A Romani story told by the Daily Herald
These photographs, taken by Daily Herald photographers in the 1930s, show Romani families at work and rest in Epsom and Crawley, South-East England.
Some people within Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities proudly self-identify as Gypsy or Romani Gypsy but some people do not and find the word offensive. This story aims to be respectful of both opinions. There are three references to the word Gypsy in the story: two are quotes taken from a page on the Travellers’ Times website and the other is a reference to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller resources that have been instrumental in writing this story.
Resources
There are many brilliant projects run by communities identifying as Gypsy, Roma and Traveller that kindly provide information celebrating their unique culture and heritage. This story is particularly indebted to Travellers’ Times and the Traveller Movement, community-based services aimed at tackling negative media and discrimination, inequality, and exclusion. They aim to promote rights and help communities develop skills to play an active part in all aspects of contemporary society.
Daily Herald Photograph: Romany Gypsy community at EpsomNational Science and Media Museum
A long history
In the late medieval period, Roma people travelled west from India; the first group arrived in Scotland at the end of the 1400s. Evidence of Romani presence in the South-East can be found in place names like Oxford’s Gipsy Hill, Windsor’s Tinkers Lane and Worthing’s Romany Road.
Daily Herald Photograph: Romany Gypsy community at CrawleyNational Science and Media Museum
The Derby
Some Romani families settled in Surrey; the first record from 1514 mentions families of ‘Gypsies’ arriving from the Netherlands. By 1769, many had settled on Epsom Downs near the famous racecourse. A few years later in 1780, the first Derby, a flat horse race, would take place.
Telling fortunes
By the early 19th century, part of the Derby racecourse was set aside for ‘Gipsying, Pugilism, Rings for Horses’. Romani women, often carrying babies, would entertain visitors by telling fortunes. Others danced or sold flowers, played a fiddle, did acrobatics and stilt walking.
Wagons
1863 saw the first waggons at the Derby. These were simple tilt carts covered in tarp, but expensive versions like Reading and Burton appeared soon after. Many families continued to live in Benders, dome-shaped tents made by bending saplings into shape and covering with tarp.
Daily Herald Photograph: Romany Gypsy community at EpsomNational Science and Media Museum
The place with the big racecourse
By the 1870s, Epsom had become a major centre for Romani families. It was referred to as Boro Nashimescro Tan or ‘the place with the big racecourse’. By 1891 it is estimated around 40 Romani families stayed on Epsom Downs for the Derby; by 1967 this figure was closer to 1,000.
Cleanliness is next to godliness
As numbers at the Derby started to grow, it wasn’t long before settled communities tried to remove Romani and Traveller communities from Epsom. In the 1930s there were disputes about the cleanliness of camps. Certificates and food baskets were awarded for keeping a clean site.
Daily Herald Photograph: Romany Gypsy community at CrawleyNational Science and Media Museum
Crawley encampment
A similar dispute broke out in Crawley between settled residents living in bungalows and the adjacent Romani and Traveller families living in caravans. Complaints from the settled community claimed increasing numbers of people were living in unhealthy and overcrowded conditions.
Discrimination and resistance
Contrary to media depiction, these communities value cleanliness. Their distinctive customs and lifestyle make them vulnerable to discrimination, and key social services typically ignore their views. The law often persecutes their way of life, leading to economic hardship or even slavery and genocide. In recent years many people have been fighting back through activism and campaigning or have decided to adapt their lives to become part of the formal economy through ‘professional’ occupations.
Daily Herald Photograph: Romany Gypsy community at EpsomNational Science and Media Museum
Romani champion
Lady Sybil Grant, daughter of the fifth Earl of Roseberry, acted as mediator in disputes about cleanliness. After the Epsom and Walton Downs Conservators tried to ban all Romani families from Epsom Downs in 1937, she let them camp on her land at the Durdans estate.
Daily Herald Photograph: Romany Gypsy community at EpsomNational Science and Media Museum
Labouring
Romani and Traveller communities have traditionally supported themselves with seasonal work like hop-picking or self-employment like peddling. Reporting on the displacement of Romani families at Epsom, Daily Herald journalist A.B. Austin encountered Mr Perrin Lee weaving baskets.
Daily Herald Photograph: Romany Gypsy community at EpsomNational Science and Media Museum
The importance of family
Perrin Lee shared fond family memories, declaring ‘I’ve tried to count my grandchildren... can never get it right’. Romani and Traveller people have very different languages and heritage but also some shared values including the importance of extended family bonds and networks.
Daily Herald Photograph: Romany Gypsy community at CrawleyNational Science and Media Museum
A truce
The dispute in Epsom lasted for many years. In 1971 an agreement was reached, with the Council authorising a site for Romani and Traveller families to use. Multiple sites are used today; fortune telling still occurs, but most people attend the Derby as a holiday.
Daily Herald Photograph: Romany Gypsy community at EpsomNational Science and Media Museum
Wherever I lay my hat...
Some other Romani families live in houses in Epsom. Most Romani and Traveller people see a nomadic life as part of their identify. However, many families, either through choice or necessity, decide to live a more settled life, maintaining a commitment to their other traditions.
All images are from the Science Museum Group collection. Copyright Mirrorpix, Hulton Archive/Getty Images, and TopFoto.
