The Living Album - Hampshire's Gypsy Heritage

This project aims to help members of Hampshire's wider Gypsy and Traveller community to discover and access relevant museum and archive collections in a creative as well as an informative way.

It will also help to raise the profile of Gypsy culture within schools, especially those who have Gypsy children in attendance. Furthermore, the development of a 'Living Album' website relating to the history and contemporary culture of Gypsy children and their families, to which they will contribute directly, will open up the history of Gypsy culture and lifestyle in Hampshire to a worldwide audience.

Aims of the project

This project aims to help members of Hampshire's wider Gypsy and Traveller community to discover and access relevant museum and archive collections in a creative as well as an informative way. It will also help to raise the profile of Gypsy culture within schools, especially those who have Gypsy children in attendance. Furthermore, the development of a 'Living Album' website relating to the history and contemporary culture of Gypsy children and their families, to which they will contribute directly, will open up the history of Gypsy culture and lifestyle in Hampshire to a worldwide audience.

In summary:

• To raise esteem of Gypsy children in schools, through activities which incorporate their heritage and culture
• To encourage Gypsy families to experience family learning environments in museums and libraries
• To improve and extend schools' knowledge of Gypsy culture and lifestyle as part of the National Curriculum by providing free resources including a learning pack and DVD
• To bring the many positive aspects of cultural history of the Gypsy community in Hampshire to a wide audience

Heritage Lottery Fund have made an award of £48,800 (80.72% of the total eligible project cost of £60,454) towards a project to raise awareness of Gypsy heritage in Hampshire.

Project Partners

Those involved in the project include representatives from Gypsy communities in the north of Hampshire and in the New Forest. A forum has been established which includes the above representatives, plus staff from Hampshire Record Office and Hampshire Library Service, St Barbe Museum, the Travellers Education Service, HART Voluntary Action Traveller Project, the Romany & Traveller Family History Society and Viewpoint Productions.

The Gypsy community and other partners are uniformly enthused by the opportunity presented by this project to help to engage Gypsy children and their families through learning opportunities that develops and stretches them and excites their imagination. It provides an opportunity for Recreation & Heritage services to work with Gypsy communities in Hampshire, and to introduce new and innovative 'educational' and 'learning' opportunities for this significant ethnic minority group.

How can you help us?

Photographs: do you have any photographs, or cinefilm, to share or know of photographic or film collections which show themes relating to Gypsy culture such as travelling vans, fairs or other gatherings, weddings, seasonal work or traditional crafts?

Can you tell us anything about people in the old photographs on this website?

Stories: do you have any stories, perhaps passed down through your family, about travelling and different types of vans, going to fairs and other traditional gatherings or weddings, and about seasonal work or traditional crafts? These could be traditional tales or actual events.

Arts & Crafts: do you have some artwork inspired by travelling that you would like to share or perhaps a photograph of a favourite dog or horse? Would you be interested in sharing your craft skills with schoolchildren and teachers?

If you can help then please contact us.