The Joules family were a family of Gypsies local to Somerset. Gypsy (also spelt Gipsie), Roma and Traveller people belong to the minority ethnic group whose distinctive way of life and traditions manifest themselves as nomadism, the centrality of their extended family, unique languages and entrepreneurial economy.
Gypsies have been in Britain since at least the C16 after migrating from continental Europe during the Roma migration from India. The first reference to Gypsies in England occurs in 1514. It was incorrectly believed this group came from Egypt, as such the term Gypsy come from the word ‘Egyptian’. This group have suffered many forms of persecution in England over the centuries but have also formed part of and enriched our society. In 1530 they were expelled from England under the ‘Egyptian’s Act’, Mary Queen of Scots ruled that being a Gypsy was punishable by death and they were only recognised as a distinct ethnic minority group in 1976 under the English Race Relations Act.
Somerset seems to have had a long history of attracting Gypsies, documentary evidence suggests that many known families regularly visited, camped and were married, baptised and buried in churches around the county.
The Joules (also spelt Joles) family were local Gypsies, well known around the Yatton area of Somerset. They are referred to in the 1922 Somerset Yearbook as ‘the celebrated Somersetshire gypsies’.
There are known to be approximately 13 members of the family buried in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church. Eight date from the mid-C19 to the early C20 and four are enclosed within a wrought iron enclosure.
Isaac and Morella (Merily) Joules are well documented in contemporary sources from the Yatton area. Isaac is believed to have been the son of a Wiltshire farmer and a stone mason by trade that married Morella Cooper and took up the Gypsy life. Contemporary sources suggest Isaac was a knife grinder and well known as an identifiable figure known amongst the local community, with prints and pictures sold of him. Births and Census records suggest that the couple had 10 children (Jessie, Louisa, Teanna, Richard, Mary Ann, Henry, Priscilla, Matilda, Caroline and Charlotte).
Isaac and Morella’s son, Richard Joules went on to marry Jane. The 1861 census records Richards occupation as Horse Dealer/Gypsy Tribe. They had 7 children (Henry, Druscilla, Eldarah, William, Caroline, Jentella and Joseph) all of which are recorded under the occupation Gypsy Tribe in the 1861 census return.
This is part of the Job: 2K/24747 Monuments to the Joules Family, St Mary's Church, Yatton; within the Volume: VF000197 Historic Building Survey, Planning, Advice and Listing; within the Series: HEC01/026 Historic Building Survey, Planning, Advice and Listing; within the Collection: HEC01 Historic England
© Historic England Archive
Photographer: Baker, Steven: Historic England
Georgian Gravestone
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