Timeline
1515 Earliest documentary evidence for Gypsies in UK
1530 King Henry VIII outlaws Gypsies
1554 Queen Mary made being a Gypsy an offence punishable by death
1633 The earliest mention (a marriage) of a Gypsy in the South West Peak Park
1650's Last execution of a Gypsy
1656 The constable of Macclesfield reported seeing a band of 10 Gypsies
1830's First horse-drawn vehicles used by Gypsies
1940's Nazis exterminate nearly half a million Gypsies. Thousands of Gypsies serve during World War Two
1945 - 1960's Gypsies take up motorised transport and slowly disappear from commons and green lanes
History
The main aim of our research has been to demonstrate that Traveller heritage in the South West Peak Park is an important part of the area's history. Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers and possibly Scottish Travellers and Showpeople have been travelling the green lanes of the area for maybe as many as 500 years.
As a way of showing the size, variety and longevity of Traveller heritage in the South West Peak Park we have compiled a list of Travellers who crop up in census and other records. The document is by no means the full picture but gives a strong hint as to the importance and scale of Traveller heritage in this area.
The document can downloaded by following the link below.
