Bowtop

Nicely chamfered bowtop, deep red body colour with cream finelining, horse head motifs to either side of the rear window. A gold leafed horse carving on the weatherboard.

Pictures courtesy of David Hodgekins.

Bowtop

Window and door type bowtop, chamfers painted and picked out with finelining. Horse head motifs painted facing each other on the front seats. Bay window to the rear.

Pictures courtesy of David Hodgekins.

Openlot

New build openlot, built to high standard by Warren Coulson of Co Durham. Good carved swept bed dray, all hard wood. Green body colour and cream unders awaiting decor.

Fully painted inside by Kevin, and 10 books of gold leaf used. Cut glass windows, cut glass mirrors, slide out bed and a bowed centre cabinet.

Pictures courtesy of Crystal Howe.

Bowtop

Window and door type bowtop, Bill Wright style Superbly decorated with plenty of gold leaf carvings. Tasteful scrollwork painted inside as well as out. Lovely finishing touches inside.

Pictures courtesy of William King.

Openlot - Bowtop

Boldly decorated openlot.  Two-tone green and gold scrollwork with grapes-and-apple motifs. 

Rich, colourful interior. Plenty of scrolls with deep reds, greens, oranges and golds.

Pictures courtesy of William King.

Straight-Sided

1930's straight-sided Burton style waggon.

Pictures courtesy of waggon owner.

Bowtop

Full size Bill Wrights bowtop made around 1920, restored by Alan, Cornwall

Pictures courtesy of Alex Lee

Openlot - Bowtop

William Wheeler Gypsy Waggon

1906 Kite Waggon

Bowtop

Bowtop - Restoration

Before and after photos of Georgina's caravan, who has 2 cabinet makers, Ian and Darren Platt, to thank for the fantastic restoration job they've done, sparing it from finishing life in the scrapyard.

It had been left standing for 15 years in a garden in Romsey, and Georgina was told about it by a friend.

Believed to be built in the 1920s, this bowtop received a lifeline from the skills of Ian and Darren and a new canvas that was delivered personally by Nick Dow.  The end result has been well worth it.

Pictures and info courtesy of Georgina Strange

Wooden Sided Auction

A 100 year old Gypsy Showman went under the hammer in Norfolk Sept 09.

East Anglian Motor Auctions in Wymondham mainly deal with family hatchbacks, but recently they acquired this extremely unusual lot.

The Showman is understood to be built around 1910 and during its life it was used as a changing room at a swimming pool. Its last 10 years however was spent sitting in a garden near Mulbarton. Unfortunately, little is known about it before that time.

It has had a professional restoration on the chassis and wheels 8 yrs ago, and now needs further restoration work to the body.

Pictures and info courtesy of Tristram Smith

Hand-built Bowtop

Built by Peter Dyas-Harold, a blacksmith by trade, from scratch on top of an Evesham dray. Kept indoors for the winters and rolled out in the summers. Decorated by Peter and Jackie Dyas-Harold.

Pictures courtesy of Peter Jones

Bowtop

Original Evesham dray with a newly built body by Warren Coulson.

On iron-tyred wooden wheels, unders ready for decor on top of a cream base. Green body colour also awaiting final decoration - lining and scrollwork.

Striking two toned stained cupboards inside and Queen Anne stove.

Pictures courtesy of Jim

Bowtops

Photo taken at New Galloway, Scotland - three waggons on the way to Appleby Horse Fair 2009

Picture courtesy of Julie Ann McKnight

Living Waggon

Pictures and info courtesy of David Gregory

Half-size Reading Waggon

Pictures and info courtesy of Gary Doe.

Kite-style Waggon

Pictures and info courtesy of Richard Aldridge.

Openlot Bowtop

Pictures and info courtesy of Lee John Fell.

Burton Showman

Pictures courtesy of Mr Bates.

Bowtop

Pictures and info courtesy of Waggon Owner.

Original Reading Waggon

Half-size Ledge Waggon

This little ledge was built and painted by Bob Smith of Brigg and is roughly a half size waggon.

All the unders are ash. Bob turned the axles himself and made the wheels from oak and ash, steel tyres. The roof is built up from layers of linen and varnish topped off with cream paint.

Inside just as much attention taken with detail, Bob even made the little stove out of wood

It took 6 months to complete in his spare time outside under a sun canopy and built with the help of all 5 of his little grandchildren, all fun to do.

Selling soon in order to help finance a full size waggon project in the near future, Bob is at the moment building a dray.

 Pictures and info courtesy of Waggon Owner.

Bowtop

This window n door type bowtop was painted by the skillful hand of Josephine McSkimming, with romany vardo and horse scenes depicted on the front, side panels and on the kettle box. A theme continued inside as well.

The dray it was built on was found in a shed in Scotland, the lock and iron work was all that could be saved.

Pictures and info courtesy of Jim.

Restored Bowtop

Aly didn't have much previous knowledge of vardos but he had a keen knowledge of woodwork, so he accepted the challenge to restore this bowtop for an old friend. 

Pictures and info courtesy of Aly.

Ledge Waggon

In superb condition.  This waggon has hardly been used and has been stored inside for most of its life.

Pictures courtesy of Simon

Circus Waggon

This is an unusual waggon often mistaken for a shepherds hut/burton, but it is in fact a circus waggon built for housing small animals such as monkeys to live in. Dating to around 1905, previous restoration was carried out in 1976, but it fell into disrepair until the current owner
rescued it from being used as a chicken shed.

It has now been restored from the ground up by waggon restorer Gary Brinklow. Looking resplendent in pillar box red and bright yellow, and awaiting decoration.

Pictures and info courtesy of Gary.

Half-size Open lot Waggon

This little openlot was made by Bob Smith of Brigg, who last year built the half-size ledge waggon ref no: 344 in our gallery.

He was in the middle of building a dray when submitting the ledge, but as he says ' got carried away' and built this lovely openlot instead.

Again he made everything himself, from wheels to stove - that's made out of wood too.

 Pictures and info courtesy of waggon-owner.

New build Ledge Waggon - Rambling Rose

A beautiful Showman’s Wagon – Rambling Rose.  Her name is carved into the door and gilded. She is a full size ledge wagon built entirely from scratch by one man, Roger Brayford, starting in 1988.

A skilled wood-worker, his original idea was to build a scale model to occupy him whilst he was in a wheelchair awaiting surgery. He has used hand tools throughout – not a piece of machinery has been used in her creation.

He had been friendly with gypsy children in a camp in Whitchurch, Shropshire, near to where he lived as a boy. He  was always made very welcome there, spending many carefree and happy hours in their company and that of their parents. So knowing that he would have plenty of time on his hands for a while he decided that he would make a model of a gypsy caravan as a tribute to those happy times and friends he once knew. However, when he got the plans he decided that if he scaled up all of the pieces , he could create a full size wagon! 

The unders began life as a dray hauling cotton on the Liverpool Docks. The flat bed body had already succumbed to rot but the turntable and axles, etc. were in superb condition, fortunately.  So began a labour of love, spending countless hours during the next 23 years until the magnificent wagon was finally finished. The interior is as exquisite as the exterior.  Materials used were red deal and saple and she has bent ash shafts. 

The fireplace / stove was removed from a Victorian barge, so that would also have a tale to tell if only it could talk!

There are carvings of gilded ears of wheat, vines, grapes, horses’ heads, flowers and a wealth of detail throughout. A favourite carving of mine is the gilded angel within a horseshoe over the sleeping area.

Rambling Rose is not only a labour of love, but a mobile work of art.

Pictures and words courtesy of Lesley .

Open lot Waggon

Known as ' Lady in Red '  by the owner
D Beaney in North Kent, who restored and painted her.

Pictures and info courtesy of D Beaney.

'Model' Waggons

Pint size models of a Bow top and Ledge made by Keith Brearley

Pictures courtesy of K Brearley.

Child size Waggon

Built by Chris Jackson for his granddaughter

Pictures courtesy of Chris Jackson              

'2 New Builds'

Inspired by his father's Romany background and fun memories of helping him to build a small square bow waggon as a 10 year old boy, and later on a bow top waggon aged 12, Dave Bryan longed one day to build his own waggon.

So, aged 40 years he decided to do that but because of busy roads these days and not wanting to take his coloured cob out with a wagon on them, he set his sights on building a wagon on the back on a LDV lorry and after aquiring one he started work on it in his spare time, completeing it 3 years later.

The bottom pic is a photo of Dave and his dad, who now lives in Canada and who built the bowtop they're sitting on aged 76!

Pictures and info courtesy of Dave Bryan.

1895 Phillips of Newport

Old original waggon built by Phillips of Newport in 1895 and owned by William and Margaret Ford of Brynmawr. Still in the family, it's now owned by their great granddaughter R Deakin

Pictures and info courtesy of R. Deakin

Bill Wright Ledge Waggon

Elijah Arrowsmith and grandson, of Shropshire, on the road again, with his Bill Wrights ledge waggon in 2012.

Pictures and info courtesy of Charlene Arrowsmith

Hand made Models

Richly detailed examples of hand made & hand painted model bowtops and a dray, made by Richy G.

Pictures and info courtesy of Richy G

Burton Type Waggon

Made by WG Bradford, Salop.

Bought in Dumfries and fully restored 2 years ago.

Pictures and info courtesy of waggon owner.