Gypsy Queen

Replay

From the collection of

MACE is the strategic lead organisation for screen heritage for the East and West Midlands regions. An independent charity based at University of Lincoln, MACE preserves and makes accessible a collection of more than 100,000 historic moving images representative of the diverse cultures and histories of communities throughout the heart of England from the Lincolnshire coast to the Welsh border.

Gypsy Queen (ATV Today)

Media Archive for Central England
Feckenham
1967-06-15
Sound
6m

Memory and legend merge amongst the gravestones of a peaceful Worcestershire village where the Gypsy Queen rests in peace.

In 1861 at Feckenham in Worcestershire the funeral took place of the so called Queen of the Gypsies, Phoebe Lee. In this 1967 news item 90 year old Mrs Martha Shakels recounts the story to reporter Gwyn Richards. Her father witnessed the spectacular funeral and with over a century passing since then Phoebe's grave is falling into disrepair amongst the chestnut trees of a typical English village cemetery.

As the years continue to pass Phoebe Lee's grave continues to decay in a forgotten graveyard at St John the Baptist Church at Feckenham.

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