Jewish history in England can be traced back as long ago as 1066. Some historians would argue that it dates back even further to Roman Britain.
This scattered history, fractured from medieval expulsions and expanded by waves of migration from North Africa, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, left fascinating traces, some obscured, some lost.
Let’s take a look at 8 buildings that hold stories of England’s Jewish heritage, including some with a very personal connection.
The sunken synagogue of Guildford
Underneath what appears to be an ordinary high street book shop in Guildford stands one of the oldest, if not the oldest, synagogue in England. During building renovations in the 1990s, a team of archaeologists made a remarkable discovery.
Among the 12th century remains are ornately decorated alcoves and scorch marks. These alcoves are identified as the Aron Kodesh, the sacred cabinet or ‘Holy Ark’ in a synagogue, where the Torah scrolls are kept. The scorch marks evidence the Ner Tamid, the ‘eternal light’ that burned perpetually near the Ark.
So why is this synagogue underground? Evidence points towards the synagogue not originally being built underground but having ‘sunk’ or being built over because of its age. Some locals even claim it is haunted.
Galkoff butchers, Liverpool
Once upon a time, the thriving Jewish community in Liverpool relied on kosher butcher’s shops to get their produce. But with greater competition from big supermarkets and shrinking communities, the former kosher butcher’s shop at 29 Pembroke Place was forced to close.
Percy Galkoff established his shop in around 1907. The green tile shop front was added in 1933. Although the shop was listed Grade II in 2007 for its ‘nationally unique’ shop front, it was later demolished. However, Galkoff’s shop front survives and is on display in the Museum of Liverpool.
The Twisted Wheel, a northern nightclub
Hailed as the birthplace of Northern Soul, the iconic Twisted Wheel nightclub was opened in Manchester in 1963 by 5 Mizrahi Jewish brothers, Jack, Ivor, Phillip, Ronald and Richard Abadi, my second cousins.
Inspired by the growing interest in jukebox coffee bars, the brothers saw a gap in the market. Young people were missing a place to drink coffee and soft drinks and listen and dance to live music.
After coming up with the name ‘The Twisted Wheel’, the brothers scoured the country for various scrap wheels, which ended up creating the iconic indoor decor.
The club was one of the first in the country to platform jazz, blues, soul, rock and pop artists such as Ike and Tina Turner, The Hollies, The Spencer Davis Group, The Ikettes, The Drifters, Junior Walker, The Graham Bond Organization and Manfred Mann.
The Twisted Wheel moved from its original home in Brazennose Street to a converted warehouse in Whitworth Street in 1965. The club shut down in 1971 but various Twisted Wheel clubs have popped up since, although none have lived up to the former’s glory.
The Star Inn, Penzance, a former synagogue turned pub
Over the past millennium, Jewish communities around England have evolved and migrated. Nowadays, Jewish communities tend to congregate in north-west London, Manchester, Leeds and Gateshead. But did you know there was once an established Jewish community in the heart of Cornwall?
Jewish communities are believed to have first settled in Penzance in the 1720s. Today, Penzance’s Jewish heritage can be seen in the remains of its Jewish Cemetery, established in around 1750, and The Star Inn. This Grade II listed pub was formerly the site of the Penzance Synagogue. It is a good reminder that sometimes buildings have unexpected past lives often unconnected to their present function.
A soup kitchen for the Jewish poor in Tower Hamlets, London
In 1854, a soup kitchen for the Jewish poor was established in the Spitalfields area of Tower Hamlets. It was set up to provide soup, bread and meat for impoverished members of the Jewish community.
It was originally only meant to be a temporary measure in response to the influx of Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe. However, the kitchen remained open until the 1990s.
The Soup Kitchen moved to a purpose-built building in Brune Street in 1902. Adorned with a sculpture of a giant soup bowl in its doorway, it was a beacon for the poor, sick and the elderly of the community for over 100 years.
The building still stands. It is Grade II listed and is one of the few to have retained Jewish ownership, with it being taken over by charity Jewish Care in the 1990s.
Whitechapel drinking fountain, donated by the Jewish community
Not far from the Soup Kitchen in Tower Hamlets, is the Grade II listed Jewish Memorial Drinking Fountain. The fountain, erected in 1912 in memory of King Edward VII, was funded from donations made by the East London Jewish community.
The king’s apparent close ties to upper class members of the Jewish community, as well as his sympathy for Jewish refugees, played a part in the erection of the memorial fountain.
If you look closely, carved into the statue are 4 symbols of the Jewish East End community. There is a ship, to represent the largely immigrant and refugee origins, a needle and thread to represent the Jewish communities involvement in the textile industry, a book for the Jewish passion for education and Talmudic study, and lastly a horse and cart for Jewish integration into modern London.
A pattern in Jewish communities across the world is assimilation by showing loyalty to the royal family or leaders of the region. There exists a prayer for the royal family that can be adjusted based on where the community is. This reflects assimilation as a means of survival and integration.
The Tower of London’s Jewish history
Did you know the most surprising example of hidden or little-known Jewish history is not in an old synagogue or cemetery but The Tower of London itself?
In medieval times Jewish people were encouraged, and sometimes forced, to become money lenders. This was due to Christians being prohibited from moneylending by the rules of their religion. However, these rules did not apply to Jewish people.
The tower represents both a source of Jewish refuge and danger. Jews were able to seek safety from pogroms and riots in the tower during the 1260s. However, many more were imprisoned and executed there, accused of crimes such as coin clipping and ritual murder. Anti-Jewish prejudice in the 1270s led to 600 Jewish prisoners being held at the Tower of London for coin-clipping. Nearly 300 of them were executed.
Around 3,000 Jews lived in England when, in 1290, Edward I ordered that all Jews convert or be expelled from the country. Of these, 1,450 left England from the wharf outside the tower. As a final act of exploitation, each had to pay the Constable of the Tower a fee.
Manchester Jewish Museum
Our final selection is a very visible place of Jewish history.
Nestled on Cheetham Hill Road, considered to be one of the most diverse roads in the country, with around 153 languages spoken, is the stunning Grade II listed former Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue.
The site boasts an award-winning vegetarian cafe, an archive documenting Manchester’s Jewish history and a restored synagogue space. One of its most intriguing objects is a time capsule from the 1870s that documents the experiences of the Victorian Sephardic Jewish community.
Looking through the museum’s collections, I stumbled across a pestle and mortar that once belonged to my great grandmother Sophie. We think she was born in Damascus in 1890, spoke mainly Arabic, and became hugely homesick after moving to England in the 1920s. Over 100 years later, thanks to the museum, her legacy is kept alive.
Written by Amy Lever
Further reading
Is there any way of knowing what the Star Inn had once been, architecturally or by some decorative art? Is there a plaque on a wall somewhere?
You can find out more about the Star Inn and the former Synagogue in the Official Listing Description however the description notes that it wasn’t possible to inspect the interior, noting that their might potentially be some survival of the original internal details.
Were the Abadi brothers in any way related to Paul Abadie (9 November 1812 – 2 August 1884), the French architect who restored Périgueux cathedral and built the Sacre Coeur in Paris? Paul Abadie was presumably Roman Catholic but perhaps his family converted?
The author thinks it unlikely based on what they know of family history, but will make enquiries.