Manchester Jewish Museum is an independent museum open to the public whose archive holds a broad collection of artefacts and documents relating to the history of Manchester Jewish communities.

Archive Description

The Museum’s collection charts the many stories and experiences of Mancunian Jewish life. The archives reveal the stories of the lives of Jewish people who travelled from all over the world and how Jewish communities in Greater Manchester were established and diversified. This includes personal objects that were brought to Manchester, objects relating to trades, religious practice, hobbies and domestic and communal life.

The Museum’s oral history collection consists of interviews given by Jewish people living in Manchester. The topics covered in the interviews include migration, home and school life, work, politics, antisemitism, war, religion and identity. The museum also holds many interviews with Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazism in the 1930s. The photograph collection of over 20,000 images portrays the life of one of the UK’s earliest migrant communities. The photographs have historic and architectural interest, recording both community life and communal buildings that no longer exist.

Manchester Jewish Museum is housed in a former Sephardi synagogue, described by Historic England as “one of the highlights of Victorian Gothic architecture in the country”. Originally opened in 1984, the museum reopened following a development project in July 2021. This project included the creation of a new exhibition gallery and collections store with space for researchers to access the collection.

Access Information

Access to view material in the archives can be arranged by contacting the curator Alex Cropper at curator@manchesterjewishmuseum.com.

Online Accessibility

The museum is currently digitising its photographic and oral history collections. Online access to these collections is planned. Digital collections are shared weekly on the museum’s social media platforms.

More information on the collection can be found on the Museum’s website.

Street Address

Manchester Jewish Museum
190 Cheetham Hill Road
Manchester
M8 8LW