Despite first being mentioned in the historical record at least 500 years ago, references to Surrey's travelling peoples are often difficult to find. Surrey History Centre holds a range of archives, photographs, and published works which illustrate the fact and fiction surrounding this community over the centuries.

A guide to tracing Gypsy, Romany, Traveller Family History featuring details of archive sources held at Surrey History Centre is available. Click on the images below to see the full leaflet ( pdf), the leaflet has been divided into two parts:  Copies of this leaflet are available from the Surrey History Centre.

A bibliography has been produced comprising the full range of published works held at Surrey History Centre, from newspapers and illustrations of fairs to articles on bare knuckle boxing and The Derby. (click here to see the bibliography).

Details of all books and articles can be found on the Surrey Libraries Virtual Library Catalogue. Illustrations can be searched for using the Exploring Surrey's Past website.

The Traveller Project, funded by the European Union and the South East Museum Library and Archive Council, was designed to encourage greater access to the region's museums, libraries and archives for the region's large Gypsy and Traveller population. The project was the British contribution to a 3 year pan-European effort to remove barriers in accessing cultural heritage. Click here to read more about this project and the final report.

Travellers Tales DVD

The hidden heritage of Surrey's largest ethnic minority is uncovered in this new film celebrating the history and culture of Surrey's Gypsy and Traveller community. Click here to find out more and how to get a copy of the DVD.

Fairgrounds in Surrey

See how fairgrounds coped during the Second World War.

Explore Philip Bradley's unique fairground archive.

Useful Links

Leicestershire Record Office's Gypsies and Travellers index is an alphabetical list of names from their archive collections.

UK Romani Mailing List (a mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Gypsies in the United Kingdom).

The Living Album - Hampshire's Gypsy Heritage.

Journey Folki, full of practical tips for carrying out Gypsy Traveller research.

Romany Road features the cultural history of all Travelling communities, including reminiscences.

Gypsy Lore Society Collection, University of Liverpool.

The National Fairground Archive, University of Sheffield.

Gordon Boswell Romany Museum, Lincolnshire.

The Romany Collection, Leeds University Library.

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