James Hammett – Tolpuddle

The grave of James Hammett, one of the six Tolpuddle Martyrs, is at Tolpuddle, Dorset.

The stone reads:

1834

JAMES HAMMETT

TOLPUDDLE MARTYR

PIONEER OF TRADES

UNIONISM CHAMPION

OF FREEDOM

BORN 11 DECEMBER 1811

DIED 21 NOVEMBER 1891

The date at the top refers to the date of the trial and transportation of the men.

Tolpuddle Martyrs: transported in 1834 for forming a Trade Union – read more about their story on the TUC website here.

The rich and the great will never act to alleviate the distress and remove the poverty felt by the working people of England. What then is to be done? Why, the labouring classes must do it themselves, or it will forever be left undone. George Loveless, one of the Tolpuddle Martyrs