Communal Records | Jewish LifePartially online Limmud Archives Limmud’s first conference programme, 1980 Limmud is a Jewish communal organisation based in London and founded in 1980. It launched its archive programme a couple of years ago and has been working on cataloguing material it already holds as well as encouraging people who have played a part in Limmud’s story, either as an organiser, a volunteer, or a participant to help fill the gaps in its collection. Read more about that here: Limmud Needs You! Archive Description The Limmud Archive holds records and ephemera documenting 44 years of conferences, festivals and other activities in the UK and internationally. The archive material centres around the yearly Limmud festival, for which programmes exist from 1980 to the present day, as well as regional events and international programmes of education. Some of the highlights include programmes from the early 1980s Limmud Conferences, as well as some of the early editorial content that supports them, such as ‘Limmud Life’ and the first ‘Limmud Journal’ from 1983. The archive also contains financial, administrative, marketing and constitutional records. Audio-visual and photographic material also forms part of the archive, as well as ephemera including posters, postcards and merchandise. An online catalogue is to be launched in 2025, with some digitised material available. Limmud is looking to deposit the archive with an appropriate collecting repository. Access Information The archives are currently stored off-site and access is at the discretion of the Project Archivist. One month advance notification is required to access the archives and enquiries can be made to the project archivist at the following address: martin@limmud.org. You’ll need photographic ID containing details of your home address. Online / Digital Accessibility Online catalogue for the archive to be launched Autumn 2025. Digitised material available in 2026. Street Address Shield House, Harmony Way, London, NW4 2BZ https://limmud.org/
Communal Records | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online The Living Stones Samuel Becher's gravestone • The Living Stones The Living Stones is an online archival project documenting the Jewish heritage of Bournemouth and Poole through information found on gravestones in local cemeteries. Archive Description The Living Stones website has been created as part of a National Lottery Heritage grant and includes a searchable online database of genealogical information found on Jewish gravestones in local cemeteries. It contains photographs of almost 3000 headstones in Jewish cemeteries in Bournemouth and Poole with basic details of all the stones. The website also includes a selection of stories written about some of the Jewish people buried in Bournemouth and Poole cemeteries as well as other information relating to the history of the local Jewish community. The project will also be recording oral histories with older members of the community and the interviews and transcripts will be deposited with the Dorset History Centre. Online Accessibility The database is available to search online. For more information contact Howard Freeman. The Jewish Heritage of Bournemouth and Poole
Communal Records | Cultural | Jewish Life | ReligionPartially online Leo Baeck College Library The Victor Tunkel Jewish Music Collection • Leo Baeck College Library Leo Baeck College Library, part of Leo Baeck College, contains 60,000 volumes exploring Jewish civilisation. The great texts of Jewish tradition are supported by traditional commentary, cutting-edge scholarship and reference works. Jewish history, thought, practice and culture are explored through professional, academic and popular literature. Texts come from across the religious spectrum, around the world and throughout Jewish history. Its archival holdings includes material relating to leading figures in British and Progressive Jewry, local history, Jewish life and culture. Archive Description The Library’s Archive Collections preserve sermons, lectures, eulogies, photographs and papers recording the thinking and practices of rabbis, scholars and teachers who have had an impact on British and Progressive Jewry. This includes Rabbis John Rayner, Israel Mattuck, Willy Wolff, Vivian Simmons, Bruno Italiener, and H.I. Bach, Samuel & Stephen Krauss, Irene Bloomfield and Cantor Samuel Alman. It also holds some of their personal libraries as well as those of Rabbis Leo Baeck, Albert Friedlander, Sheila Shulman, Lionel Blue and others. The Leo Baeck College Audio Archive includes over 1200 recordings of lectures and seminars given at the college between 1985 and 2005. Delivered by rabbis, academics and professionals they present a fascinating picture of British Jewish life and learning. The Library holds the Victor Tunkel Jewish Music Collection which includes sheets music, musicology, cantor’s manuscripts, Tunkel’s papers and concert programmes. Other Special Collections include rare books going back to the 16th century with a significant inheritance from the Hochshchule institute in Berlin along with other material that survived the Holocaust. The collections contain more than 6000 pamphlets reflecting 150 years of European Jewish thought, and specialist collections in biblical commentary, Anglo-Jewry, liturgy, Progressive thought, Wissenschaft des Judentums and Jewish pedagogy. Access Information The archives are open to members of the general public through in-person appointments. Appointments are usually available Monday-Thursday 10am-4pm during the College’s teaching terms. No identification is required but appointments need to be made a few days in advance. Online Accessibility An online catalogue is available but different archival collections have been catalogued to different levels. Item level cataloguing is available through the library catalogue and details about each collection is available on the Archive Collections pages. Online enquiries can be submitted by email at: library@lbc.ac.uk. Digital Collections Rabbi John Rayner’s Sermons and Lectures are available online as well as digital editions of the magazine, Manna: the Forum for Progressive Judaism. Street Address Leo Baeck College Library80 East End RoadLondonN3 2SY https://lbc.ac.uk/library-resources/
Commercial | Communal Records | Family History | Historical Documents | Jewish LifePartially online Dorset County Archive The Dorset County Archive is a local government archive, held in the Dorset History Centre, Dorchester. It holds material on Jewish local history, communal records, and family history records. Archive Description Dorset History Centre is dedicated to preserving, sharing and celebrating the rich heritage of Dorset and brings together two services: Dorset Record Office and Dorset County Local Studies Library. It was awarded Archive Service Accreditation by The National Archives in 2018. The Centre cares for over 1,000 years of records on 8 miles of climate-controlled shelving in Dorchester – ranging from Council records to personal collections, as well as books, pamphlets and other publications. The Centre’s records reflect the diversity of Dorset’s population in its collections, services and engagement. Within its records, many minorities can be researched and Jewish residents, patients, office-holders, businesses etc can be identified. However, some of the collections are more specific to Jewish life in Dorset. These records mainly reflect Jewish communities in Bournemouth including a recorded talk about the heyday of Jewish hotels and back copies of the magazine ‘Ruach’ which contain lots of reminiscence and history going back to the 1940’s when the community was being established, as well as holding the first-person account of Harry Grenville and his life as a child in Nazi Germany and his move to England via the Kinder Transport. Access Information The archives are open to members of the public and can be accessed through pre-booked appointments. Documents must be pre-ordered using the archive catalogue. It is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Appointments should be booked in advance. Enquiries can be made to: archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/. Digital Accessibility The archive catalogue can be found online. Visitors may access any digital or hard copy material during a visit, or ask for materials to be shared with you, however there may be a small fee for this service. Street Address Dorset History CentreBridport RdDorchesterDT1 1RP https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/libraries-history-culture/dorset-history-centre
Communal Records | Local HistoryPartially online Plymouth Archives at The Box Pinkas record book from Plymouth Hebrew Congregation/Synagogue, c1762-1849 • Plymouth Archives, The Box The Plymouth Archives at The Box hold the records of the Jewish community of Plymouth as part of the Local Government archives. It holds communal and religious records covering over two hundred years of history, from 1740’s until the beginning of the 21st century. Archive Description The archive holds a large number of collections relating to the Jewish community of Plymouth. Early records cover the beginnings of an organised Jewish community in the city, such as the Plymouth Borough almshouse accounts which includes the rental payments for the Plymouth synagogue which dates to 1804-1806. It also holds the extensive records of the Plymouth Hebrew Congregation between 1795-2005, although this collection his mainly uncatalogued. Other records include school minute books from the Jacob Nathan Congregational School, accounts of the Hebrew Board of Guardians, and the register of marriages from Plymouth Hebrew Congregation. Access Information Access to the archives requires advance booking, which can be made from The Box website . These bookings should be made ideally with one week’s notice in advance. Opening hours are available on the website. Online Accessibility The archive catalogue can be found on the Plymouth City Council website. Any digital images attached to the catalogue are available for free at low resolution – higher resolution images are available for a fee. Enquiries can be sent to imageandfilm@plymouth.gov.uk. Street Address The BoxTavistock PlacePlymouthPL4 8AX https://www.theboxplymouth.com/collections/archives-and-local-studies 1762 Plymouth Pinkus Community Record Book • Plymouth Archive, The Box
Communal Records | Cultural | Family History | Jewish Life | Local HistoryPartially online Redbridge Museum & Heritage Centre Redbridge Museum & Heritage Centre is the community history museum and archive for the London Borough of Redbridge. It holds a collection of material about Jewish life in the Borough, including organisational records, a newspaper archive, and books to aid in research. Archive Description Redbridge Museum and Heritage Centre hold materials relating to the London Borough of Redbridge area including books, local authority archives, archives of organisations and individuals, reports, directories, newspapers, periodicals, ephemera, posters, maps, plans, photographs, illustrations, film and oral histories, as well as providing digital access to census and other records. Jewish collections include objects, ephemera and oral histories about Ilford Jewish Primary School; three reports into Redbridge Jewry by the Jewish Board of Deputies, 1979-83; local newspaper cuttings book about the Redbridge Jewish community 1972-1979 and 1980-1984; ‘Redbridge Extra’ newspaper, supplement to the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, 1973; archive of Newbury Park Synagogue 1968-2015; photographs of ancestors of current Redbridge residents who fought in First World War; Redbridge Jewish Community Video Magazine, 1983; film of wedding of Lyn and Richard Brookes at Ilford District Synagogue,1973; interview with members of Barkingside Jewish Youth Centre, 1999; interview with Dr Israel Segal, GP in Seven Kings, 1947 – 1973; three other oral histories with local Jewish people; Access Information The Heritage Centre is open to the general public, but require an appointment to be made five days in advance. These enquiries can be made to: info.heritage@visionrcl.org.uk Digital Accessibility The Heritage Centre does not have a catalogue available, but it has made two films from its collection available online: Wedding footage from 1973, and the Redbridge Video Review from October 1983. Street Address Redbridge Museum & Heritage CentreRedbridge Central LibraryClements RoadIlford, EssexIG1 1EA Redbridge Heritage Centre
Communal Records | Family History | Jewish Life | Local HistoryPartially online Tyne & Wear Archives Consecration of Ravensworth Terrace Synagogue 1925 • Tyne and Wear Archives The Lahav Jewish Heritage Project is an archiving project managed by the Tyne & Wear Archives, and held in the Discovery Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne. It holds material about the Jewish community of Newcastle. Archive Description The Lahav Jewish Heritage project was initially established in 2017 to collect, preserve and celebrate the rich history of the Jewish community in North East England, from the 1700s to the present day. The project is jointly managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) and Newcastle Libraries in partnership with members of the Newcastle Jewish communities. Within TWAM the project is run jointly by Tyne & Wear Archives and by Discovery Museum. The project was made possible by a generous bequest from the Ron Lahav Marital Trust (from which the project takes its name) to Newcastle City Council in 2017. Tyne & Wear Archives hold a very significant collection of archives which document the heritage of the unique and varied Jewish communities, organisations and individuals from across the region. The records include official and administrative records from a large number of now closed synagogues, the records of the Representative Council of North East Jewry, cemetery and ChevraKadishas records, educational records and have a particular strength in documenting the story of Jewish business, charitable, cultural and leisure organisations which developed in the region. The Lahav Jewish heritage project has further enhanced these collections with the additional of a significant number of oral histories and a documentary film. Access Information The Tyne & Wear Archives Searchroom is open to members of the public. Some of the Jewish records in the collections require permission from the depositor for access. Some records have restrictions placed on them to comply with data protection regulations. Access is via the public searchroom at Discovery Museum in Newcastle. Copying and paid research services are also available. For more info please email: archives@twmuseums.org.uk To visit the archive booking must be made at least 7 days in advance via the online booking link on the website. Digital Accessibility The Archives currently have a small amount of digital material available, and digitisation is planned to increase this amount. A photographic survey of Jewish gravestones from North-East cemeteries is available online. An catalogue is also available on the archive website. Street Address Tyne & Wear ArchivesDiscovery MuseumBlandford SquareNewcastleNE1 4JA http://www.twarchives.org.uk
Communal Records | Family History | Immigration | Jewish Life | Local HistoryPartially online Surrey History Centre Surrey History Centre is a local government archive administered by Surrey County Council. It holds the records of the Jewish communities of Surrey as well as other digitised material. Archive Description Surrey History Centre collects and preserves the records of Surrey’s past and present, documenting the story of the county and its people from the 12th century to the 21st century. Amongst its archive holdings are records of specific Jewish families and communities in Surrey. These include collections and items relating to homes, schools and hostels that opened in Surrey specifically to accommodate people escaping Nazi oppression in the 1930s and 1940s, such as Stoatley Rough School in Haslemere; Weir Courtney in Lingfield; and Rowledge House Hostel, near Farnham. It holds records of Kingston Synagogues, including DVDs of Holocaust Memorial Day school workshops by Auschwitz survivor, Martin Bennett, and Kindertransportee, Bronia Snow. It also hold papers of prominent 19th and 20th century individuals and families including banker and philanthropist, Sir Edward and Lady Stern of Fan Court, Lyne; the Sassoon family of Ashley Park, Walton-on-Thames; Polish poet and playwright, Marian Hemar of Coldharbour, Dorking; Polish architects, Edward Henrik Hartry (né Edek Herzbaum) and Teresa Krystyna Hartry of Woking; and philanthropist Leopold Salomons of Norbury Park, Mickleham, who gifted Box Hill to the nation. Access Information The archives are open to the general public and can be accessed by booking a session in their public search rooms to consult the records. The archives can be accessed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 09:45-12:45 and 13:45-16:45. Visitors are asked to bring either a Surrey Libraries Card, Archives Card, or proof of identity including address – such as a driving license or utility bill. The Centre asks that you provide at least two working days notice in advance. Enquiries can be made by email to shs@surreycc.gov.uk, and visitors should pre-order records at least two days in advance of their visit. Digital Accessibility The Surrey History Centre catalogue can be found online, and digital material such as indexes and thumbnail images on the catalogue are available for free. High resolution images of many of the records can also be purchased. The Centre commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day each year with a dedicated webpage on the Exploring Surrey’s Past website and in 2021 they produced a podcast to commemorate the day which is available on YouTube. In addition, the Exploring Surrey’s Past website hosts the Stoatley Rough School Historical Trust content which includes photographs of former pupils and staff, a history of the founding of the school, a profile of the founders, descriptions of learning and leisure time, as well as archive film footage from 1938. It also has digital copies of two United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) collections which can be viewed in the public search room. They are:• Material of Alice Goldberger of Berlin (1897-1986), head of a post-war hostel for child Holocaust survivors at Weir Courtney, Lingfield;• Material of John (Hans) Goldmeier (1928-2002), pupil at Stoatley Rough School, Haslemere. Street Address Surrey History Centre130 Goldsworth RoadWokingSurreyGU21 6ND http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreyhistorycentre
Communal Records | Family History | Local History | ReligionPartially online Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre The Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre is the local government archive and library for the London Borough of Camden and holds a large collection of material about historic Jewish life in the Borough, including organisational records, a newspaper archive, and books to aid in research. Archive Description The archive and library hold materials relating to the London Borough of Camden area including books, local authority archives, archives of organisations, archives of individuals, reports, directories, newspapers, periodicals, census records press cuttings, ephemera, posters, maps, plans, photographs, illustrations, videos and oral histories. Many of these relate to Jewish communities and individuals who lived in the Borough, including information about the Jewish Museum in Camden, a large collection of books about Jewish geneology, and the Jewish Free School (JFS) until 2002. Access Information The archives are open to members of the public by appointment. One hour appointments are available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. No photographic identification is required, but no pens may be used and prior permission must be given before copying documents. Enquiries can be made to the Local Studies email address: localstudies@camden.gov.uk. Online Accessibility The archive has an online catalogue, available here. Some material may be accessed online free of charge, but there are charges for using material outside of research and for providing copies. Street Address 2nd Floor, Holborn Library32-38 Theobalds RoadLondonWC1X 8PA https://www.camden.gov.uk/about-the-local-studies-archives-centre
Communal Records | Cultural | Jewish Life | Local HistoryPartially online Rainbow Jews Rainbow Jews is an archiving project by Liberal Judaism, and held at The London Archives. Launched in October 2012, Rainbow Jews is a pioneering project that records and showcases Jewish lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history from the 1950s to today. It captures the voices and experiences of Jewish LGBT people in the UK through oral histories and archive creation. Archive Description The Rainbow Jews collection includes the oral histories, transcripts and photographs documenting LBGT Jewish history from the 1950’s until the present days. It is part of an set of projects undertaken by Liberal Judaism, including Rainbow Jews, Twilight People and Rainbow Pilgrims projects. It was supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and includes over 35 oral histories and testimonies, as well as photographs of the participants as well as material donated to the project. Access Information The archive is held at the The London Archives, and access information can be found on their page. Digital Accessibility Parts of the archive are available online at the project’s website, including video interviews with participants. https://www.rainbowjews.com
Communal Records | Jewish Life | Local HistoryPartially online Brent Museum and Archives Kenton Synagogue Jewish Youth Club, 1968-1969, Wembley History Society image, from Wembley News • Brent Museum and Archives Brent Museum and Archives is a Local Authority archive, administered by Brent Council. It holds local history material relating the Jewish everyday life in the borough, as well as communal records for Jewish organisations within the area. Archive Description The archive holds a variety of material relating to the local area, from Alperton to Uxendon. It holds and collects the records of Brent Council and its predecessors from the seventeenth century onwards. The collection also includes archives of Brent businesses, institutions, societies, families and individuals as well as maps, local newspapers, periodicals, press cuttings and ephemera. In addition we have a Local History Library consisting of printed books about the area of Brent and its communities. These records cover the history of the local Jewish population. Access Information The Archives are open to members of the general public. Users of the archive search room have to sign up for a library card, for which proof of name and address is required. To access material held off-site, a request must be made at least 3 working days in advance. Material already available in the search room can be accessed on a drop-in basis. This includes:• local pamphlet boxes• local history reference books• local history society publications• directories• electoral registers Archive opening hours can be found on their website. Online Accessibility An online catalogue for the Archives can be found on the Brent Council website. Image and photograph collections can be found in this catalogue. For hi-res copies of images, you can contact the Archives, and they can be supplied for a fee. The Archives can be reached at: museum.archives@brent.gov.uk. Street Address The Library at Willesden Green – second floor95 High RoadWillesdenLondonNW10 2SF https://www.brent.gov.uk/libraries-arts-and-heritage/brent-museum-and-archives
Communal Records | Jewish Life | Local History | Religion | SocialPartially online Hackney Archives Hackney Archives holds the archives and local history collections of the London Borough of Hackney. Alongside the records of the local authority, the archive collection holds records of local businesses, clubs, societies, religious organisations, families and individuals. It holds a number of historic Jewish collections that evidence the contributions of the Jewish residents to the fabric of Hackney. Archive Description Collections of Jewish interest include: Deeds evidencing the consistent presence of Jewish residents of Hackney, including of the Da Costa and Rothschild families; the papers of Jewish Councillors and Mayors of Hackney and predecessors including of Sir Louis and Lady Sherman, Councilor John Stanton JP and Sam Cohen; material from Jewish societies including minute books and membership records of The Workers Circle Friendly Society and printed material of the Lubavitch Foundation; Jewish family collections including chemist and local historian Israel Renson, and the Kinn family who were members of the Hasidic Jewish community in Stamford Hill; Council records include information about the administration of specialist services and funds for the Orthodox Jewish Community; and the records of Hackney Downs School, once described as the ‘Jewish Eton’ by the Jewish Chronicle, including editions of the school magazine, clubs and administrative records. The local history library located on-site includes reading on Jewish communities in the East End as well as a wide ranging collection of pamphlets. Access Information The archive is open to members of the public, weekly Wednesday to Friday. Access requires one form of photographic ID and one proof of address. Enquiries can be made to archives@hackney.gov.uk Digital Accessibility An archive catalogue can be found online. The archive’s image database – searchable through the catalogue – has a collection of photographs of the area, including shop fronts of Jewish businesses and religious buildings. The images are free to browse but the archive charges for non-watermarked copies. They are looking to expand their digital offering with digitised documents but this is not currently available. Street Address Dalston CLR James Library, Dalston SquareDalston, LondonE8 3BQ https://hackney.gov.uk/archives