New Radical History School to show Dorset’s “hellish” past
THE YETTIES’ front man Bonny Sartin will look back to the days when towns like Beaminster had riots when he speaks – and sings – at a new Radical History School.
The event will form part of the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival, held in memory of the farm workers transported to Australia for forming a proto trades union in the 1830s.
Branding of a convict during transportation to Australia
Mr Sartin, who lives in Sherborne, will focus on the life of farm labourers in Dorset in the 19th Century. He will use old songs, including some collected from the Sartin family in 1906/7, and quotations from Thomas Hardy and William Barnes.
Bonny said: “For well over a hundred years, from the later part of the 18th Century, it was hellish for the majority of Dorset inhabitants.
“Farm labourers and their families were living at starvation level.
“Common land was being taken by unscrupulous landlords, there were riots in Beaminster in 1764.
“This discontent rumbled on in Dorset until things came to a head in the 1830s with the Swing Riots and the Tolpuddle Trials.”
Keith Hatch, of the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival, said: “It’s great that Bonny will be talking and playing music at this inaugural event. Bonny has a real insight into the history of the area and it’s always fascinating to hear him.
“This is the first year we have put on a Radical History School and it’s well timed as there is a growing interest in finding out more about the lives and history of real people in Dorset and beyond.
“Events like this are a way to bring history to life, and it’s worth booking early as places are limited.”
The two day event on Thursday 15 – Friday 16 July will include local historian Mark Vine talking about Weymouth’s Crabchurch Conspiracy, The Landworker’s former editor Mike Pentelow discussing People’s Pubs, and sessions on the Swing Riots and The Luddites.
There will also be a guided walk through Tolpuddle and a chance to visit Dorchester’s old crown court and cells to hear the Martyrs’ story.
Other activities will include a series of workshops by the Bristol Radical History Group and a radical singalong on the Thursday evening.
Tickets cost £25 (for two days of events, talks, trips and a barbecue on the first night).
For more information call the South West TUC on 0117 947 0521, email [email protected] or visit the website www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk
Editor’s Note: Based on a press release issued by the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival.