News, Reports and History

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A Brief History

There are an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Traditional Travellers in Great Britain today.

Romany Gypsies

Records of Gypsies arriving in many countries spreading north and westwards across Europe in the 14th & 15th centuries suggest that they originally came from Northern India.

The first records of Gypsies in Great Britain were in Scotland in 1505 and in Leeds in 1567.

The name Gypsy originates from the mistaken idea that the first Travellers came from Egypt and were, therefore Egyptians.

Gypsies commonly travelled with bender tents, covered carts and pack animals.
The Bender tents dates from prehistory and were made from bent ash, hazel or sallow rods covered with blankets, felts or weather proof sheets.

The propriety built, horse drawn wooden living wagon (Vardo), was introduced at the end of the 19th century and the modern trailer came into use approximately 50 years ago.

Gypsies have traditionally made their living from agricultural work such as hop, fruit and pea picking, also from making and selling lace, clothes pegs, baskets and artificial flowers, although now this is rare.

After the mechanisation of farming and the improvement in the road systems the lifestyle of Gypsies changed, Gypsies began to journey beyond their traditional areas. However many of the usual stopping places on the commons and byways gradually disappeared and they have now been forced by circumstances toward wastelands on the fringes of cities.
Nowadays Gypsies usually earn their living by dealing in scrap, tarmacking, selling carpets, small building works and landscape gardening.

In Britain today the Romany Language (Romanes) survives in a debased form. It is believed this language is a derivation of Indian Sanskrit.

Irish Travellers

It is thought that Irish Travellers have a totally different history from that of the Romany Gypsy.

In Ireland many craftsmen and their families were forced to become itinerant when the overall population diminished and consequently, the demands for their skills was not great enough to allow them to remain in one area. Metalwork was one of the earliest itinerant trades and the word 'Tinker' was derived from the sound of the craftsman's hammer striking metal. By 1175 Tinker began to appear in written records as surnames.

Later thousands of Irish peasants were forced into itinerancy through poverty, eviction and famine. On the roads they swelled the ranks of the craftsmen already there.
While many of the settled Irish community were forced onto the road over the centuries, not all became Travellers. Many were able to resettle with the onset of better times. But those who remained itinerant, gradually developed an ethnic identity as Travellers.

During the 50's and early 60's, legislation and better economic opportunities in England than in Irish towns and cities, gave rise to the Irish Travellers migration to England. Several thousand Irish Travellers still live and work in England.

They earn their living in similar trades to those of the Gypsies.

Irish Travellers also have their own languages known as 'Shelta' and 'Gammon'.

New Travellers

'New Age Travellers' began to appear in the 1970's, with many taking to travelling as a chosen and alternative way of life. Many use converted coaches or lorries for their homes and often use bender tents as extra accommodation. They travel in search of work opportunities in which to use their skills and crafts. Unlike traditional travellers, new travellers do not have a long history, although some can now trace their travelling family back 3 or 4 generations.

Legislation and Persecution

Throughout history Gypsies and Travellers have been the subject of legislation & persecution, laws were passed in the 14th & 15th centuries to expel Gypsies from European countries and many were forced into slavery. King Henry VII introduced ' The Egyptians Act' which forbade Gypsies to be transported to England. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I it was decreed that unless Gypsies give up their way of life they would be put to death.

From 1939 - 1945 80% of the Gypsy population of Nazi occupied Europe were murdered in the concentration camps, some two million people. For some Gypsies this persecution in Europe continues. In the former Yugoslavia, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Poland, people are attacked and often killed because they are Gypsies.

More recent examples of legislation in England include:

· The Caravan Sites and Control and Development Act of 1960, which made it illegal for farmers to allow Gypsies to stay on their land with out a valid licence.
· The 1968 Caravan Sites Act, which put the emphasis on local authorities to provide sites for Gypsies and Travellers.
· The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which swept the 1968 Caravan Sites Act away and again criminalized the Gypsies and Travellers way of life. Government Guidelines were issued to local authorities, which emphasised that before an eviction can take place health, education and welfare needs must be taken into account.

Over the years this has given rise to the development of Gypsy and Traveller organisations, which aim to support their traditional life style and to protect their rights.
 

Positive Action

Positive action seeks to ensure that all people have an equal opportunity to be involved.

In order to ensure your organisation can meet the needs of the Travelling Community you might like to ask the following questions.

· Do we have sufficient information about the composition of the Travelling community in the area, which we are based?

· Do we have sufficient information about the number of Travelling people who might use our service?

· Have we consulted with the Travelling community?

· Do we really understand the needs and aspirations of the Travelling community?

· Are our methods of working to traditional or conventional?

· Are we using the right media to advertise ourselves?

· Are we known well enough by the Travelling community who could contribute to our organisation?

· How do we go about making ourselves more accessible?

· Do we need to make special provisions to meet the needs of the Travelling community?

Click here to view an Agenda from the Travellers Group (December 2006 meeting)

Reports
Please see below a list of reports relating to Gypsies & Travellers - click on the name of the report to find out more ....

Commission for Racial Equality: Common Ground - Equality, good race relations and sites for Gypsies and Irish Travellers

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Local authorities and Gypsies and Travellers - Guide to responsibilities and powers

Minority Ethnic Groups in Dorset:A Qualitative Research Study Conducted for Dorset County Council

Gypsy and Travelling People Conference (A project dissemination event) - 24 November 2006 - Post conference report

Improving black and minority ethnic (BME) engagement and participation in rural community life in the South West Region - Final report on consultation carried out by The Olive Tree Association (March 2007)