Gypsy History in Dorset

Join us for an afternoon of Gypsy history, in partnership with Kushti Bok and the Romany and Traveller Family History Society at Dorset History Centre on 1st November.

Running from 12:30pm-3:30pm, the afternoon will include a display from Kushti Bok, with additional information from the Romany Traveller Family History Society.

Jeremy Harte will be giving a talk on Gypsy, Romany and Traveller heritage in Dorset at 1pm. He will be introduced by a representative of Dorset’s Traveller-led charity, Kushti Bok. Please note this talk is free but does require pre-booked tickets. Please book your free ticket now to reserve your space at Jeremy’s talk.

After the talk, there will be plenty of time for tea, coffee, biscuits and a chat. If you haven’t booked a place on the talk, please drop in and join us after the talk to share stories of GRT life, anytime from 2pm-3.30pm. Jeremy will be signing books.

Jeremy Harte was born raised in West Dorset and took a degree in English at Cambridge. After training at Dorset County Museum, he moved in 1989 to Ewell near Epsom, where he was curator of Bourne Hall Museum until 2024. Work with the late Jasper Smith began his education into Gypsy culture, and he managed Surrey’s Romany Day for twelve years. He curates the Surrey Gypsy Archive, a collection of literature, newspapers, images and oral records dealing with the county’s Romany past, and has written Travellers through Time: A Gypsy History. You can find him on Epsom Downs in Derby week, wandering through the stalls with a camera and a puzzled expression, or standing by his scruffy 1920s openlot.