History confirmed: Tolpuddle revisited
In the Summer 2000 edition of the
magazine, I published an account of the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the six
agricultural
labourers and Methodists, whose protests against
their appalling working conditions ended in their transportation to Australia.
On
Sunday, 16th July of that year, the then Vice
President
of Conference, Brian
Thornton attended the service in Tolpuddle on Martyrs' Sunday. At least, I
expect he did because that was his intention. I'm fairly certain that some
time on that Sunday he, along with many others, took time to sit or stand
beneath the branches of the huge sycamore tree that had, it was said, sheltered
the men when they held their meetings, banned as they were from meeting indoors.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were the founders of the Trade Union Movement and the Martyrs' Tree has become a symbol of the international labour movement. As often with relics, there have been doubters and so it has been with the Tolpuddle sycamore. Was it old enough and would it have been large enough in 1834 to shelter a group of men? It would appear that the answer is in the affirmative. On July 15th, the Guardian newspaper published a report entitled "History Confirmed". The National Trust, owners of the tree, authorised a pioneering study using techniques in a system developed by the Forestry Commission in the 1990s whereby living trees can be accurately dated without having to be felled. It has been established that the Martyrs' Tree probably dates back to the 1680s and was 150 years old in 1834. It would have grown rapidly in its first 70 years of life and its growth then slowed down. Also it was pollarded to promote bushy growth. It is now officially established as the largest sycamore in Dorset growing on the smallest village green. The green was given to the Trust in 1934 by Sir Earnest Debenham in honour of its role in labour history.
There are of course other famous trees in the land. There is the oak in Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood connections and the tree that sheltered a fleeing Charles II after the battle of Worcester. As far as I am aware it has never been proved that these were the actual trees and it would be very satisfactory for historians etc. to be able to do so. Speaking personally,
I find it very gratifying that Tolpuddle's "Methodist" tree is the real thing!
