By Leeds GATE 2014
The Heritage Project Book Foreword by Caroline Sweeney
This book has been developed as part of a heritage project looking at the history of the Lee Gap Horse Fair. The Gypsy and Irish Traveller communities have lived in the Yorkshire region for over 500 years, but there has been a surprising dearth of literature, activity and resources celebrating the unique culture and heritage of these communities. The Heritage Project aimed to address the gap and give greater prominence to the history of the Traveller communities as an important segment in the history and diversity of Yorkshire society. The absence of work to display the history and culture of Traveller communities has been recognised by Frank Brazil, who is a Romany Gypsy.
According to Frank:
“They ain’t pushed our culture. They’ve just ignored us as if we don’t exist”. We chose to display a photo exhibition in a large marquee at the fair, the best way to share and discuss our collected history with the communities. Feedback from the fair day at Latter Lee was overwhelmingly positive. Tom Leadley, who has been instrumental in overseeing the organisation and running of the fair over many years, estimated that 3,500 people attended on the day, describing it as
“a great day which went well, without a hiccup”. We hope you enjoy this little book of pictures from this year’s fair...
Setting up the marquee for Latter Lee.
The fair is loved by all generations.
Learning more about heritage in the Marquee.
Mini vardos, flowers, pegs and stories from days gone by.
Checking out the marquee banners...
The Doyle Family pull in the crowd with traditional music.
Enjoying getting warm round the fire!
The fair is a great chance for friends and family to meet up...
Lots of buying and selling at the fair...
Enjoying the photo exhibition...
The GATE team worked hard to organise the day...
Lee Gap will be just as important for the next generation.
The GATE team enjoying the fair in 2008 with Kathleen, who is sadly missed.
A great big thank you to everyone who helped out with the Heritage Project. Including Peter Saunders for his knowledge and archives of the fair, Cllr Tom Leadley, Healthy Living Network, Melanie Price and The Sunflower Trust, Anita Jones for her health check work, Leeds Libraries, Tracey Cragg, and all the community volunteers who helped pull the project together. A special thank you to the National Lottery for choosing to support our project and helping to preserve our heritage.
SunFlowerTrust