Vardo (Romani wagon)

A vardo's design includes large wheels set outside the body, whose sides slope outward considerably as they rise toward the eaves. Beyond this characteristic, the six types of caravans differ in shape, size, placement of the wheels relative to the bed, where made, and maker.[3] The roofs of the bow-top and open-lot types are canvas stretched over curved wooden frames; the others are roofed in wood.[4] By the mid-nineteenth century, the designs were almost entirely standardized, and some features are common to all types. The door is almost always in the front.[5]

The small cast-iron cooking stove was invented in America and was available there and in Great Britain from about 1830 on and is a common fixture of the wagons.[6] A cooking stove necessitates a chimney to vent smoke. A caravan's chimney is always on its left side as viewed from its front doorway; as the caravan travels along the left side of the road, the chimney is in less danger from low-hanging tree limbs in that position.[7] The stove rests in a wooden fireplace.

The wagon's interior is typically outfitted with built-in seats, cabinets, a wardrobe, bunks in the rear of the caravan, a chest of drawers, and a glass-fronted china cabinet.[8] There are windows on the left side and rear. Some types have clerestories which let in light and air.[9] A bracket for an oil lamp is mounted over the chest of drawers opposite the fireplace; the chest's top functions as a table.[7] Wagons' exteriors can range from fairly plain to intricately carved, painted in bright colours, and sheathed in places with gold leaf.[10]

Romanichal-style trotting cart

The Romanichal began to live in vardos around 1850.[11] Prior to that, they travelled in tilted carts or afoot and slept either under or in these carts or in small tents.[12] Originally Romanichals would travel on foot, or with light, horse-drawn carts, typical of other Romani groups or would build "bender" tents; so called because they were made from supple branches which they bent inwards to support a waterproof covering. The heyday of the Romani caravan was the latter part of the 19th century.[13]

Initially using castoff horses and even mules to draw their chimneyed living wagons, the Romanichal gradually created a breed of horse known variously as the Gypsy Cob (NZ, UK), Gypsy Horse (AU, US, UK), Coloured Cob (Ireland, UK, parts of continental Europe), Gypsy Vanner (CAN, US), Tinker Horse (parts of continental Europe) and Irish Cob (Ireland) to do so.[14]

Wagons were first used as a form of living accommodation (as opposed to carrying people or goods) in France in 1810 by non-Romani circus troupes.[15] Large transport wagons combined storage space and living space into one vehicle, and were pulled by teams of horses. By the 19th century wagons became smaller, reducing the number of horses required, and around the mid-to-late-19th century (1840–1870), Romanichals in Britain started using wagons that incorporated living spaces on the inside, and added their own characteristic style of decoration. In The Old Curiosity Shop (ch. xxvii), Charles Dickens described Mrs. Jarley's well-appointed van:

'One half of it...was carpeted, and so partitioned off at the further end as to accommodate a sleeping-place, constructed after the fashion of a berth on board ship, which was shaded, like the windows, with fair white curtains... The other half served for a kitchen, and was fitted up with a stove whose small chimney passed through the roof. It also held a closet or larder, several chests, a great pitcher of water, and a few cooking-utensils and articles of crockery. These latter necessaries hung upon the walls, which in that portion of the establishment devoted to the lady of the caravan, were ornamented with such gayer and lighter decorations as a triangle and a couple of well-thumbed tambourines.'

These smaller wagons were called "vardo" in the Romani language (originating from the Ossetic word vurdon) for cart.[16] The Romani vardo evolved into some of the most advanced forms of travelling wagon, and are prized for their practicality as well as aesthetic design and beauty. There is no more iconic or recognizable Romani symbol than a highly decorated Romanichal vardo, and the time of its use is often affectionately called "the wagon time" by Romanichal travellers. The vardos were typically commissioned by families or by a newlywed couple from specialist coach builders. Building the vardo took between six months to a year; a variety of woods including oak, ash, elm, cedar, and pine were utilized in its construction. Prized by the Romani, and later by non-Romani, including other traveller groups, for their practicality as well as aesthetic beauty, vardos can be categorized into six main styles; these being the Brush wagon, Reading, Ledge, Bow Top, Open lot, and Burton. The general design evolved over time and were named after the home's owners, for their traditional style (Ledge), for the town of its construction (Reading), or for the name of the builder.

Reading wagon

Romanichal Reading vardo, early 20th century

The Reading or kite wagon is so named due to its straight sides that slope outwards towards the eaves, high arched wheels, and relative light weight; there is no other vardo that epitomises the golden age of Romani horse travel. It dates from 1870 and is synonymous with the original builder Dunton and Sons of Reading from where the vardo takes its name. The wagon was highly prized by the Romani for its aesthetic design, beauty and practicality to cross fords, pull off-road and over rough ground, something smaller-wheeled wagons like the Burton were unable to do. The Reading wagon is 10 feet long, with a porch on the front and back. The rear wheels were 18 inches larger than the ones on the front. At the start of the 20th century the design incorporated raised skylights.

On either side of the bed space, quarter-inch thick bevelled mirrors were common, and were lavishly decorated. Cupboards and locker seats were built in to prevent movement whilst travelling. Side and back windows were decorated and shuttered, and the body of the vardo itself would have originally been made from beaded tongue-and-groove matchboard, painted red picked out in yellow and green. As with other vardo, the extent of the elaborate decoration reflected the wealth of the family, boasting carved lion heads and gargoyles; these would have been painted gold or extensively decorated with gold leaf.[15] Today, surviving Reading wagons are prized exhibits in museums or private collections. A fine one is in the University of Reading's Museum of English Rural Life.[18]

Ledge wagon

Romnichal-style Ledge vardo

The characteristic design of the ledge or cottage shaped wagon incorporated a more robust frame and living area that extended over the large rear wheels of the wagon. Brass brackets supported the frame of the wagon and solid arched roof usually 12 feet high, extended over the length of the wagon to form porches at either end and panelled with tongue in groove boards. The porch roof was further supported by iron brackets, and the walls were highly decorated with ornate scrollwork and carvings across the length of the wagon.

Door carving of a traditional Romanichal Chiriklo (bird). Reading vardo, early 20th century

Vardos were elaborately decorated, hand carved and ornately painted with traditional Romani symbols. Examples of famous Wagon Artists responsible for the early development of vardo art are Jim Berry, John Pockett, Tom Stevens, Tommy Gaskin, John Pickett, modern contemporary decorators continuing to shape this colourful tradition included artists such as Yorkie Greenwood and Lol Thompson.

Much of the wealth of the vardo was on display in the carvings, which incorporated aspects of the Romani lifestyle such as horses and dogs, as well as stock decorative designs of birds, lions, griffins, flowers, vines and elaborate scrollwork. Carved details were often accented with gold, either painted or, in the most expensive wagons, the use of between 4-15 books of gold leaf applied as decoration.[15] Many individual makers were identified by their particular designs.

The Romanichal funeral rite during the wagon time of the 19th and 20th century included burning the wagon and belongings after the owner's death.[20] The custom was that nothing whatsoever would have been sold, though some of the deceased's possessions, jewellery, china or money would be left to the family. The rest, including the wagon, was destroyed.

The Romani travellers in the 1920s proudly clung to their decorative vardos, although the economics of their way of life was in upheaval due to the contraction in the horse-trading industry and the changes from their traditional crafts.[21] In the present day, Romanichals are more likely to live in caravans. It was estimated that by 1940 only about 1% of Romani travellers still lived in the traditional horse-drawn vardo.[21]

Today's Romanichal still attend horse fairs,[22] the best known of which is Appleby Horse Fair in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland in Cumbria, North West England.[23] Some attendees of the fairs travel there in the traditional manner via horse-drawn vardos.[24] American photographer John S. Hockensmith documented such a journey in 2004, travelling with and photographing the Harker family's 60-mile journey to Appleby in bow top living waggons.[25]

The British writer Roald Dahl acquired a traditional vardo in the 1960s which was used as a playhouse for his children; later he used the vardo as a writing room, in which he wrote Danny, the Champion of the World.[26]

John Lennon's psychedelic Rolls-Royce was painted in the style of a Romani gypsy wagon by artist Steve Weaver of private coach maker J.P. Fallon Ltd.[27]

• Capstick, Tony; Donoghue, Paul (2002). Appleby Horse Fair: A Collection of Stories, Poems and Photographs. North Yorkshire, England: The Appleby Fair Company. ASIN B008QXQE4O.
• Fraser, Angus (1995). The Gypsies. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 0631196056.
• Hart, Edward (1993). "The gypsy horse type of coloured pony". The Coloured Horse and Pony. Allen Breed Series. London: A. Allen & Co. Limited. pp. 58–71. ISBN 0-85131-572-0.
• Harvey, Denis E. (1979). The Gypsies: Waggon-Time and After. Batsford. ISBN 0713415487.
• Hockensmith, John Stephen (2006). The Traveler's Way: The Road to Appleby Fair. Fine Art Editions Gallery and Press. ISBN 9781599755977.
• Jones, E. Alan (2002) [1986]. Yorkshire Gypsy Fairs Customs & Caravans: 1885 to the Present. North Yorkshire, England: The Appleby Fair Company. ISBN 0907033431.
• Lemke, Timothy (2007). The New Gypsy Caravan. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1430302704.
• Thorbum, Gordon; Baxter, John (2010). Travelling Art: Gypsy and Canal Barges. The History Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0752455020.
• Ward-Jackson, C. H.; Harvey, Denis E. (1973) [1972]. The English Gypsy Caravan: Its Origins, Builders, Technology and Conservation. David & Charles Publisher Limited. ISBN 0715356801.
• Wood, Manfri Frederick (1973). In the Life of a Romany Gypsy. Routledge & Kegan Paul Books. ISBN 0710075952.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vardo (Romani wagon).

• A video sample of a Dunton Reading wagon c.1914. pt1
• A video sample of the original interior of a Dunton Reading wagon c.1914. pt3
• A video of Nick Dowe a traditional vardo painter and wagon restorer.
• How to Build a Modern Gypsy Wagon
• Gypsy wagons at the Worcestershire County Museum