© The National Trust / Ray Hawes

The world famous Tolpuddle Martyrs' Tree at Tolpuddle in Dorset is the site of the landmark trade union meeting in 1834 that became a historic symbol of the struggles for the emerging labour movement. The tree was dated for the first time in 2005 by the National Trust. Using special dating techniques, it was possible to work out that the sycamore tree (Acer pseudoplatanus) is likely to have started its life in the 1680s, more than 150 years before the Tolpuddle Martyrs' meeting.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs met here in an attempt to form one of the world's first trade unions, against a background of falling wages and harsh employment laws. The meeting led to their deportation, pardon and, ultimately, the foundation of the trade union movement. The tree and the village green is one of the smallest National Trust properties, though the tree is the largest sycamore in Dorset.