Shire Hall HistoricCourthouse Museum

The six Tolpuddle Martyrs stood trial in this courtroom in March 1834, in the case that sparked the trade union movement, and the room survives much as they saw it — original dock included. The building's second act began in 2018, when a £1.5m Heritage Lottery restoration reopened it as a museum run by the Shire Hall Trust, an independent charity with four unpaid trustees and thirty-odd volunteers; the council that once filled the building has no hand in running it. A café operated by the local agricultural college sits inside, and the 2026 season runs from May.