A few years ago I was contacted by a Cornish gypsy family who wanted to tell me the story of their great-grandmother, Janet Isaac. I met them for a cup of tea and a chat and to my surprise and joy a whole other world, a wonderfully fascinating and unfamiliar part of our Cornish heritage, opened up to me – one that until that moment I had never really known existed. Our Cornish gypsies.
Our Cornish Gypsies
For hundreds of years this group of people have been a misunderstood, and at times persecuted, part of our society. In the press they were often at best caricatured and at worst often vilified, but with the help of Nessa and Tom Isaac what I have started to discover is a cohort with strong family bonds and values and a complex cultural heritage; a hidden community that sincerely cares for and supports each other, and one that has surprisingly strong roots binding them to Cornwall.
Cornish gypsy folk have simply chosen to live their lives in a different way from the gorgers or country people as they call us but they sadly continue to face prejudice.
And unfortunately most of what we known of the lives of the Cornish gypsies of the past comes from unreliable sources – the fleeting impressions of the judgemental writers of the time or local folklorists who were only interested in curses and potions, or the often derogatory articles that were reported in the press.
It is a sad fact that the newspapers generally only reported the stories of gypsies who had fallen foul of the law in some way, perhaps for “rough sleeping” or because they were accused of tricking people out of money by telling fortunes or threatening to ill-wish someone.
Very little is known about their ordinary lives, and that is partly because they choose to live outside of our society’s expectations and conventions.
I hope this article will start to tell their story.
Family Roots
There are an estimated 250,000 gypsies or travellers living in the UK today (2024) and they have been here since at least the 16th century. In the 2021 census 0.2% of the Cornish population identified as gypsy, Roma or traveller.
Often called Roma or Romani people these days they are by no means a homogeneous population. Under that umbrella there are many diverse groups, each with individual cultural differences, found all across Europe and beyond. In general however their genetic ancestry is thought to originate from Northern India, or perhaps Egypt. Indeed, some suggest that the English word ‘gypsy’ is a corruption of ‘Egyptian’.
At one time there were many gypsy families in Cornwall, some that were just passed through but others that had close associations with the area. A census taken in 1965 found that there were one hundred gypsy families in Cornwall and only twelve of these were living on licensed sites.
In 1908 the Cornishman newspaper recorded the names of Cornish gypsy families as Cooper, Stanley and Smith but there were also the Richards’, the Isaacs and the Boswells.
Traditions & Superstitions
There are a great number of superstitions which the gypsy/Romani people hold dear, even to this day. For example, they believe that seventh child of the seventh child will have second sight and, although their wagons are often painted with intricate designs in bright colours, black must never be used. This colour will bring death to the family.
Most gypsies don’t trust banks and tend to put their money into something solid, like gold. They are also extremely giving within their communities, if someone needs help buying something, a new fridge or piece of equipment perhaps, then they all club together. The idea being that when you need help yourself the favour will be returned.
It was also customary to burn all the possessions of their family members after they have died, their caravan included. One of the last recorded cases of this happening in Cornwall was after the death of Elizabeth Holland in 1966, and another was after the death of Janet Isaac in 1974.
Introducing Janet Isaac
Janet had been born at a camp on Gypsy Lane in Helston in around 1870, and she and her husband, Joseph, may have had as many as seventeen children. One of which, Alice, was Tom Isaac’s grandmother. It was Tom’s wife Nessa who first wrote to me suggesting that I tell Granny Isaac’s story.
(Fortunately Tom remembers his great-grandmother well and much of the information I am able to relate here comes from his childhood memories of her and his grandparents.)
The exact date of Janet and Joseph’s marriage isn’t clear, gypsy families often avoided registering unions in the usual way and it was not uncommon for them to go through life without birth or marriage certificates. The couple were cousins however and had presumably known each other all their lives.
Joseph, who had been born around 1861, had been blind from birth which meant that most of the responsibilities of the family fell to Janet. They seem to have spent much of their married life in and around Camborne, living in camps at Stray Park and Dudnance Burrows close to Carn Brea, though they were also known to have ventured around the Penzance and Gulval area too, and sometimes upcountry for seasonal work.
The couple had a great many children to support and though not able to work in the traditional sense Joseph made paper flowers, clothes pegs and little wooden sculptures for the family to sell. For her part Janet made lace, a delicate and highly skilled profession, and went door to door selling it by the yard, as well as the other wares the family produced.
This selling door to door was something she had done since the age of eleven and her children contributed what they could too, especially around Christmas time when they would make wreaths of holly to sell.
For a few extra pennies Janet was also known to tell the fortunes of the housewives that she called upon on her rounds. On one occasion however this got her into trouble.
In March 1934 she was visiting homes as usual on Clarence Street in Gulval offering her various goods for sale. At one of the houses she stopped to tell the lady owner’s fortune but whatever she predicted caused the housewife such distress that the neighbours called for the local policeman.
When he arrived he asked to see Janet’s pedlar’s licence, this she produced only to discover it had expired a few months before and she was fined.
This was not the only time that Janet Isaac had trouble with the police, though given the circumstances it is possible that the problems arose from malicious tattle-tailing rather than any serious criminality.
For generations Cornish gypsies had been experts in the breeding and care of horses, many of the menfolk made their money from selling the animals and the Isaac family seem to have been part of this trade too.
In 1939 Joseph, Janet and their family were camped below Carn Brea with a number of ponies hobbled and grazing on the slopes. Unfortunately someone passing noticed that one of the horses had a sore on its leg and reported it to the authorities. Janet was charged with neglecting the animal.
At the hearing in Camborne it was established that eight members of the Isaac family, presumably Joseph and Janet’s sons, were employed at South Crofty mine and the weekly income for the whole family was around £20. Janet explained to the court that there had been no intention to injury the pony and that it had only been left unattended for one day, but despite this the chairman, Mr T. Shopland, fined her £1.
The newspaper reported that Janet claimed to be unable to pay immediately and suggested that he send her “up the line” instead – meaning to Bodmin Gaol. In the end it was agreed that she would pay the fine within a fortnight to escape imprisonment.
Sadly not long after this episode Janet’s husband, Joseph, passed away in April 1940, aged 79 years and was buried in the graveyard at Gwennap.
Janet remained a strong and resourceful woman who was much admired within the gypsy community, especially in her later years. She was often called upon for her advice, both spiritual and practical, and would often be asked to settle disputes within the local families. She was a real matriarch of Cornish gypsy life.
In 1967 Janet was interviewed by Jane Radford for The Cornish Guardian, by then she was thought to be 97 years old, by far the oldest gypsy in Cornwall. By then she also had around 200 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
In the interview Janet spoke nostalgically of the days when she and her family lived in a horse drawn wagon and moved from place to place.
She explained how in her youth she had travelled to Hampshire, Somerset and other southern counties for seasonal work such as hop or pea picking. Janet recalled frequently eating hedgehogs while on the road, which were delicious she said if rolled in a lump of clay and cooked in an open fire.
Queen of the Cornish Gypsies
In her final years Janet became known as the ‘Queen of the Cornish Gypsies’, and is thought by her family to have been the last ‘Gypsy Queen’ in Cornwall, a term of endearment, acknowledging the elderly woman’s status as the matriarch of the community.
In 1970 she was interviewed for a final time, on this occasion by local journalist, Jonah King. It was to mark her 100th birthday. (Sadly she had not received her telegram from the other Queen in recognition of her great age because there was no official record of her birth.)
Still living in a tiny caravan on Carn Brea Janet told the interviewer how she preferred a life under canvas more than any other.
“These caravans is all very well, sir but give me canvas and ponies every time. Under canvas is healthier and better and the ponies was part of the family.”
When asked what she did with her days she replied:
“I sits beside the fire, looks at me picture books and puffs at me pipe. As long as old granny have got a crust o’bread and a pipe o’baccy then things ain’t so bad sir.”
Granny Isaac outlived all of her children and died on 4th November 1974 aged 104 years.
She was buried with her husband, Joseph, in Gwennap churchyard and her great-grandson, Tom Isaac, remembers her caravan, which had been her home for so many years, was set on fire.
The family stood together and watched it burn and Tom explained to me that the flames ensured that her spirit didn’t linger with her possessions.
Final Thoughts
By the time Granny Isaac passed away the traditional gypsy way of life was coming to an end for many in her community. The 1960s and 70s saw travelling families settling down on licenced sites or in council houses to take advantage of steady work and local school education for their children. Rather than trading in horses they moved over to cars and scrap metal but many of their beliefs and customs still continue despite their change in circumstance as Tom and Nessa Isaac, the descendants of Granny Isaac, can attest.
The story of this formidable woman’s life gives us an amazing glimpse not only into the past but also into a way of life and a culture that is little understood and fast disappearing. But I think that it is important that we acknowledge that at one time the gypsy culture was just as much part of our Cornish heritage as any other and that generations of this small population have been maligned, often through no fault of their own.
Nessa and Tom, who were so warm and kind to me and forgiving of all my questions, told me many very upsetting stories from their own lives. Stories where they and their families have been mistreated, bullied and abused in the street because of their gypsy backgrounds.
I have to hope that the more we know, the more we understand and can except people for themselves and not our often prejudicial preconceptions.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: During the course of my research for this article I came across a lot more information relating to the story of Ann Boswell, or Granny Boswell, who I wrote about a number of years ago. I plan to share her story again at some point including what I have found out.