| FROM LUXURY LIFE TO GIPSY CARAVAN
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Barrie law swapped his luxurious home for a 12ft Gypsy caravan at weekends
to spend it with the Smith family so as to record Romany family life.
Having an interest of the Gypsies Barrie travelled with them throughout the
Yorkshire dales and Wales in order to record their way of life further.
After watching a documentary some years before Barrie wondered whether the
life of the Gypsy had improved and found that it had not - the Smith family
of 5 were crammed into a caravan pulled by a horse, their only luxury a
portable TV, clothes were hand washed in streams and wood collected for the
outside fire, and their income based on scrap metal and gardening jobs,
with an odd race bet in hopes of supplementing the income further.
Barrie found conversing difficult as their English was limited and their
lifestyle rarely contained alcohol and relationships were minimal and not
permissive in their nature.
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| SCENES FROM GYPSY LIFE. JOHN FREEMAN
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The life of the Romany Gypsy
or "hedgecreepers",as many intrigued outside
observers call them, is now becoming a thing of the past. It was lucky then
that John Freeman had noticed two such famillies on trips down the Malton to
Pickering road as they camped on the verges of the lanes of A169 of
Yorkshire.
As a painter he found the changing campsite, differing direction travelled
and time of day changed his viewing perspective and he finally decieded to
paint these campsites in the winter of 1979, despite having previously
avoided including people and animals in his work.
He observed the famillies lives were completly different to his own and
decieded to sketch from a distance and completled the first painting of
Romany life shortly thereafter.
He returned afterwards to find that the camp had moved on and only remnants
remained but returned to the area in the spring and finding they had
returrned, contnue to sketch but was unable to gain more detailed work of
the famillies and caravans to add to his work.
Whe he entered the camp he found on Haygate Lane, near Pickering, he had a
strong, interesting and memorable encounter with the animals, children and
suprised adults of the came and this began his series of studies on the
campsites of the Romany Gypsy.
Whilst with the Gypsies he met both those invovled with the gypsies and
those Gypsies who were acatually "born" on the road. He listened to
anecdotes , borrowed photogaraphs and clarified puzzlements which he had
gained from passing the camp at in the early mornings
On the road form Whitby to Malton he encountered a confused site of animals,
children and angered adults as a the camp site was blocked by a tractor and
mower which stop grazing of the animals and meant the camp had to move.The
photographes he took on this occassion furthered his studies even more, but
he was aware that his interest on this and the sites he found during the
strawberry picking season was not shared by many of the surrounding farmers
in the area.
After the old Yorkshire "bow" caravans disappeared in late 1980/ early 1981
the remanants were taken and used to renovate other vardos and which became
greatly sought after by collectors, leaving the famillies he had observed in
metal caravans and only about 23 familliies living all year round in
horse-drawn wagons. Luckily he had captured this way of life before its
demise.
Johns' technique was to use his sketches and photographs as the basis of his
painting compostion. Previously he had avoided using animals and people in
his painting , however due to his studies he now began to include both as
they added to the atsmophere and ambience of that work but still prefered to
"indicate" people rather then actually "include" them by way of open gates
etc and animals within the paintings.
To convey greater atsmophere ,such as lighting or seasons, he used small oil
paintings whilst using larger water colours to convey greater detail
usually associated with the daytime activities of the camp. John worked well
within the stuido enviroment as it allowed him the ability of finite detail,
which he enjoyed, and to compose and convey various "moods" in the
paintings such as the differing weather etc. John not only painted but
presided over the Abbey Galleries in Whitby, Yorkshire.
John has used many of Barrie Law's photographs as reference to paint from.
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| SNAPSHOTS OF THE SECRET LIFE OF GYPSIES
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Barrie Law looks at the rows of boxes filled with photographs and says, "I only ever meant to take one film, you know". But however limited his early plans, Barrie has now almost 10,000 pictures, many of which he hs taken himself, all devoted to a single subject - the life of Britains Gypsies.
It began innocuously enough 13 years ago when Barrie, a kean amateur photographer, read of a new law banning Gypsies from camping at the roadside and decided to photograph a family of Romanies who camped regularly in the lanes around his home near York before they disappeared for ever.
"I had always had a sort of interest in Gypsies, ever since I was at school. they always looked like interesting charactors and there was something about the way they dressed and the freedom of the life they seemed to have, just sitting around the fire talking. But I kept my distance. There was something a bit spooky about them, probably because parents always warned children that the Gypsies would pinch them. It was just a saying but at that age you are not sure about it."
His first encounter was with the Smith family, presided over the self styled Sir Montague, better known as Cocker, and Elly. He was not warmly received by the Smith's, who shared most Gypsies' innate distrust of outsiders, born of years of harrassment.
 "At first they were not very talkative and Elly got a cup from the kettle. I thought she was pouring herself some tea then she threw it over me and said 'clear off."
Some of those first pictures appeared in Dalesman in 1987 and was seen by a libraian from Toronto who ordered copies to create a display in the city's central library. It was the start of a major new interest.
Barrie persevered with Cocker and his family and slowly won a grudging trust which allowed him to take more photographs and slowly build up a protfolio of their unusual life travelling the country lans of Yorkshire. Bit by bit his name spread through the other Gypsy families of the north and he was able to photograph them as well.
He always makes sure he gets prints of the pictures for the people he has photographed, not that they are always appreciated: "They like the pictures but they don't hang onto them the way most people would or put them in albums. They make them a few days but then is they are short of something to light the fire that will be the end of the photograph."
 Superstitious
"Even then it wasn't always smooth going. It never is with travellers. Sometimes things would be fine and then for no reason they would have had enough and they would throw something at me and tell me to clear off and never come back. All you can do then is to go and hope it will be all forgotten next time you see them. I can get a picture of two of the people as well. Some of the older generation are very superstitious about having their photographs taken," Said Barrie.
But as his knowledge of the Gypsies grew he began to appreciate the intricacies of their way of life and the bitter inter-family fueding that often lies beneath the surface. He also learned of the different kinds of travellers. Some, like Cocker's family stayed in their caravans all year, clinging to the old way of life, relying on their horses and their wits.
 Others have given up the life on the road nd moved into houses but they still keep their bow topped wagons for special occasions like Appleby Fair. Often these were brightly coloured and ornate, some of them worth £30,000 or more.
"They still consider themselves true travelling people even though they have houses. Their wagons are very elaborately decorated but you can't keep a wagon like that if you are living outside all year. Only about 6% of them now live in wagons all year. In the sunshine in the summer with a campfire burning it looks a very nice way of life, but in the winter it can be grim. I like to see the camps along country lanes even if they are not always very tidy. Even though the Gypsies haven't taken much notice of the laws about not camping one day it will be gone forever."
"Sometimes it can be a stressful life too. I have been there when people have come to move them on. I have been with them when the police have come and told them to pack up. Then it's the police who don't want me to take pictures."
Over the years his relationship with the travellers has settled down. They are among the best buyers of his books of photographs which he and his wife, Lynda sell at fairs up and down the country, and some have even asked him to photograph the weddings of their children.
  "That's a real nightmare. I'm not a wedding photographer and it does not interest me at all. To make matters worse you just can not organise Gypsies for anything, certainly not for wedding groups. That's why Appleby is as chaotic as it is."
More spectacular are the Gypsy funerals when the dead person's wagon is burned, sometimes with the body inside it. Such ceremonies are increasingly rare but were once part of the Gypsy way.
The tiny bow top wagons may differ in their decoration but the basic pattern remains the same. At the back of the parents' bed is fitted across the wagon and beneath that, closed off by cupboard doors is the children's sleeping area. The stove is always on the left hand side so that its chimney is on the off-side when the wagon is moving and so furthest away from any overhanging branches that could dislodge it.
Ironically, as the number of Gypsy families dwindles as they move into houses or lorry/hauled caravans, Barrie's photographs are being used in the travellers' schools to teach children about the lives their parents and grandparents once lived.
Barrie says: "When I started I could never have foreseen that but I am glad it all happened. It has been very interesting and I've made a lot of good friends among the travellers and I've enjoyed everything I have done."
The Dalesman 1999
Romani Gypsy Collection,
121 York Road,
Strensall,
York,
YO3 5ZG
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| LIFE ON THE ROAD - PHOTOGRAPH'S OF THE TRAVELLING GYPSIES
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The old ways of life are changing fast, especially for the Romany Gypsies, and with government rulings over the last few years, for local councils to provide Gypsy sites, and to make the travellers static, and remove them from the roadsides, it is a very rare site to see the horse-drawn Gypsy van travelling along the country lanes.
Being a keen photgrapher, I decided I would like to make a record of the few remaining travelling Gypsies before they became lost in the passing of time. The work I wanted to do was more than the casual photograph in passing, or even to work with the telephotograph lense from a distance. I wanted more intimate shots of the family, but first I had to find them. I had heard of Cocker Smith and his family, who travelled in and around the Yorkshire Dales.
One sunny morning in July 1986, armed with several camera's, I set out to find the Smith family. I stopped to ask several farmers and people in villages if they had seen a Gypsy family recently, but after  almost a full day looking my search revealed no Gypsy sightings. Some days later I tried a different direction, but again no Gypsies could be seen. About a week later I was on my way home from Easingwold, driving through the country lanes off Tollerton, when I saw several horses tethered on the grass verges, and round the next bend, my search was over.
I stopped the car, and walked across to their encampment, where five Gypsies were sitting peacefully enjoying the sun and quietness of the countryside, until I was within about 10 yards of the wagons, and the peace was shattered by barking dogs, chained to various parts of the campsite. I was approached by one young man who asked what I wanted, I asked him if I could speak to the boss. "Oh that's my father" he replied. Just then a voice shouted Quiet. You could have heard the shout a mile away, but within seconds the dogs were silent. Five faces turned to look at me.
 I stayed with them for about an hour and because I had little film, I asked before leaving if I could return in a few days for more pictures. Cocker told me to come back on Saturday, and to ask him. I did return on the Saturday and was met at the car by Cocker and several dogs. At the roadside the rest of the family sat round the campfire. I wanted to do some more work in the following week. "We shall be gone next week" Cocker said "but you can find us near the old water bridge, near Harrogate road".
I visisted Cocker Smith and his family many times over the next 4 to 5 months. They made me welcome each visit. Cocker Smith, otherwise known as Sir Montague Smith, and his family, choose to live as seperately from the rest of the nation as pride and mobility will allow. Over a five month period I have collected around 700 photograph's, some of which have been on public display in York and Malton and Leeds.
Alan Jones, of Malton, generated my interest in his work, personally and through his book, Yorkshire Gypsy Fairs, Customs and Caravans, which is available from most bookshops.
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