St. John’s, Tolpuddle

St. John’s, Tolpuddle

A lovely church in a famous village – forever associated with the ‘Tolpuddle Matryrs’. I have to say that the church then wasn’t much of a friend to these! It is an important story that needs to be told and there is a small museum in the village. Have a look at http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/index.php?page=martyr-s-story for more details. We forget how our freedoms were hard won and must never forget those who gave so much to found our society.

St. John’s is open with good signage and a clear welcome. Inside there are notelets and postcards for sale but no guide. A pamphlet is normally on sale for 10p but this had sold out.

There was a very good WW1 display – the photo shows it. Very simple but very effective. Some 16 people had signed the visitors book in July. There is a prayer book to use – even though it is tucked well out of the way it is still being used.

This is an interesting church but I was left feeling a bit disappointed. There is a real story to tell but the church doesn’t currently do so – although James Hammet’s grave is signposted. He was the only ‘Tolpuddle Martyr’ to return to the village. His grave is well tended. Much could be done here. There is an entry on achurchnearyou and quite a bit about the church on http://www.tolpuddlevillage.co.uk. I have to rate this as poor really – with something of a heavy heart as this is a good church to visit that is at least open.