Twentieth century policies affecting Gypsy/Traveller communities in Scotland: archival research

Appendix 1: Timeline of Events Surrounding the ‘TE’

1541 James V orders all gypsies to be expelled from Scotland 'on pain of death'.

1573 Privy Council of Scotland orders the 'Egiptianis' to end their nomadic lifestyles or face expulsion from Scotland.

1609 The Parliament of Scotland passes the 1609 Act regarding Egyptians, making existing as a Gypsy/Traveller in Scotland a criminal act punishable by expulsion or death.

1838 The Church of Scotland sets up a committee for the ‘Reformation of Gypsies’ where Gypsy/Traveller people would be shown a ‘normal’ way of life.

The Kirk Yetholm Experiment (KYE) begins: Rev. John Baird houses Gypsy/Traveller children in Kirk Yetholm, in local homes, family properties with guardians, or Manses, with the purpose of educating Gypsy/Traveller children, and later adults, to give up nomadic lifestyles and traditions.

1841 Rev. John Baird reports success of KYE assimilation experiment with 40 Gypsy/Traveller children enrolled in a local school and living settled lifestyles.

1861 Rev. John Baird dies; Rev. Adam Davidson takes over KYE.

1865 The Trespass Act is passed; deemed a criminal offence to lodge, occupy, or encamp on any privately owned land without the consent of owner or legal occupier. Remains in force to this day.

1866 UK government extends 1857 Industrial Schools Act, giving magistrates the authority to sentence homeless children (of seven to fourteen years) to an industrial school, if they were brought before the courts for vagrancy.

1875 Rev. Adam Davidson calls KYE a ‘success’, noting there were only adults who maintained Traveller traditions. Davidson credits the education of children and banning camping/ lighting fires at night by roadsides as two primary reasons for the experiment’s success.

1884 Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (RSSPCC) founded as Glasgow Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

1886 The question of the ‘Education of Children of Travelling Tinkers’ debated in parliament.

1894 Departmental Committee on Habitual Offenders, Vagrants, Beggers, Inebriates, and Juvenile Delinquents is created by Secretary of State for Scotland, Sir George Trevelyan. The Committee takes witness statements from across Scotland and will present its report (known subsequently as the Scottish Traveller Report) next year.

1895 The Scottish Traveller Report is published: contains extensive discussion of ‘tinkers and gipsies’ and their education and social welfare, paving the way for multi-sector intervention.

1908 The Children Act is passed, mandating a minimum of 200 school attendances per year. The Act contains a specific penalty for ‘vagrants’, whose failure to meet attendance requirements would result in loss of guardianship.

1911 The General Secretary of RSSPCC, Ninian Hill, gives evidence to the Departmental Committee on Tinkers; calls to ‘de-Tinkerise’ Gypsy/Traveller children.

1917 Members of the Departmental Committee on Tinkers note a ‘promising’ scheme in Kirkhill (Thurso), as well as a crofting experiment in Swinton.

1918 Departmental Committee on Tinkers (Scotland), chaired by Reverend R. Menzies Fergusson, publishes its report, calling for a settlement scheme for Travellers and for nomadic children to be placed into industrial schools if they fail to attend school.

1919 The Perthshire Advertiser notes that ‘housing of the tinker class’ would be carried out at Perth, and that the Central Committee on the Welfare of Tinkers had authorised the purchase of an army hut to ‘accommodate four tinker families’.

Secretary of State for Scotland Robert Munro remarks, in parliament, of a scheme for the utilisation of army huts for housing ‘tinkers’ in Caithness, with a similar scheme in Perthshire under construction.

1920 The Scotsman calls for legislation that would deal ‘definitely with tinkers’ and not to include them in ‘any general housing scheme’.

1922 The Empire Settlement Act passes, facilitating the migration of juvenile labourers from the UK to other parts of the British Empire. Charities become instrumental in facilitating child migration programmes, which likely impact Gypsy/Traveller children disproportionately.

1925-30 Ex-Provost Alexander Campbell obtains a small campsite in Glenramskill (Campbeltown), which operates until 1938.

1932 Dorothea Maitland, a member of the Departmental Committee on Tinkers, visits Gypsy caravan sites in Surrey and reports to the Scottish Office on their potential application to Scotland.

1933 The Children and Young Persons Act passes, consolidating previous legislation on child welfare and on the treatment of young offenders.

1934 The Church of Scotland opens a campsite in Birnam (Dunkeld).

1935 The Vagrancy Act passes; amended the Vagrancy Act of 1824.

Campsite opened by the Church of Scotland in Monzie (Crieff) and in Guildtown (Perth). Both were extensions of the Birnam site.

1936 The Departmental Committee on Vagrancy in Scotland publishes its report, furthering the mandate for permanent housing provision and full school attendance by Traveller children.

1937 Broughty Ferry Guide and Advertiser notes that ‘Angus Public Health Committee’ dealt with ‘their tinker problem’, remarking that the medical officer of health (Dr Sinclair) suggested that the committee request lands to erect a ‘few houses for tinkers as an experiment’.

Brechin Advertiser notes that Dr Sinclair of the ‘Angus Public Health Committee’ suggested that ‘two wooden huts be erected near Craichie’ as an ‘experiment’.

1938 Prof. Wolfgang Abel, a Professor of Ethnology and Anthropology at the University of Berlin and an active member of the SS, visits Caithness to study the resident Scottish Gypsy/Traveller population.

Aldour School opens in Pitlochry: funded by the Church of Scotland, it provided segregated education for Traveller children.

1944-45 The Public Health Committee of Ross and Cromarty County Council reflect interest in acquiring Nissen huts. Housing Officer notes in a letter titled ‘Army Camps: Housing for Tinkers’ that the local authority should avoid Nissen huts to avoid the creation of a ‘colony of tinkers’. Also mentioned is: the use of wooden huts for housing in 1945; squatting on a military camp during the 1940s-50s at Rosskeen, on the Black Isle; the adapting army camps for housing in 1945, in Invergordon, Ross and Cromarty.

1947 The first ‘TE’ site at Bobbin Mill, Pitlochry, opens.

1948 Mentions of a camp purchased for temporary housing in Katewell (Evanton) in Highlands archives.

1952 Reports of an ‘emergency housing camp’ at Kinveachy, Aviemore, being closed.

1957 A report in minutes of the Highland Council mentions that the council owned land at Carnaclasair, Muir of Ord, on which wooden huts could be erected for housing.

Reports of the possible purchase of land for housing in Katewell (Evanton).

A temporary site is opened in Tor Achilty (Ross and Cromarty).

A former military camp is used for emergency housing in Bunchrew (Inverness).

1958 The Public Health Committee of Ross and Cromarty notes that they would ‘experiment in solving difficulties of tinker and other problem families’ in purchasing five wood sectional huts, with the intention to ‘train tinkers to live in a house, instead of in sheds, old buses, and under canvas’. If the ‘experiment’ is ‘successful’, as the committee minutes note, the scheme would be introduced in Lewis.

The Shetland Times notes that tenants in Scalloway take ‘gravest possible exception’ to the committee ‘erecting hutments’ or accommodation for the housing of ‘tinker families’ in the village.

Kirriemuir Free Press and Angus Advertiser notes that the Argyll Council County wants ‘its tinker families to settle into proper homes’ and that the council would start a survey of ‘such families, their problems, and ways in which they can be encouraged to settle’

Reports of compulsory purchase of sites for housing in Black Ditch (Invergordon) and Blackmuir (Alness), Ross and Cromarty.

1955-60 Discussion of a site in Invergordon Mains, Ross and Cromarty. However, plans were abandoned in 1960.

1960 Inverness County Council notes in minutes that an ‘enquiry should be made as to the possibility of purchasing prefabricated houses’ for gypsy/traveller families; the minutes note that the Burgh Sanitary Inspector would provide a list of ‘sub-standard properties in the burgh which might be suitable adapted’ for gypsy/traveller housing.

Hut completed in Balavil (Conon Bridge), Ross and Cromarty, and occupied by suspected Scottish Gypsy/Traveller family.

Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act passes, requiring caravan sites to possess a licence to operate, thus significantly limiting the legal places Gypsy/Travellers could camp.

1961 In Parliament, Norman Dodds MP congratulates the Scots for dealing with the ‘gypsy problem’ in a humane way.

1962 Evidence of Traveller families being moved into newly erected houses in Perrins Road, Alness.

1968 Caravan Sites Act passed; though it only applies to England and Wales, the Act’s passing sparks renewed debate in Scotland over the ‘Traveller problem’.

1969 The Church of Scotland General Assembly reports protests of Gypsy/Traveller communities are joining the ‘fashionable trend of protest’ over housing conditions.

The Scottish Development Department conducts two nationwide censuses of Scottish Gypsy/Travellers in March and August.

1970 Attitudes of the Church of Scotland change considerably towards Travellers, with Rev. Dennis Sutherland working alongside Gypsy/Traveller communities across Scotland.

1971 Report by the Scottish Development Department reveals ‘450 Scottish travelling families were living in conditions of serious social deprivation’ and a majority of travellers were facing increasingly difficulties to find somewhere to legally reside.

Secretary of State for Scotland Gordon Campbell appoints the First Advisory Committee on Scotland’s Travelling People to enact the recommendations of the Gentleman/Swift report.

1974 Reports of a campsite near a railway line in Twechar.

Reports of a campsite near Croy.

A site is opened in Heatheryknowe, Coatbridge.

A site is mentioned to have existed in Dalserf and Ferniegair.

1977 The Cripps Report is published, describing size and nature of socio-economic issues facing gypsy/travellers; provides cultural and social differences between house dwellers and Gypsy/Travellers.

A permanent site is opened in Clinterty, Aberdeen City, with 20 pitches.

The Policy of Toleration and Non-Harassment is enacted by Secretary of State for Scotland.

1978 Debate on ‘Tinkers’ is held in UK Parliament; MP Jasper More criticises ineffectiveness of the Caravan Sites Act and notes that there are still ‘6,000 homeless gipsy families’.

Permanent and short-stay site opened in Dunchologan, Lochgilphead, with 12 pitches.

1980 The ‘Planning Exchange Forum’, a conference on Scottish Gypsy/Travellers for local authorities held in Glasgow.

The Scottish Development Department confirms a 100% capital grant scheme to cover the cost of permanent site construction.

A permanent site is opened in St. Christopher, Tayock, with 15 pitches.

1981 A permanent site is opened in Bayview (Oban), with 8 pitches.

A temporary site is opened in Linwood (Paisley), with 14 pitches.

A permanent site is opened in Innerleithen, with 10 pitches.

A permanent site is opened in Denniston (Dumbarton), with 20 pitches.

1982 A temporary site is opened in Pathhead Muir (Kirkcaldy), with 15 pitches.

A temporary site is opened in Millerston (Glasgow), with 12 pitches.

A temporary site is opened in Merkland Bridge (Arran), with 8 pitches.

A permanent site is opened in Kirklee Road, Mossend (Bellshill, Motherwell), with 14 pitches.

A permanent site is opened in Double Dykes (Perth), with 20 pitches.

1983 Permanent site is opened in North Cairntow (Duddingston), 20 pitches.

1984 A permanent site is opened in Westhaugh Alva, 16 pitches.

1985 A permanent site opened in Torlochan (Sandbank), with 10 pitches.

A permanent site opened in Kenmuirhill (Carmyle), with 10 pitches.

A site is mentioned to have been opened in Auchinleck (Cumnock).

A permanent site is opened in Redding, with 15 pitches.

A permanent site is opened in Longman Park (Inverness).

1987 A permanent site is opened in Swinhill (Larkhall), with 22 pitches.

1989 A permanent site opened in Greenbanks (Banff), with 20 pitches.

A permanent site is opened in Tarvit Mill (Cupar), with 20 pitches

A permanent site is opened in Aonachan (Spean Bridge).

A permanent site is opened in Annathill (Glenboig), with 16 pitches.

A permanent site is opened in Oldbarrhills, with 16 pitches.

A permanent site is opened mentioned in 1989 report in Galashiels.

A permanent site is opened in Houdston Farm (Girvan), with 8 pitches.

1990 A permanent site is opened in Rodney Street (Port Dundas), with 10 pitches.

A permanent site is opened in Springbank (East Kilbride), with 6 pitches.

1991 A permanent site is opened in Chanonry (Elgin), with 20 pitches.

A permanent site is opened in Sibbald’s Braw (Bathgate), with 23 pitches.

1992 A permanent site is opened in Balmuirwood (Tealing), with 20 pitches.

1993 A site is opened in Collin (Dumfries).

A permanent site is opened in Kentallen (Ballachulish).

1994 A permanent site is opened in Laggan (Newtonmore).

A permanent site is opened in Smeaton (Dalkeith), 20 pitches.

1995 Site opened in Barlockhart (Glenluce).

A permanent site is opened in Heatherywood (Kirkcaldy), with 18 pitches.

1996 A temporary site at Bridgend Park (Craigforth), opened in 1988, is turned into permanent site with 20 pitches.

1999 The Advisory Committee on Scotland’s Travelling People publishes its final report. The Committee is not reappointed.

2001 The Policy of Toleration and Non-Harassment is ended, as is grant provision for the construction of permanent sites. Responsibility for site provision is fully devolved to local councils.