The Return of the Martyrs

The Tolpuddle Martyrs were sentenced to penal transportation to Australia in 1834 for swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They were pardoned in 1836 after mass protests of sympathisers, and were returned to England between 1837 and 1839. Two of the returning martyrs spent their first night back ashore in England at Plymouth Barbican’s Dolphin Hotel.
It’s funny how this small link in the story helps to bring alive the reality of their experience.