Commercial | Communal Records | Local HistoryPartially online Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives is a local government archive in East London. It holds the records of a large number of different Jewish community and religious organisations in Tower Hamlets. Archive Description The Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives holds a variety of collections. The Princelet Street Synagogue records cover the period 1884-1988 and include marriage records and membership records. It also holds the records of the Loyal United Friends Friendly (or Benefit) Society, the Society for Chanting Psalms and Visiting the Sick, and the records of the Brady Clubs (Jewish youth clubs originally based in Whitechapel). These include membership records from the 1940s to the 1960s, records relating to camps and photograph albums of club activities. Perhaps the most significant body of records in the archive relating to the Jewish East End are the records of the Stepney Borough Council. This local authority was created in 1901 and survived until 1965 when the London Borough of Tower Hamlets took over. The Jewish East End was largely within the boundaries of the Borough of Stepney and the archive holds the minutes of Borough’s Housing Committee, Maternity and Child Welfare Committee and Markets Committee. Access Information The archives are open to members of the public. New users are required to register on their first visit and to provide photographic identification and proof of address. The archives are open Tuesday-Thursday, and on the first and third Saturday of the month. Opening hours can be found on the website and access enquiries can be made via email to localhistory@towerhamlets.gov.uk. Online Accessibility The Tower Hamlets Library and Archive catalogue can be found online and the archive also holds several digital collections. These include: the Princelet Street Synagogue, Spitalfields, Marriage Register, dating from 1897 to 1907 a digital gallery containing some of the archives’ 36,000 images reflecting life in Tower Hamlets over the centuries which can be searched based on key words, dates, locations and subject oral history projects like Mapping the Change: Old Ford Voices & Island Memories about the area of Bow known as Old Ford, including the Island (now known as Fish Island), located in the north-eastern corner of Tower Hamlets. Street Address 277 Bancroft RoadTower HamletsLondon E1 4DQ https://www.ideastore.co.uk/local-history
Family History | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online Memory Map of the Jewish East End The Memory Map of the Jewish East End is a digital mapping project hosted by University College London and accessible to the public online. Archive Description The Memory Map is a new digital resource designed to capture and preserve the history of Jewish East London and to bring the stories and memories of this vanishing landscape to new audiences. The project is a collaboration between the artist and writer Rachel Lichtenstein and three Bartlett research units: the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, the Space Syntax Laboratory, and the Survey of London. Lichtenstein, through books including Rodinsky’s Room (1999), On Brick Lane (2008), and Diamond Street (2013), has been chronicling the history of the London Jewish community for much of her career. Bartlett researchers, across projects including Survey of London Whitechapel and Space and Exclusion, are at the forefront of using digital tools to document and analyse the history of space, place and culture. This project represents a synthesis of the Bartlett’s digitally-driven methodologies and Lichtenstein’s psycho-geographic approach, and seeks to create a lasting document of both the history and memory traces of the Jewish East End. Digital Accessibility The project is available to be viewed online with no access requirements. https://jewisheastendmemorymap.org
Communal Records | Historical Documents | Local HistoryNot online Hull History Centre Opening of Hull Central Synagogue • Hull History Centre The Hull History Centre is a partnership between Hull City Council and the University of Hull. It is open to the public and contains the records of Hull’s Jewish community. Archive Description This collection houses the papers of Hull’s Jewish community between 1767 and 2012. It includes records from 1860-2011 relating to various Hull-based Jewish organisations responsible for regulating and overseeing the lives and wellbeing of the community’s members as well as records from 1852-2010 relating to the administration and activities of individual Congregations and Synagogues in Hull. It also has additional printed material about the Hull Jewish Community including biographical works relating to some members of the community. Access Information Hull History Centre is open to the public Tuesdays-Thursdays 9.30am – 4.30pm and on the first and third Saturday of each month 9.30am – 12.30pm. You can find opening times here. Users will need to bring photographic identification and proof of address. No appointment is necessary but it is advised that you contact the archive in advance. Enquiries can be made to hullhistorycentre@hcandl.co.uk. Digital Accessibility The archive has a digitised catalogue available for download on their website. Street Address Hull History CentreWorship StreetHullHU2 8BG http://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk York Commodity Bond Bond produced following the Statute of the Jewry (1275) • Hull History Centre Victor Weisz’s Lamp Garden Cartoon Letter from political cartoonist ‘Vicky’ to his wife • Hull History Centre
Communal Records | Cultural | Historical Documents | Jewish Life | Local HistoryPartially online University of Leeds Cultural Collections [Yiḥus avot]. [יחוס אבות]. [Illustrated account of the holy places in Palestine, written in Casale Monferrato]. Classmark: MS ROTH/220, University of Leeds Cultural Collections The University of Leeds Cultural Collections is housed in the Brotherton Library, Leeds, and is open to public access. It contains a number of historic Jewish collections. Archive Description One of the largest Jewish collections is the Cecil Roth Collection of around 360 manuscripts from 13th-20th century, collected by the British Jewish historian Cecil Roth. They contain a large number of early modern written texts including prayer books, marriage contracts, letters and deeds in Hebrew and other languages. These extraordinary records document the daily lives of Jews and their culture around the world. Other collections include: The Esther Simpson correspondence and papers includes her personal papers, photographs, press-cuttings and correspondence. Papers relating to the Leeds Academic Assistance Committee founded in 1933 to support academic refugees from Germany. The Papers of Janina and Zygmunt Bauman contains material relating to Jewish organisations including Yad Vashem and the Leeds based Holocaust Survivors Friendship Association. Czech Torah Scroll no.68 is from Brno, the Czech Republic and dates from 1890. It’s on loan from the Memorial Scrolls Trust and contains the Pentateuch. The Marilyn Fetcher Collection contains Shifra papers, correspondence and photographs. The Porton Collection of printed material dates from 1553-1980. It covers all aspects of the religion and culture of the Jewish people and includes works in Hebrew, Yiddish and English. The foundation of the collection is the library of Rabbi Moses Abrahams to which was added part of Joseph Porton’s library, a Leeds printer and stationer. The Travers Herford Collection is a small collection of books published 1935-1948 on Jewish history acquired by Robert Travers Herford, a rabbinical scholar. Access Information The collections are open to the public, although some items have special handling requirements. External visitors are required to register with the Library and on their first visit will need to provide photographic identification with confirmation of signature and present address. The collection also requires advance notification of at least two days. Notifications and questions can be sent to the Library through an online form. Online Accessibility Part of the Cecil Roth Collection has been digitised and is available on their website. The Cultural Collections catalogue is also available online. Street Address Cultural CollectionsBrotherton LibraryUniversity of LeedsWoodhouse LaneLeeds, LS2 9JT https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1500/special_collections ‘Shifra’: A Voice for Jewish Feminists Jewish Feminist Magazine ‘Shifra’ • University of Leeds Cultural Collections
Family History | Immigration | Local HistoryOnly online Remembering the Jews of WW2 Remembering the Jews of WW2 is a publicly-accessible online archive about Jewish personnel who served in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War. Archive Description The archive was launched in February 2020 to commemorate Jewish personnel who died serving for Britain in the Royal Air Force, Navy, Merchant Navy and Army in the Second World War. The archive is a repository of their personal stories. It includes photos, documents, letters and other memorabilia. Discover family origins, schooling, careers and other information provided by living relatives. In many cases no information can be found, and the archive is looking for help to record their details. There are over 3000 names on the website with more stories being added almost daily. The archive is searching for the relatives of those who died to provide information so that they will be remembered. The database for the archive was initially created using Henry Morris’s book We Will Remember Them, a record of the Jews who died in the Armed Forces 1939-1945. Additionally, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has provided details of those with a Star of David on their headstones. Genealogy has played a major part in researching and recording details of the personnel with over 800 family trees created. The RAF personnel served across the world in many commands including Fighter, Transport, Bomber, Coastal, Far East, Ferry and the Middle East, and included are those who served in the many roles supporting the RAF: ground crew, WAAFs, support crew and aircrew. They are buried or commemorated around the world including Canada, India, Sicily, Malta, Egypt, and the United Kingdom. Their deaths include those who died through enemy action, accidents, bombing raids, illness and in prisoner of war camps. Online Accessibility The archive can be found on Remembering the Jews of WW2, and enquiries can be sent to: info@rememberingthejewsofww2.com. Home
Communal Records | Jewish Life | Local History | ReligionPartially online Queen’s University Belfast, Special Collections & Archives Special Collections & Archives at the McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast, has been developing collections on Jewish history in Ireland, with a particular focus on Northern Ireland.. Archive Description At Special Collections, our Irish Jewish heritage collections comprise manuscript collections, book collections and digitised material, such as historic journals and an oral history collection. Reaching back to 1897, the Belfast Hebrew Congregation archive (MS 61) covers nearly a century’s worth of minutes and records. The Ross-Rosenzweig Collection was a 1957 bequest by John Ross (formerly Rabbi Jacob Rosenzweig) of his collection of monographs, periodicals and facsimiles relating to a variety of Hebrew and Jewish subjects and studies. It was believed at the time to be the most complete collection of books about the Dead Sea Scrolls in Northern Ireland. The Rosenfield Collection comprises articles, scripts and other miscellaneous material belonging to Judith and Rachel Rosenfield – two Jewish Belfast sisters who were journalists, writers and critics of art, drama and literature. We have published two Jewish Irish journals online. The Jewish Gazette (Jan – Dec 1933 and Feb 1934), and Belfast Jewish Record (1954 – 2019), are incredible resources for anyone interested in the Jewish community in Northern Ireland during the 20th century and onwards. They provide content as wide-ranging as spiritual guidance, political concerns, Rosh Hashanah recipes, children’s interest, theological discussions, and a variety of fundraising and social events. The Jewish Oral History Archive was a project undertaken by Dr David Warm during the 1990s and early 2000s. The interviewees were a range of Jews who were living or had lived in Northern Ireland. Many were refugees who had arrived on the Kindertransport. These interviews have been digitally preserved and can be accessed on campus. We also have a wide range of modern books on the Irish Jewish community in our Hibernica Collection. Access Information The archive is open to members of the public. Non-digital collections and the oral histories are available for reference only under supervised access in the Special Collections Reading Room at The McClay Library. An appointment must be made with specialcollections@qub.ac.uk to request access with at least one working day’s notice. The archive can be visited Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm. New users are required to provide photographic identification and proof of access. Digital Accessibility The archive holds digitised copies of the Jewish Gazette and the Belfast Jewish Record which are available to browse online for free. Street Address Special CollectionsQueen’s University BelfastUniversity Road, BelfastBT7 1NNNorthern Ireland Jewish Heritage in Northern Ireland
Family History | Immigration | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online Tales of Jewish Sudan Tales of Jewish Sudan is an online archive of oral history interviews and photographs relating to Jews who lived in Sudan, and who now live all over the world. Many live in Israel and the United States of America, but a small community still live in Britain. Archive Description The Tales of Jewish Sudan archive consists of over 65 interviews and over 300 photographs. It covers daily life in the cities Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman, and the towns of Wad Medani and Port Sudan. The Jewish community of Sudan was formally established in 1901, although Jews were living in the country before this. At its peak the community numbered 250-300 families. The last members of the Jewish community left Sudan in the early 1970s. Tales of Jewish Sudan is a part of the private research conducted by Daisy Abboudi on this small but vibrant Jewish community. Online Accessibility The archive is available online, and enqiries about the contents can be made on their website. https://www.talesofjewishsudan.com
Communal Records | Jewish Life | Local HistoryPartially online Brady Photographic Archive Dymchurch Camp, 1949 (A0003B) • Brady Photographic Archive The Brady Photographic Archive is an online photography, memorabilia, and oral histories archive documenting the history of the Brady Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs. Archive Description The Archive constitutes a collection of hundreds of photographs taken between the 1930s and the late 1970s at the Brady Boys’ Club in Durward Street E1 (est. 1896), and Brady Girls’ Club in Hanbury Street E1 (est. 1925) in London’s East End. In 1960 the Brady boys joined the girls in Hanbury Street. This archive of photographs, memorabilia and oral histories is based on a cache of several hundred photographs that had been ‘lost’ for many years. The initial collection of photographs had been rescued by journalist and former editor of the Sunday Times Hannah Charlton (who had an interest in youth culture) when the Museum of Labour History in Limehouse closed. They were stored in an attic awaiting the right project but subsequently forgotten for nearly 40 years until Hannah rediscovered them in 2016, when they found their way back to the East End and to Susan Andrews, Reader in Photography at the Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design at London Metropolitan University. In 2017, in order to discover more about the history of the photographs, an exhibition entitled, ‘Nostalgia is Not Enough’, was organised at the former Art School building opposite the Whitechapel Gallery, during which a group of old Bradians visited. Consequently, a committee was established to identify the photographs and re-establish connections with former Brady Club members. Since then, the committee has worked to produce further exhibitions examining the histories of the Brady Boys’ Club, the Brady Girls’ Club, and the legacy of the Clubs. The Brady Photographic Archive website contains a greatly expanded selection from the cache of ‘lost’ photos that forms the basis of the collection, held at the Bishopsgate Institute in London, where the physical collection can be viewed by the public. The online collection continues to evolve as former Brady members contribute photographs, their personal histories, and memorabilia from their personal collections. Further items of Brady Clubs’ photographs, memorabilia, and particularly magazines and architects’ plans, can be found at Tower Hamlets Library and Archives. Online Accessibility The archive photographs can be found freely available on the Brady Archive website. A growing collection of edited oral histories that provide context to the Brady story and the lives of its members is available at the Brady Memory Map. You can stay up to date with the work of the Brady Photographic Archive on Instagram. Enquiries about the archive collection can be made on the website’s contact page. https://www.bradyarchive.co.uk Brady Social Dance Night at a Brady Club • Brady Photographic Archive Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives Commercial | Communal Records | Local HistoryPartially online Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives is a local government archive in East London. It holds the records of a large […] Bishopsgate Institute Library and Archive Commercial | Cultural | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online Bishopsgate Institute Library and Archive is a free, independent library and archive open to the public. Its collection contains material about London, […]
Immigration | Local History | Religion | SocialPartially online The London Archives The London Archives (formerly London Metropolitan Archives) is a public archive, housing a broad collection of social, religious, and local history records. Archive Description The London Archives holds one of the most important collections of Jewish archives in the UK. Its collections include archives of major national Jewish organisations as well as many schools, synagogues and charities working in London for the local Jewish population. Large institutions with a national remit such as the Office of the Chief Rabbi, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the London Beth Din are included among the collections, as are national and international welfare organisations including World Jewish Relief. The archive of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews Congregation are held at The London Archives and includes records created by the congregation in its original home of Bevis Marks in the City of London as well as its current base in Maida Vale, and Ashkenazi religious communities, including the orthodox United Synagogue and Federation of Synagogues, the Liberal Jewish Synagogue and several individual Reform and Independent congregations have their records here. Many documents from the Bevis Marks archives have been digitised by the The London Archives and placed online by the National Library of Israel. A Nação Hebraica is a project that, with the help of machine learning, aims to transcribe these documents and make them available online. The archive of the Jews Free School (now JFS) are also held at The London Archives, as are the Association of Jewish Teachers and the London School of Jewish Studies. Local charitable organisations range from the Jewish Memorial Council, the Jews Temporary Shelter and Nightingale (formerly the Home for Aged Jews) to the tiny Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor in Stepney, among many others. Access Information The London Archives is open to the public, Monday – Thursday, 10am to 4.30pm, with late opening on Wednesday until 7pm. You will need a History Card to access original archive documents. Registration requires photographic identification (i.e driver’s license, passport etc.) and you can register for a History Card online. Further information and contact details can be found on The London Archives website. Online Accessibility The London Archives catalogue is available online, along with digital collections including digitised documents, images, and exhibitions. Street Address The London Archives40 Northampton RoadClerkenwell EC1R 0HB https://www.thelondonarchives.org 29 Nov 2024 Collection Encounter: The London Archives Collection Encounter: The London Archives
Commercial | Family History | Immigration | Jewish Life | Local HistoryPartially online West Yorkshire Archive Service The West Yorkshire Archive Service is a local government archive in Yorkshire open to the public. It holds records about Jewish communal life in the area. Archive Description The West Yorkshire Archive Service collects and preserves historical records of all kinds dating from the twelfth century to the present day. The archive has five offices across West Yorkshire in Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and the West Yorkshire History Centre in Wakefield. The Leeds office holds records relating to the Jewish community including the papers of David Makofski, Chairman of the Council for German Jewry Refugee Committee. The Makofski trainee books contain the applications of Jewish trainees with photographs, their date of arrival and proposed employers. Many trainees went to work for the Burton Clothing Company whose archives they also hold. The Burton collection covers the history of the huge tailoring company set up by Montague Burton in 1903 which still exists today as part of the Arcadia Group. At the Wakefield office, within the Leeds City Police Collection, are a set of records called “Alien Files”. The term “alien” refers to anyone who moved to the area from abroad and these files provide a wealth of information about immigration to Britain during the 19th-20th century. Each file, many of which relate to Jewish immigrants, can include the individual’s background, their circumstances leading to their arrival in the UK and details about their families. Access Information The archives are open to the public, and can be accessed by appointment. The archive recommends booking two weeks in advance of visiting, and some collections may require the permission of the depositor prior to access. Opening times vary between the archive offices and can be found on their website. Access requests, and other questions should be emailed to the archive at archives@wyjs.org.uk Online Accessibility The archive has an online catalogue available and some of the Jewish collections have been digitised. Images from these collections can be found on the archive’s Instagram account, and the archive’s blog has published several articles relating to Jewish content in the collection. https://www.wyjs.org.uk/archive-service Montague Burton’s Sunroom Workers relax in Montague Burton’s sunroom, Leeds • West Yorkshire Archive Service 12 Oct 2020 Clothing to Corona: the Life and Legacy of Sir Montague Burton of Leeds A giant of industry, welfare and charity knighted by the Queen.
Cultural | Immigration | Jewish Life | Local History | SocialPartially online Manchester Jewish Museum Manchester Jewish Museum c. Philip Vile 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 – 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 Museum190 Cheetham Hill RoadManchesterM8 8LW https://www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com 3 Jun 2024 Collection Encounter: Manchester Jewish Museum Collection Encounter: Manchester Jewish Museum
Communal Records | Family History | Holocaust | Immigration | Jewish Life | Local HistoryPartially online Jewish History Association of Wales / Cymdeithas Hanes Iddewig Cymru A portrait of Rabbi Asher Grunis, born in Poland in 1877 who became the first communal Rav of Cardiff in 1921 until his death in 1937 • Jewish History Association of Wales The Jewish History Association of Wales/Cymdeithas Hanes Iddewig Cymru (previously the Jewish History Association of South Wales/Cymdeithas Hanes Iddewig De Cymru) has created a digital collection, hosted on the People’s Collection Wales platform. Its collection covers a wide range of topics documenting the cultural heritage of Jewish communities in South Wales. As of 2025, the charity has embarked upon collecting and documenting the stories of Jewish communities across the whole of Wales, building up a full picture of those who once made Wales their home. Archive Description The Jewish History Association of Wales/Cymdeithas Hanes Iddewig Cymru collection currently contains images, sound clips from oral histories, and presentations about the rich heritage of historic Jewish communities, majoritively in south Wales, but the collection is ever expanding. We celebrate the large, active Jewish communities found across Wales in the early part of the twentieth century and chart the slow but seemingly inevitable decline to where they find themselves today. The digital content comes from material JHAW/CHIC has discovered (and in some cases rescued from imminent destruction or disposal), material contributed by local synagogues and Jewish organisations, and material from individual members of the community. The scanned documents range from official minute books of congregations, minutes of Jewish social, youth and sports organisations, to newspaper clippings from the local press. They include correspondence about the creation and management of Jewish cemeteries and the lack of provision of kosher food for prisoners during the First World War. Sound clips from some of the 127 interviews with people from the last generation to live and work in these communities, share memories that would otherwise have been lost. Photographs of people and places long gone are now preserved for posterity. So far, JHAW/CHIC has uploaded over 3,973 files, which make up over 1,295 single and multipage items. They intend to continue to add to this collection in the belief that it will help illuminate the major contribution Jews have made to the south Wales area, and in time to the whole of Wales. The majority of original documents have been deposited with local Archives and Record Offices including Glamorgan Archives. Digital Accessibility The collection is available to the public with no access limitations, under a Creative Commons license. Additional information about the project and links to the archive on People’s Collection Wales can be found on the JHAW/CHIC website. https://www.jhasw.com