Hardy visited St Mary Cray in the mid twentieth century, capturing the everyday lives of the 300 people that resided there. The region housed the largest settlements of Romani groups and Irish Travellers in the UK. It was a popular stopping place as it had convenient access to the capital, as well as being near to agricultural labour opportunities.
Many of the travelers were temporarily employed in agricultural work in St Mary Cray, where they would toil on hop and soft fruit farms. When it wasn’t harvesting season, the male travelers were able to make a living by taking up casual laboring or repair work. Women in the community also made money going door to door flogging various goods, including pegs and flowers.
Today, Corkes Meadow no longer exists, as it has been urbanised and built upon over the years. There are fewer traveller families in the area, as many stopped frequenting the area when the farms they worked on replaced their task-force with machines.
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| A woman and a young girl relax in their Corke’s Meadow caravan in 1951. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| An elderly traveler sorts through scrap metal, which could be flogged off to earn a living. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| A mother washing her child at the travelers’ camp in Corke’s Meadow in 1951. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| Hardy snapped this candid mother and son moment at St Mary Cray in 1951. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| A group of travelers congregate together on the agricultural land in Kent, 1951. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| London missionary William Larmour talks over problems with settlers in Corke’s Meadow, which is overshadowed by gasometers and strewn with rubbish. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| A group of Romany children at an encampment at Corke’s Meadow in Kent, July 1951. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| Two young traveler boys spar with boxing gloves as their friends eagerly watch the fight unfold. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| Travelers camp beneath the shadow of a gasometer in St Mary Cray. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| Traveler children hold hands as they walk through the temporary settlement in Corke’s Meadow. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| Young girl clad in filthy clothes sits by the wheel of a caravan clutching her doll. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| A traveler woman combs through the tangles in her son’s hair outside their caravan at Corke’s Meadow. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| Two women polishing their silverware on the steps of their caravan at the Corke’s Meadow encampment. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| An elderly Romany man camping at Corke’s Meadow in Kent in 1951. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| A family sits the steps of their caravan at the Corke’s Meadow encampment in Kent. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| Portrait of a beaming traveler that has settled in the community in St Mary Cray. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| The settlement of 300 travelers living in Corke’s Meadow, Kent in July 1951. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| A woman cooks dinner in an iron pot hung over an open fire in the Kent traveling community in 1951. |
Captivating Candid Vintage Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of the Corke's Meadow Travelers in the 1950s
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| A candid portrait of one of the 300 Romanies living on Corke’s Meadow in Kent in July 1951. |