Heritage project seeks families of Blackpool’s historic South Shore Romanies

A new heritage project is gathering photographs, documents and family stories from descendants of the historic South Shore Romany community to celebrate this important part of Blackpool’s cultural history.

Pride of Romany has launched the Joseph Smith Project, a major heritage initiative to document the lives of the Romany families who lived in and around Blackpool’s South Shore at the turn of the 19th century. The group is calling on descendants of families including the Smiths, Boswells, Lees, Robinsons and others to share photographs, family trees, documents and memories to help create an archive.

“The Joseph Smith Project for Romany Heritage in Northern England is bringing together the history, stories and legacy of the Romany families who made their lives in and around Blackpool, particularly the South Shore community,” said a spokesperson for Pride of Romany in a recent Facebook post. “We are incredibly fortunate to have access to a substantial body of historical research into the South Shore community, and we are now looking to build upon that work by bringing the family histories and personal collections together,” they added.

The project aims to combine personal collections with existing historical research, shedding light on everyday life in the camps — from music and gatherings to relationships with the wider Blackpool community. Pride of Romany say they want families themselves to help identify people in old photographs and reconnect generations through shared history.

“If, like us, your family has a Blackpool South Shore Romany connection, we'd love to hear from you,” says Pride of Romany. “Your family's story could help identify a name. Your family tree could connect generations. And something sitting in a box at home could help complete a piece of history.”

The South Shore Romanies were part of a long‑established network of travelling families who had moved across Britain for generations before settling on Blackpool’s dunes in the 1870s. Many had previously been known as the “Epping Forest Gypsies,” a group famous in Victorian newspapers for their music, fortune‑telling and public entertainments. Their encampments often welcomed visitors, blending traditional Romany life with performance and enterprise, and by the time they reached Blackpool they were already skilled showpeople with strong inter‑family ties.

Blackpool’s growing holiday industry offered new opportunities, and the Romanies became a familiar part of South Shore’s early resort culture. Fortune‑telling booths, fairground stalls and summer performances helped sustain the families until their eviction in 1910, after which many moved into guesthouses or returned to wintering grounds elsewhere. Though their settlement was short‑lived, the South Shore Romanies left a distinctive mark on Blackpool’s early history, remembered today through photographs, family stories and the descendants who continue to trace their heritage.

If you would like to contribute, please send a message to Pride of Romany through their social media, or email prideofromani@gmail.com.

Mike Doherty for Travellers Times

(All photographs courtesy of Sharon Heppell. Caption for lead photograph: Maude Lee and her husband Bendigo Lee by her fortune-telling booth. Maude's real name was Morjiana and she was a Welsh Lee. Bendigo was also a Lee but his people were from East Anglia. Bendigo's brother Edgar wed Emma Boswell)

Pride of Romany’s full statement can be read below:

THE JOSEPH SMITH PROJECT

ROMANY HERITAGE IN NORTHERN ENGLAND

We are inviting the families of Blackpool's historic Romany community to become part of something very special.

The Joseph Smith Project for Romany Heritage in Northern England is bringing together the history, stories and legacy of the Romany families who made their lives in and around Blackpool, particularly the South Shore community.

Families such as the Smiths, Boswells, Lees and the many families connected to them form an important part of this story.

We are now beginning to build something so special that will help bring their lives to the public through our heritage work and a

forthcoming exhibition celebrating Blackpool's Romany history.

And we want the families themselves to be part of it.

Do you have a photograph of your grandparents

A family tree tucked away somewhere?

An old newspaper cutting?

A letter, document or photograph with a story behind it?

Perhaps you know the names of people in photographs that have been passed down through your family.

Or maybe you have stories about the camps, music, gatherings, work, family life, celebrations and the relationships between the Romany families and the wider Blackpool community.

These are the things that transform history from names on a page into real people with real lives.

We are particularly interested in the early South Shore families and the people who helped establish the community, including Siana Smith ("Gipsy Sarah") and Edward/Ned Boswell, and the many Smith, Boswell, Robinsons, Lee and related families whose lives became intertwined with South Shore.

We are also interested in material showing the wonderful social history of the community including accounts of the Romany camps opening their doors to local people, music being played and entertainment being provided. These glimpses into everyday life tell us so much about the community that official records often don't.

We are incredibly fortunate to have access to a substantial body of historical research into the South Shore community, and we are now looking to build upon that work by bringing the family histories and personal collections together.

This incredible research has Family photographs Family trees & genealogy

Newspaper articles & cuttings Documents and letters Stories of music, gatherings and camp life Family memories and stories Names, connections and information that can help us identify the people behind the photographs, we would love to know if you're the descendants of these incredible people.

This isn't simply about documenting the past.

It's about recognising the people who built these

It's about recognising the people who built these communities and making sure their descendants can see themselves in the history of Northern England in a lasting way.

If like us your family has a Blackpool South Shore Romany connection, we'd love to hear from you.

Your family's history could become part of something incredibly special

Your family's story could help identify a name. Your family tree could connect generations. And something sitting in a box at home could help complete a piece of history.

If you would like to contribute, please send us a message to Pride of Romany.

And please share this with your family - especially anyone who may have photographs, papers or stories from the older generations.

Bringing our history home.

Blackpool's Romany history is our history.

We will be in Blackpool this autumn so come and have a chat.