Established | 25 February 1995 |
---|---|
Location | Clay Lake Spalding Lincs PE12 6BL |
Coordinates | 52°46′21″N0°08′35″W / 52.77238°N 0.14314°W |
Type | Museum |
Website | Museum website |
The Gordon Boswell Romany Museum is the lifetime's work of Gordon Boswell (died 27 August 2016, aged 76 [1] ), who amassed a collection of artefacts, photographs, and several examples of the characteristic Gypsy wagon or Vardo. [2] [3] [4] [5] The museum also operates a number of non-Romany vehicles, including a horse-drawn hearse. The collection is housed at Clay Lake, Spalding in Lincolnshire, England.
Building bridges to the non-Romany community was a tradition in Boswell's family. His great-grandfather had been an important source of information on Romany traditions and language for Victorian academics including George Borrow. Gordon Boswell's father Sylvester published in 1970 a best-selling autobiography, "The Book of Boswell", [6] which portrayed the Romany life. Gordon Boswell gradually collected waggons, carts, and other artefacts of Romany life over many years. The museum that resulted was opened on 25 February 1995. [7]
The museum is open on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from, roughly, Easter (Good Friday) to the last weekend in September each year. There is access to all exhibits for the disabled. An admission fee is charged. The museum uses one of the wagons for organised trips in the nearby Fenland. [8]
Lincolnshire is a ceremonial county straddling the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It borders the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to the north, the North Sea to the east, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland to the south, and Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire to the west. The county town is Lincoln.
Spalding is a market town on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. The town had a population of 34,113 at the 2017 census. The town is the administrative centre of the South Holland District. The town is located between the cities of Peterborough and Lincoln, as well as the towns of Bourne, March, Boston, Wisbech, Holbeach and Sleaford.
South Holland is a local government district of Lincolnshire, England. The council is based in Spalding. Other notable towns and villages include Crowland, Sutton Bridge, Donington, Holbeach and Long Sutton. The district is named after the historical division of Lincolnshire known as the Parts of Holland.
The Rev. George Bramwell Evens was, under the pseudonym Romany, a British radio broadcaster and writer on countryside and natural history matters – quite possibly the first to broadcast on such issues. He was also a Minister of the Methodist Church.
Farnborough is a village in south-eastern Greater London, England, and prior to 1965, in the historic county of Kent. Situated south of Locksbottom, west of Green Street Green, north of Downe and Hazelwood, and east of Keston, it is centred 13.4 miles (21.6 km) southeast of Charing Cross.
Ayscoughfee Hall is a grade I listed building and modest associated parkland in central Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, and is a landmark on the fen tour.
Romanichals are a Romani subgroup within the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world. There are an estimated 500,000 Romani in the United Kingdom; almost all live in England. Most Romanichal speak Angloromani, a mixed language that blends Romani vocabulary with English syntax.
Lincolnshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in the East Midlands of England. Despite the name, the force's area does not include North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire, which are covered by Humberside Police instead.
Long Sutton is a market town in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies in The Fens, close to the Wash, 13 miles (21 km) east of Spalding.
A vardo is a traditional horse-drawn wagon used by British Romanichal Travellers as their home. A vardo must have four wheels, with two being used for steering. The vehicle is typically highly decorated, intricately carved, brightly painted, and even gilded. The Romanichal Traveller tradition of the vardo is seen as a high cultural point of both artistic design and a masterpiece of woodcrafter's art.
The title King of the Gypsies has been claimed or given over the centuries to many different people. It is both culturally and geographically specific. It may be inherited, acquired by acclamation or action, or simply claimed. The extent of the power associated with the title varied; it might be limited to a small group in a specific place, or many people over large areas. In some cases the claim was clearly a public-relations exercise. As the term Gypsy is also used in many different ways, the King of the Gypsies may be someone with no connection with the Roma.
The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, also known as MAA, at the University of Cambridge houses the university's collections of local antiquities, together with archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from around the world. The museum is located on the university's Downing Site, on the corner of Downing Street and Tennis Court Road. In 2013 it reopened following a major refurbishment of the exhibition galleries, with a new public entrance directly on to Downing Street.
The Newport Railway Museum is located on Champion Road, Newport, Victoria, near the North Williamstown station.
The Museum of Lincolnshire Life is a museum in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, in the UK. The museum collection is a varied social history that reflects and celebrates the culture of the county of Lincolnshire and its people from 1750 to the present day. Exhibits illustrate commercial, domestic, agricultural, industrial and community life. The story of the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and Lincolnshire Yeomanry is explained and illustrated by a variety of methods.
The Village Church Farm, formerly known as Church Farm Museum, is an open-air museum of local and agricultural history near Skegness, Lincolnshire, England.
Spalding is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Spalding No. 368 and Census Division No. 14. It is named after Spalding, Lincolnshire, birthplace of the wife of the first postmaster for Spalding. The local economy is dominated by agriculture.
The Museum of Technology the History of Gadgets and Gizmos is a technology museum in Throckenholt, a village in Lincolnshire, England, UK. The museum was originally started in the Old Town of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. After operating there for 15 years, the collection moved to a new, purpose-built centre in Throckenholt. The trustees spent four years creating the new space to house the collection. The new museum opened in August 2016.
The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget at the center of Copenhagen. It contains exhibits from around the world, from Greenland to South America. Additionally, the museum sponsors SILA - The Greenland Research Center at the National Museum of Denmark to further archaeological and anthropological research in Greenland.
Leeds University Library's Gypsy, Traveller and Roma Collections are one of the five Designated collections held by the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. They comprise an extensive range of international books, manuscripts and archives relating to Gypsy, Traveller and Roma culture. Most of the collections are not about or by the communities but relate to the way they have been represented in the past.