Mapping the Histories of London’s Travellers

June 17, 2019

London Gypsies and Travellers will be displaying a new exhibition on Wednesday 26th June at City Hall, on the lower ground in the London Map area. The exhibition is open from 11am-6pm. There will be a presentation of the project between 4-5pm. Everyone is welcome!

‘Mapping the Histories of London’s Travellers’ gives new insights into the geography of nomadic life and its links to the economic hub of London through interactive online maps recording Travellers’ camps, yards, and long-term settlements, and routes between London and the surrounding counties. The maps draw on archives and first-hand accounts to document the development of activism in the East End in the 20th century, and record Travellers’ disillusion with policies that took away more freedoms than they granted rights, and encouraged antagonism towards people who had lived and worked alongside settled Londoners for centuries.

The maps cover two overlapping periods: London between the 19th and mid-20th Century – showing relationships between principal routes, green corridors, yards and stopping places; and London from the 1970s – marking the troubled transition from camps to the politics of sites, and the stifling effects of ‘designation’ on Traveller life.

The exhibition focuses on particular themes, times and places, using a selection of archival materials, photos, newspaper cuttings, and audio recordings of Romany and Irish Travellers who share knowledge and memories, and reflect on Traveller life, past and present.

All the materials on display are linked to the online maps which can be accessed at: lgtheritage.communitymaps.org.uk

Slide1

More news

LGT’s year of change

February 17, 2025

London Gypsies and Travellers reflected on a year of change at its Annual General Meeting – in particular the way that community members are growing in confidence and bringing change to lives. “Our community is stepping up in ways we’ve never seen before,” said LGT Chair of Trustees Helena Kiely-Savin (pictured at the AGM). “We’re …

Gypsies and Travellers forced into unsuitable homes

February 11, 2025

Many Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families in the UK are left trapped in substandard homeless shelters for years – and urgent investment in adequate and appropriate social housing is required to prevent this. This is the main message of a new report by London Gypsies and Travellers, produced jointly with the Roma Support Group. The …

Will new planning policy bring change?

December 19, 2024

New revisions to government planning policy will make it easier for local and regional authorities to deliver much-needed Gypsy and Traveller specialist housing – but questions remain about how effectively they will be put into practice. Two policy documents, a revised National Planning Policy Framework and a new version of the Planning Policy for Traveller …