Many of us value our heritage, and our own family history, but few among us will have such a tenderness for our birthright than Spalding’s Gordon Boswell, who this month opens his Romany Museum on the town’s Clay Bank for its 15th season.

“So many people who live in the area know where we are and have often wanted to pop in but have never quite got around to it.” says Gordon. “But when they do visit, they wonder why they’ve left it so long!”

The museum opened its doors on 25th February 1995 - a very specific and significant date, as it would have been the 100th birthday of Gordon’s father, Sylvester Gordon Boswell, after whom Gordon is named.

The museum aims to preserve the history of the Romany people, and to address some of the misconceptions that surround them, as well as preserving Gordon’s own history, which the curator has traced back over seven generations.

With three children, ten grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, Gordon wants to preserve the legacy of his family and keep the decreasingly itinerate Romany culture alive for future generations. His enthusiasm and knowledge are limitless and it’s really easy to be drawn into a fascinating and much maligned people with a wealth of history in Lincolnshire.

“It’s important to never let the past die.” says Gordon. “It’s been 15 years of hard work but we’ve a great reputation now, and we’ve plenty of coach tours visiting us. People are genuinely fascinated and love to learn about the history of the Romany people.”

The curator moved to Lincolnshire back in the late 1950s, where he worked alongside father Sylvester and brother Don as a scrap metal dealer.

Gordon brought the site and created a museum as a tribute to his father, who died in 1977. Gordon comes from a long line of Romany historians, with great-great-grandfather Tyso Westrus ‘Dictionary’ Boswell working with fellow academics Croft and Smart to produce a definitive history of the Romani language back in the 1860s, the first translation from the Sanskrit based language. Interestingly the Romany culture also features a heavily Hindu-based religious ideology, favouring ideals of purity, and traditionally favouring outdoor burials.

The Romany people originated in Northern India, around the 1100s. Their initial migration was the result of fleeing persecution and being sold into slavery following India’s invasion by the Ayrans.

Heading to Egypt, from where many incorrectly believe Romany people originated, the term Gypsy was used for the first time, originally to describe a Romany woman who married outside of her culture and became a ‘half-breed’... the term was later used as an insult.

Heading into Europe, the people made their way to Scottish shores around 1500, and ventured south to England some 10 or 20 years later.

Further persecution ensued at the hands of Henry VIII where hangings would frequently occur, and into the 20th century where the Romany people were the first ethnic group to be targeted by the Nazi regime, with estimates of between 220,000 and 1.5m deaths.

Despite horrors and persecution, the Romany people have endured prejudice, and their traditional Vardos and memorabilia survive in Gordon’s museum for all to enjoy.

This month, the culture and Gordon’s own family will be preserved with a special edition porcelain sculpture of a Romany Vardo driven by Gordon and designed by Peter Jones China.

Featuring Gordon and Margaret on their restored Reading Caravan, the example that features Queen Victoria’s crest, the sculpture will be unveiled this month. Created with a limited run of just 300, the first example of the porcelain design to be produced will be presented to Gordon with all 300 of the remaining examples of the £950 design already sold.

With more and more Romany people choosing to settle, and colourful, beautifully crafted Vardos now a thing of the past on our roads, Gordon is proud to keep the culture of his

people alive and says he is delighted that so many visitors each year enjoy what he believes is the largest collection of Romany Vardos and memorabilia in the World.

“It’s important to remember where we come from and to celebrate our families.” says Gordon. “I just hope that visiting the museum gives people as much pleasure as I get from creating it.”