After a relaxed start we set off down the M3 on route to our only stop on the way. We had originally planned to stop at the Army flying museum but the postcode didn’t seem to exist (perhaps it is secret as it is an army base as well) so we went directly to the Tolpuddle and the Tolpuddle Martyr’s museum. Unfortunately by the time we arrived it hadn’t warmed up at all and a number of the notable sites in the village such as the chapel and the pub were closed so we went into the museum which is a terrace of 6 houses which we thought looked a bit modern and although they were each named after one of the martyrs were actually built in the 60’s. Until looking into places to stop on the way down I didn’t know anything about the Tolpuddle Martyrs which is rather embarrassing as they basically started unions worldwide. They were six agricultural labourers from Tolpuddle who, in 1834, were convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They were arrested on charges under an obscure act during a labour dispute against cutting wages before being convicted and sentenced to penal transportation to Australia. The basis of their complaint was that between 1770 and 1830 enclosures changed the English landscape forever, with landowners annexing vast acreages creating the now familiar pattern of small hedged fields which meant the peasants no longer had plots to grow vegetables nor open commons for grazing which meant that workers were dependant on their wages which were cut to 9 shillings per week, at that time the average family expenditure was 13 shillings 9 pence. A loaf of bread was 9 shillings before they bought anything else or paid rent which was at least 1 shilling 2 pence per week when you added tea, potatoes, sugar, soap, candles, salt coal & wood, butter and cheese they didn’t really have a hope of surviving. The martyrs were eventually pardoned in1836 after mass protests by sympathisers and support from Lord John Russell and they were returned to England between 1837 and 1839. After walking round the museum we jumped in the car and drove the mile and a half to Athelhampton which is said to be one of England’s finest Tudor manors. The great hall was built in 1485 and remains virtually unchanged with the hammer-beam roof, carved stonework and stained glass. It is very spectacular but interestingly the temperature dropped by about 10 degrees as we walked into the room, you can understand why they had such big fireplaces. About1485 Sir William Martin, landowner and collector of wine duty at Poole, built Althelhampton Hall, he received a licence to enclose 160 acres of deer park and fortify his manor with walls of stone and lime as well as to build towers and crenellate them. As living standards became more segregated with eating, cooking, living and sleeping areas he built the West Wind and a Gate house. The last of the male Martin line died in 1595 leaving only female heirs the four sisters inherited equal shares and eventually they all died out and with the estate passing to distant cousins eventually it was sold to Sir Robert Long whose grandson was a gambler and in 1683 only avoided loosing the house to his creditors by hiding out in the house! His son inherited Athelhampton in 1710 along with other property in Wiltshire. The estate was occupied by tenant farmers, a thriving community farming some 12,000 acres. The house passed through different generations although was seldom visited and fell into disrepair until it was inherited by William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley in 1825! In 1848 following years of disagreement with his father over family debt Long sold the house to George Wood who also brought the Floyer share and reunited the house in 1825. Ian 1890 Alfred Cart de Lafontaine purchased the house but not the surrounding farmland, it was where Thomas Hardy heard the First World War had started, previously his father had worked on restoring the house and a number of his stories were based on the house and it’s inhabitants, the house was sold again in 1818 and passed through a number of owners until in 1957 Robert Victor Cooke, a retired surgeon from Bristol brought the house, his family owned it up until 2019 when the house was brought by Giles Keating an economist from London. Despite all the changes and modifications, you can still tell when you move between the different periods of the house and it was really interesting to walk round although very cold in each of the rooms, so after looking at the areas that are open we went back outside to warm up and walk round the grounds. Unfortunately we were a little early for the plants but it was nice to walk round the gardens. Then it was time to jump in the car and head for the hotel. Although the sun wasn’t out when we arrived we had a great view from the terrace so we had a little walk round, a drink looking at the view then went to the room for a bit of a relax, although it didn’t last long as the room was quite cold so we went to the bar for a drink and some soup to warm up. A very nice first day, hopefully the weather will hold for the next few days.
