A website for both travellers and visitors to the fair and the local community in and around Appleby

About Gypsies and Travellers

There are a number of different Gypsy groups visiting the Fair. The Romani Gypsies, or Romani Chal, are an ethnic group made up of extended families, whose origins are traced back to Northern India over 1 000 years ago. Each extended family will have its own Head Gypsy or Sheara Rom.

The second major group is the Travellers. Their ethnic origins are unclear, but it is widely thought that they were in Britain before 1506, when the first Romani arrived in Scotland. It has been suggested that the ancestors of the Travellers brought ironworking and blacksmithing into Britain. The Travellers share a very similar culture to the Romani, however, their ethnic origin is different, and therefore they belong to different families. The Traveller community also includes Irish Travellers, Scottish Travellers and Welsh Gypsies, (who call themselves Kale, and who have been in Britain since about 1400). Each of these cultures has its own distinct family groups.

There is some intermarrying between Traveller families and Gypsy families, and they share a number of common characteristics – for example skill with horses, strongly defined gender roles, and strong moral values regarding courtship, the sanctity of marriage, and loyalty and honour.

In addition to these ethnic groups, there is another large group who are not part of the Gypsy and Traveller families, but who have adopted Gypsy ways. They are not ‘blood’ Gypsies, but ‘new’ Travellers.

Visitors to the Fair may well hear a variety of languages being spoken there. As well as English, many speak Romany and you might also hear English Cant, Irish Cant, Shelta, Welsh Romani, as well as French and German, as the visiting families are widely spread over Europe.

There is Gypsy and Traveller representation on the committee which looks after statutory responsibilities, so that problems can be addressed and sorted out where possible within the Gypsy and Traveller community.

Because of the diverse nature of the Gypsy and Traveller population, these representatives on the committee do not wield absolute power, or a magic wand, but because the Fair is such a vital and important part of their culture, they have a real interest is seeing it continue, and so will go to some lengths to help solve genuine problems where and when they arise.

You can find out more about the history, culture and lifestyles of Gypsies and Travellers during the Fair itself through a project called Education on the Hoof, which holds free events during the Fair. Click here for more details.

Images from the fair...