Alan McGowan wrote: >Can anyone suggest why Hannington and Kingsclere would have attracted >travelling Gypsies, and why some Gypsies settled in the area? > > > > Hi Alan, I can recall the Romany came round Basingstoke in the 50's often with heather gathered from the heaths around Tadley and Silchester as well as Ramsdell or wooden clothes pegs to sell. Relative freedom to camp on the heaths and the extensive woodlands around Hannington and Tadley coupled with the space arising from the low population density (then) must have made it attractive. Greeham Common until it was enclosed for the airbase would have been another attractive spot. I think there is a website with details of the Romany in Hampshire mainly in the New Forest. Regards, Nigel Gerdes