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 | 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
Family History | Jewish Life | Local History | ReligionPartially online Lily’s Legacy Project The Lily’s Legacy Project is a heritage project organised by Liberal Judaism. It is deposited at the London Metropolitan Archive and online, and supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Archive Description Lily’s Legacy: The Radical History of Liberal Judaism is a faith community heritage project that documents and showcases Liberal Judaism’s rich heritage as well as its contribution to British society, while preserving legacy for future generations. It examines how Liberal Judaism embodies the vision of its founders – and in particular Lily Montagu – today and throughout its history. The collection includes oral histories, transcripts, films, photographs and educational resources. As part of the project a groundbreaking multi-media exhibition ‘Voices and Visions of Liberal Judaism’ was created and it features memories and mementos of Liberal and Progressive Jews in the UK. Digital Accessibility More information about the project can be found on the website, and there is an online exhibition available. Home
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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | Databases | Family History | Historical Documents | Jewish Life | Local History | ReligionOnly online Jewish Communities and Records – United Kingdom (JCR-UK) Chart of the Past & Present Officers of Dalston (Poets’s Road) Synagogue, London, circa 1910 • JCR-UK Jewish Communities and Records – United Kingdom (JCR-UK) is an online project whose aim is to record details of all Jewish communities and congregations that have ever existed in the British Isles. Archive Description Jewish Communities and Records – United Kingdom (JCR-UK) was established in 2002 as a joint project between the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) and JewishGen. Its aim is to record details of all Jewish communities and congregations that have ever existed in the United Kingdom, as well as the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar, in order to preserve the information for posterity and to make this information freely available online. JCR-UK comprises a wide range of scanned communal documents, photographs, articles, conference papers; databases, lists and other information and data covering London and some 250 provincial or regional Jewish communities, encompassing nearly 1,200 existing and defunct Jewish congregations of every persuasion, each with its own page, together with a new efficient search engine. Some specific examples of the wide range of material available on JCR-UK are: an extensive Bibliography of books on Anglo-Jewry; the Susser Archive of the late Rabbi Dr. B. Susser; archives of Exeter Synagogue; historic communal documents of the Bristol Hebrew Congregation; the papers of the 1975 conference on Provincial Jewry in Victorian Britain (including the 1845 Chief Rabbi’s Census); Jewish Listed Heritage Sites and much more. In addition, apart from its own database – the All-UK Database, operated by JewishGen, JCR-UK is host to a growing number of community Hosted Databases, generally providing ready access to burial records, gravestone images and cemetery maps. So far the communities covered include Belfast, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster, Grimsby, Harrogate, Leeds, Liverpool, Merthyr Tydfil, Newcastle, South Shields, Swansea, Sunderland and Whitley Bay, as well as the burial records of London’s Federation of Synagogues’ cemeteries, with several further community cemeteries in the process of being added. The latest ongoing project within JCR-UK involves the enhancing, reformatting and expanding of each of the congregation pages (there is one for each congregation) to include a more detailed history, lists of ministers and officers and other data, coupled with links to a new Rabbinic Profiles section, containing profiles of the ministers listed. By mid-2025, pages for over 660 congregations (more than 55% of the total number) have been enhanced, listing over 2,000 different ministers. Online Accessibility JCR-UK is available to the public online with no access limitations. Visit the What’s New page to read about the latest developments on JCR-UK. https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk
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
Local HistoryPartially online Sheffield City Archives and Local Studies Library The Sheffield City Archives and Local Studies Library is a local authority archive open to the public that holds records and reports concerning the city’s historic Jewish population dating from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. Archive Information The archives hold general records such as local newspaper reports relating to the Jewish community and obituaries of local Rabbis and Jewish Community leaders from 1851 onwards, pictures and photographs relating to Sheffield’s Jewish community, Sheffield Year Books which list local synagogues and Jewish community associations and committee members, the Sheffield Jewish Journal from 1946-1980, and Sheffield Trade and Street directories which including reference to members of Sheffield’s Jewish community and businesses. They also hold a range of published historical books and articles relating to different aspects of local Jewish community, and personal and business papers of members of the local Jewish community, for example Abraham Simon Graham (birth name Guttenberg) (1872-1958) a waterproof garment dealer and amateur poet. A full list of records can be found on the research guide on Sheffield’s Jewish community which is available to download via their webpage: The archive will soon be expanding it’s holding with the substantial archive of records from the Sheffield Central Synagogue which date back to the 19th century Access Information The archives are open to the public and can be accessed through their two separate service points: Sheffield City Archives for original archival sources and Sheffield Local Studies Library for secondary sources and printed or published material. Sheffield City Archives is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays 9.30am – 5.30pm, while Sheffield Local Studies Library is open Wednesdays 1pm – 8pm, Thursdays 9.30am – 5.30pm, Fridays 9.30am – 5.30pm and Saturdays 10am – 4pm. The archive requires researchers to register for which they need to show two forms of ID including proof of address and a signature. It is not strictly necessary to give advance notice but a proportion of the archives holdings are held in offsite storage for which up to two weeks’ notice is required before they can be made available. The archive recommendeds that researchers contact us in advance to make sure that documents of interest can be made available on the day. It can be contacted at this address: archives@sheffield.gov.uk, Digital Accessibility Sheffield City Archives’ online catalogue can found here, and the Sheffield Local Studies Library’s online catalogue can be searched on their website by choosing ‘Local Studies Library’ from the relevant drop-down menu. The archive’s photograph and picture collection is digitised and freely available to consult online . Street Address Sheffield City Archives:52 Shoreham StreetSheffieldS1 4SP Sheffield Local Studies Library:Central LibrarySurrey StreetSheffieldS1 1XZ https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/libraries-archives/access-archives-local-studies-library List of [Jewish] Refugees in Sheffield, 1939 This plain sheet of paper may look everyday but it is actually from one of the most poignant items in the collections […] 19 Jul 2024 Collection Encounter: Jewish Life in Sheffield Collection Encounter: Records of Jewish Life in Sheffield, 1849-1976
Communal Records | Jewish Life | Local History | ReligionPartially online Birmingham Hebrew Congregation Collections Architectural drawing • Birmingham Hebrew Congregation The Birmingham Hebrew Congregation Collections are a selection of archival collections held by Birmingham Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham as part of Local Authority archives. The collections contain a wealth of information about Jewish life in Birmingham and the community’s involvement with the arts, social work, politics, business, charities and societies. Archive Description Birmingham Archives & Collections holds a number of Jewish collections including the records of the Birmingham Hebrew Congregation, mainly relating to Singers Hill Synagogue and the Hebrew School/King David School. The archive includes minutes of the committees which governed the synagogue including Council, whose minutes date from the 1820s and are the oldest in the collection. The collection also includes school records, correspondence belonging to the Secretary of the synagogue, marriage and death registration records, plans of the synagogue, the schools, and other buildings owned by the Congregation, ledgers, cashbooks, and other records of synagogue finances along with photographs that date from the 1940s and some published material such as orders of service. Other Jewish collections includes the papers of The Birmingham Jewish Literary and Arts Society which grew from a number of Jewish arts societies set up in Birmingham in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and personal archives such as Zoe Josephs, the founder and leading personality of the Birmingham Jewish Historical Research Group. Access Information The archives are open to members of the general public and can be accessed by appointment at the Wolfson Centre for Archival Research, Level 4, Library of Birmingham. The archives are open Tuesdays 11am – 7pm, Wednesday and Thursday 11am – 4.30pm. Proof of current address and a signature, such as a driving license is required and it is necessary for users to request documents a week in advance. Appointments can be made with the archive at this email address: appointments@birmingham.gov.uk. Digital Accessibility A full archive catalogue is available online, and a list of the Jewish collections can be found here. The archive also holds scanned material, some of which comes from the Jewish collections. Street Address Library of Birmingham,Centenary Square,Broad St,BirminghamB1 2EA https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/archives
Commercial | Cultural | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online Bishopsgate Institute Library and Archive Petticoat Lane Market, Dennis Anthony, London Collection Photographs D31/92 (c.1963) • Bishopgate Institute Bishopsgate Institute Library and Archive is a free, independent library and archive open to the public. Its collection contains material about London, social movements and protest, feminist and women’s history, as well as the Sandy’s Row Synagogue collection. Archive Description The Archive holds a large number of collections relating to London History and social protest movements. Some of these contain material relevant to Jewish history. Of note are the Sandys Row Archive, the William Fishman archive, and the large London photographic archive. While the Archive holds few distinctly Jewish collections it still holds a significant amount of Jewish content, especially relating to anti-Fascism, anti-Racism, and the labour movement. Access Information The Archive is open to the general public with no specific requirements. It is open 10am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday. Digital Accessibility The Archive’s catalogue is available online, and there are a number of collection guides available to help researchers find useful material. Street Address Bishopsgate Institute230 BishopsgateLondonEC2M 4QH https://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/archives