A peaceful leafy spot in Dorset has been selected as one of the most remarkable places in England.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Tree, a 300-year-old sycamore on the village green of Tolpuddle, near Dorchester, is listed in newly published book Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 Places.

This is the tree under which six men from Tolpuddle met in 1833 after forming the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers to protest pay cuts.

The book, put together by Historic England, highlights places that are surprising, intriguing and enlightening, from the observatory in Greenwich where the modern measurement of time began, to England’s oldest inn carved into sandstone in Nottingham.

The book was guided by public nominations and a panel of expert judges, including Robert Winston, Mary Beard, Will Gompertz, George Clark, David Olusoga, Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson and Bettany Hughes.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Tree marks one of the meeting places of trade union pioneers the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who stood up for workers’ rights but were sentenced to transportation for their protest.

Many people were horrified at the conviction and sentence given to the Martyrs and they were later pardoned.

They became symbols of the movement to secure better pay and rights for workers, and for the risks faced by those trying to campaign for their rights.

It was in 1833 when six men from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset formed the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers to protest about pay cuts. They were James Brine, George and James Loveless, Thomas and John Standfield, and James Hammett. In 1799-1800 two Acts of Parliament were passed banning groups of people from “combining together” to form a trade union or to bargain collectively with their employers. However, the Acts were repealed in 1824 and workers continued to organise, but did so in secret rather than out in the open.

The men had been told by their employer that their wages were to be reduced to six shillings per week – the third wage cut in three years. Horrified, they collectively refused to work for less than 10 shillings.

Local landowner James Frampton discovered that they had formed a union and sought a way to stop them. What the workers had done seemed perfectly legal, but when Frampton consulted the Home Secretary Lord Melbourne, he suggested an obscure law, the Unlawful Oaths Act of 1797, which prohibited swearing oaths in secrecy.

The six men were arrested, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to transportation to Australia.

There was a huge protest at the conviction and sentence, with a 250,000-signature petition and a protest march in support of the martyrs. The march was itself a pioneering event and it was successful when, in March 1836, the martyrs were pardoned; the six returned to England after various delays between 1837 and 1839.

The tree comes under the book’s Power, Protest and Progress section.

Historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes said the criteria for each location in the book was its ability to inspire and the Tolpuddle tree certainly had that effect.

She added: “If this book inspires you to visit the location of the pioneering political movements championed by David Olusoga, the village of Tolpuddle or Bristol Bus Station, perhaps take a moment out to remember the debt we all owe to those who have gone before us.

“As a species we’re driven to connect, to reach out, to exchange goods and trade ideas and experiences. That’s what these 100 places represent for me: they embody big ideas but they’re also beautiful in and of themselves, forged through the wit, will and wisdom of the men and women of the past.”

Philip Wilkinson, author of Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 Places, says the Tolpuddle Martyrs are still remembered today as courageous and exemplary pioneers, but their return to Tolpuddle upon pardoning wasn’t quite straightforward.

“They did not find life easy in Tolpuddle, working for landowners who resented their pardon and return, and five of them emigrated to Canada, where they made new lives as farmers in London, Ontario.

“Several of them wrote about their experiences, and George Loveless’s account of the trial and transportation, The Victims of Whiggery, was much quoted by later campaigners for workers’ rights, particularly the Chartists.

“The attempt by the government to defeat the union had failed spectacularly, and the six men of Tolpuddle became national heroes. However, the later progress of trade unions in Britain was far from smooth, with various challenges from employers and governments, and disagreements within and between unions on aims.”

*Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 Places is available to buy from bookshops.

Legacy of the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the Martyrs’ Tree

Worldwide legacy

Although historians argue about just how influential they were on the later history of trade unions, the six are now widely commemorated – with an annual festival in Tolpuddle.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is a long-term supporter of the festival, which features music and speakers and is held every July.

At this year’s festival, Mr Corbyn said: “We must never forget the sacrifice of the Martyrs. Because of these six men we have a trade union movement not just in the UK but all over the world.”

Dorchester’s Shire Hall Historic Courthouse and Museum, which opened earlier this year, gives visitors the chance to step into the prison cell where the Tolpuddle Martyrs awaited trial.

The Martyrs’ legacy is a worldwide one – there are streets named after the village of Tolpuddle in places from London to as far afield as Tasmania, Australia.