The Gordon Boswell Romany Museum

The Gordon Boswell Romany MuseumThe Gordon Boswell Romany MuseumThe Gordon Boswell Romany Museum

The Gordon Boswell Romany Museum

The Gordon Boswell Romany MuseumThe Gordon Boswell Romany MuseumThe Gordon Boswell Romany Museum
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Opened 25th February 1995 by Gordon and Margaret Boswell

Opened 25th February 1995 by Gordon and Margaret Boswell Opened 25th February 1995 by Gordon and Margaret Boswell Opened 25th February 1995 by Gordon and Margaret Boswell Opened 25th February 1995 by Gordon and Margaret Boswell

Come and see the largest collection of Romany wagons and carts in the Uk 

that is open to the public

Opened 25th February 1995 by Gordon and Margaret Boswell

Opened 25th February 1995 by Gordon and Margaret Boswell Opened 25th February 1995 by Gordon and Margaret Boswell Opened 25th February 1995 by Gordon and Margaret Boswell Opened 25th February 1995 by Gordon and Margaret Boswell

Come and see the largest collection of Romany wagons and carts in the Uk 

that is open to the public

About Us

Unique experience

Unique experience

Unique experience

The museum is a unique experience for all the family, containing one of the countries finest collection of Romany Vardo's (gypsy caravans & carts) and wardesko kola (harness) etc.  

The oldest Romany vardo we have in the museum was made in 1875 by Wicks of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.  

Unique experience

Unique experience

Visitors are greeted in the theatre room with a DVD of the late Gordon Boswell talking about the Romany way of life, along with the history of most of most of the vardos on display.  

There is also a unique collection of Romany photographs mainly of the Boswell family and sketches spanning the last 150 years

Unique experience

The Romany Museum is supported by income raised through admission charges.


Due to the museum being family owned we do not qualify for any funding or grants.


Your support is greatly appreciated and will help conserve this collection for the future.

Introduction to our unique museum

How it started

The museum was opened on 25th February 1995, which would of been Gordon Boswell's fathers (Sylvester Gordon Boswell)100th birthday.

The day was marked by Dave Peacock (of Chas & Dave) opening the museum with all sorts of entertainment and invited guests, which made the whole day a wonderful experience for everyone who came along.

Gordon started doing talks about his and his wife's (Margaret) trips up to Appleby horse fair in Cumbria by horse and wagon from Spalding, which they did for over 20 years.  

Members of the Rotary Club that Gordon attended in Spalding, wanted to know more about their trips, so Gordon would go to different clubs to do a talk with a slide show of their trips.

 People then would say to Gordon it would be lovely to see a wagon in the flesh, taking a wagon about was not always an easy option, so, Gordon, had the idea of a museum.  

He already had several wagons and carts which he was never without, along with several different sets of harness etc so he went about building a purpose built building with the help of his son Gordon and some of his grandsons.

The collection

Gordon was always on the look out for original made wagons, there have been many different wagon builders over the years.  With his knowledge which he gained from his father he knew what he was looking for.  As he travelled the country he would come across wagons that were in peoples gardens or on farms, or people would know that he would be interested in a wagon and they would get in touch, hence the collection has grown to what it is today.

The earliest wagon we have is from 1875 made by Wicks of Wisbech, there is an early Bill Wrights wagon made before 1909, the other wagons all date between 1900 to the 1930's, we then have a 1927 and 1930's Eccles caravans, we also a 1970's Vickers and Westmorland Star trailers.  We also have a rod tent which is a tent that was used before the wagon and was used along side a wagon, then we have a cottage tent which was used along side the caravan.

Romany Culture and Heritage

This museum is also a testament to Gordon's foresight in to not allowing the culture and heritage of the Romany people to be forgotten.  We have been around in the UK since the 1500's and there are several people who found it easier to stop travelling and fit within the community and not speak of their heritage due to the harassment we have endured as a race of people.  

As genealogy sites have become more popular and people are tracing their family tree, we are having a lot of people who have now found out that they are from Romany decent, who are now coming to the museum to find out more about their heritage and way of life.

We love talking to people and helping them understand where they come from and how there ancestors used to live.

Like Gordon and his dad used to say, they didn't want anyone to forget where they came from and to be proud of their heritage

Gordon Boswell Romany Museum

Opening Times

The Museum is open from Easter (Good Friday) to the last weekend in September.


We are open to the general public Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays between 11am & 4pm.


The Museum is all under cover with disabled access.


We do open through the week for Coach Parties, Clubs & school visits by appointment.  

Minimum of 15 to a maximum of 55.


If you are a member of a club, school or a coach company looking for some where different to come for a couple of hours, then please contact us on 01775 710 599 and speak with us about availability.


Contact Us

Contact Us

How to contact us

 Feel free to visit us during our normal business hours.  

We prefer to speak to our customers so please give us a call if you have a queries on 

01775 710599

The Gordon Boswell Romany Museum

PE12 6BL, Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom

01775 710 599

Hours

Open today

11:00 – 16:00

We also open every Bank Holiday from Good Friday to the last weekend in September.

Drop us a line!

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