs collected by the Hammond brothers in the early years of the twentieth century. Click here to watch the video

Wed 15th May Steve Wallis, ‘Drowning the Landscape’.
This talk is about one of the most important features in the history of local farm labour: the watermeadows of the Frome and Piddle valleys, particularly those within a few miles of Dorchester. It will be illustrated with aerial photographs and ground views of particular features, plus ‘then and now’ comparisons using old photographic and postcard records. Click here to watch the video

Wed 29th May Anne Brown, ‘150 years of Courtroom Drama’
This talk will relate stories of ordinary working folk who appeared in the courtroom at Dorchester’s Shire Hall in the nineteenth century, reflecting the conditions in which Dorset’s rural poor lived and how they engaged with the justice system of the times. Shire Hall was the centre of justice and local government from 1797 to 1955. The Georgian courtroom was the scene of famous and infamous trials throughout this period, from the internationally significant Tolpuddle Martyrs, to Martha Brown, said to be the inspiration for Hardy’s Tess of the D’Ubervilles. Particularly fascinating, are the stories of the ordinary Dorset men, women and children who found themselves in the dock during the 19th century. From tragedy to comedy, what can they tell us about life in Dorset in the past? In this talk we will meet child criminals, resourceful smugglers, inept engine drivers and encounter an alleged witch. Click here to watch the video

Our Speakers:

Anne Brown is responsible for the lifelong learning programme at Shire Hall Museum, Dorchester, where she works with people of all ages from pre-schoolers to people living with dementia and their carers – and everyone in-between. Her particular interests are in uncovering and sharing the incredible stories of ordinary people who found themselves in Shire Hall’s courtroom, people whose lives and voices have been hidden for so long.

Professor Philip Martin is Chair of TOCT and an emeritus Professor of Literature (Sheffield Hallam University) lately turned local historian. He has published on the writings of George Loveless, and continues to conduct research into the history of the Chapel and the broader context of the Martyrs.

Steve Wallis is Senior Archaeologist, Advice and Management at Dorset Council where he advises on a wide range of archaeological projects and concerns. He has an extensive knowledge of Dorset history and archaeology, and a particular interest in the history of the watermeadow systems deriving from archaeological evidence.

Professor Rachel Worth is Professor (emerita) of the History of Dress and Fashion at the Arts University, Bournemouth. Among many books and articles, she is the author of Dress and Textiles in the ‘Discover Dorset’ series (2002), and Clothing and Landscape in Victorian England: Working-Class Dress and Rural Life (2018). Her latest book was published in 2023 by Bloomsbury: The Hidden Life of Clothing: Historical Perspectives on Fashion and Sustainability.

Sophie Wright is a Dorset writer, folk musician and historian who performs with the folk group, Time and Tide. She created and performed in the play of the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ wives, ‘To Win the Day’ (2018) which opened an entirely new dimension of the events of the 1830s, following Betsy Loveless, her two sisters-in-law and her niece whose lives were altered irrevocably when their men-folk were convicted.

Sarah Acton is a writer and performer with a passion for memory as a tool for collective identity and personal belonging. Sarah’s projects include Heart of Stone, Caught in the Net and her book, Seining Along Chesil (Little Toller, 2022) plus resources and events for creative health in nature with Dorset Museum, Stepping into Nature and Dorset National Landscapes; Your Seasons of Stories and the Seasons of Story, Environment and Me and Talking Tent. Earlier this year Sarah toured the SW with a spoken word show, Seiners, commissioned by SoundUK with film by Common Ground with musicians in double bill with Jason Singh+BFI film. This summer she has also been Literature Works Quay Words writer-in-residence.