Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) History Month is celebrated each June and is an opportunity for everyone to discover more about the rich and unique histories of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people across Surrey. Find out more about this year’s campaign.

A first glimpse of the sea for children at Hurtwood Gypsy School, 1927

Surrey has a unique GRT history. It has a prime location being situated mid-way on the traditional seasonal travelling routes between Kent and the New Forest, but it has also had its own distinct heathland and woodland encampments for centuries. The first mention of the community in the county dates back to 1596 and can be found in the papers of the More family of Loseley.

One of the encampments at The Hurtwood, near Albury/Shere, had been established at least by the mid-nineteenth century. Lucy East, whose Romany Gypsy family lived there, has researched a wonderful story about how the encamped children who attended Hurtwood Gypsy School were treated to a trip to the seaside in the Summer of 1927. Using our archive collections, Lucy has delved into the Surrey Education Committee minutes and local newspapers to discover that 40 children from the school, plus their mothers and younger siblings, travelled to Goring, West Sussex, and enjoyed their first glimpse of the sea. The research gives us a fabulous visual image of the children’s excitement at this new experience, as one report describes: ‘All began to paddle, some without troubling to take off their boots and stockings, wading in until the water came up to their waist.”

How the trip was financed was a revelation. The school was refused funds to pay for the trip but Hurtwood Gypsy School’s headteacher, Mr A.S. Milner, had reported in May 1927 that as well as focusing on academic subjects, the children were taught traditional handicrafts such as basket weaving, flower and rug-making, and woodwork. Locally he had trouble selling the goods made at the school but he later arranged for two of the Gypsy men to sell the goods at the famous Selfridge’s department store in London! The proceeds of this venture may well provide the answer of how the seaside day out was financed. You can read the whole fascinating story on Exploring Surrey’s Past.

Tracing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller ancestors?

There is a huge sense of pride in Romani heritage and Surrey History Centre holds an array of archives, photographs, and published works to help you discover more. If you have researched a Surrey GRT connection we’d love to hear from you!

Image:

Postcard of children outside the Hurtwood Gypsy School, c.1926 (Courtesy of Albury History Society)