English Gypsies of the 18th Century

I did some digging one day for my Remmington Pirates Series' gypsies and took some notes on gypsies in England.

– Gypsies travelled back and forth from New Forest to Kinson and other Dorset villages, Poole, as well as Hampshire. Some were originally from Sussex, Kent, and Surrey. Some even travelled from as far as Wales and Scotland. Many travelled from the New Forest settled in Bournemouth and surrounding areas or went back and forth. Some travelled to Dorset and Hampshire’s Portsmouth. Some were in Nottingham, Otterbourne, Woodgreen, Blackwater.

– Gypsies were Romany families

– Dorset one of the 1^st recorded in 16^th century (as well as in Scotland), gypsies were called Egyeptiones.

– Forest Gypsies were travelling back and forth between Wiltshire and Berkshire as well as Somerset, even as far as Cornwall. Some families settled in Dorset and in villages much earlier than 16^th century too.

– Secret burial ground at Woodgreen and Blackwater near Farnborough

– Gypsy Queen, King of the Hampshire Gypsies

– Gypsy life enjoyed lots of singing and dancing, as well as feasting and drinking.

– Gypsies in Britain

– They live in tents and wagons at Shave Green, Godshill, Copythorne, Longdown, Thorney Hill, Millersford Bottom and Crystal Hollow and other places deep in the forest. – there also a few places outside the forest which were populare with Gypsies, Bournebouth and Pool and Fordingbridge on the edge of the Forest and all of the Cranborne Chase area.

– “The Romany and Traveller Family History Society website contains a list of trades and occupations (including horse dealers, basket makers, beehive makers, knife grinders, tinkers, peg makers, blacksmiths and entertainers)