Cultural | Jewish Life | ReligionPartially online Jewish and Hebrew Collections at the John Rylands Library and Manchester University Library The Jewish and Hebrew Collections at the John Rylands Library and Manchester University Library are specialist collections held by Manchester University which cover a large variety of Jewish topics. Archive Description Manchester University holds a large and diverse collection of items relating to Jewish life. They include the Anglo-Israel Guardian archives and the papers of Moses Gaster, the Romanian-born Chief Rabbi of the British Sephardi Communities. Some 15,000 medieval fragments from the Cairo Genizah are available online. They include the “Butterfly” fragment in the handwriting of medieval philosopher and codifier Moses Maimonides. A contemporary artist, Jaqueline Nicholls, has created a specially commissioned artwork relating to this fragment. Many Hebrew-script manuscripts contain key texts of Jewish culture, such as the famous illuminated Rylands Haggadah, alongside everyday works in Hebrew and Aramaic, Yiddish, Judeo-Persian, Judeo-Italian, Crimean (Karaite) Tatar and Judeo-Arabic. Images of many of them are available online. Many other documents of record, ephemera and rare printed books, as well as ritual objects – the circumcision wimples that were used in Western European communities can be particularly poignant – relate to Jewish life in many diverse historical settings, including modern Britain. Examples of important, everyday or quirky items are included in public and online events showcasing “50 Jewish Objects” from the Northern UK and Dublin. As part of it, contemporary artists have been commissioned to create artwork engaging with specific objects, and further artwork will be added to this Festival of Jewish Art until 2022. The print holdings also include the “Jewish Enlightenment” Haskalah library, the library of rabbinic works collected by the Hungarian-born scholar Arthur Marmorstein and the Teltscher library works on Jewish history in German-speaking countries. Access Information The library is open to members of the general public, information on planning you visit is available here. If travelling from a distance, planning to consult rare or special material, or if there are any adjustments needed to facilitate the reader’s use of the reading room, it is advisable to contact the Library at least a week in advance of visiting. On the first visit need proof of address and photographic ID are required. University of Manchester members only require a University ID Card. Normal reading room opening hours are Monday-Saturday, 10am – 5pm (until 7pm on Thursdays). The Reader Service is closed on public holidays.The Library can be contacted by email at uml.special-collections@manchester.ac.uk or submit a contact form on their website. Digital Accessibility The library has a number of catalogues and resources online, and their digital images and metadata are freely available. Their publicly accessible digitised collections are available for re-use and adaptation under a Creative Commons Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). The library also holds special online collections such as their collection of digitised Hebrew manuscripts, and the Rylands Genizah Collection. Street Address The John Rylands Library150 DeansgateManchesterM3 3EH https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands
Cultural | Family History | Jewish Life | ReligionOnly online St Albans Masorti Synagogue (SAMS) heritage projects Photograph of Arriving and Belonging participant, David Zwaig's, grandparents before they emigrated to England ca1900 • St Albans Masorti, Arriving and Belonging St Albans Masorti Synagogue (SAMS) has collected stories from community members to create the following archives: SAMS Roots is a digital oral history collection of interviews with twelve members of the St Albans Jewish community. Mapping SAMS Roots is a digital mapping project which contains over 120 family documents and photographs plotted on to a virtual map. The Arriving and Belonging online exhibition contains stories chosen to illustrate universal themes and show how Jewish families arrived in St Albans and made it their home. Archive Description SAMS Roots is a digital oral history collection held by St Albans Masorti Synagogue (SAMS) and Hertfordshire University. SAMS Roots was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and contains twelve in-depth interviews with SAMS members conducted by the biographer Caroline Pearce. SAMS members speak about where they came from, and what brought them to SAMS. The full transcripts and interviews are housed online in the University of Hertfordshire’s Heritage Hub. Mapping SAMS Roots contains over 120 family documents, photographs and stories from SAMS members which have been mapped on to a virtual collection using Historypin. These present a rich picture of SAMS members’ roots. SAMS members continue to contribute family stories which are displayed together with a virtual map. The online exhibition Arriving and Belonging: Stories from the St Albans Jewish Community reveals personal stories of migration and heritage, examining universal themes of sanctuary, courage, compassion and starting a new life in Britain through testimonies, objects and family photographs. Digital Accessibility The archives are available digitally:SAMS RootsMapping SAMS RootsArriving and Belonging: Stories from the St Albans Jewish Community For our Mapping Toolkit to help collect stories from your own community, contact SAMS at info@e-sams.org. Our Story — St. Albans Masorti 7 Jan 2022 Arriving and Belonging Stories from the St Albans Jewish Community
Communal Records | Cultural | Jewish Life | ReligionPartially online Sandys Row Archive Sandys Row Archive is a digital archive held by the Bishopsgate Institute Archives. It contains the records of Sandys Row Synagogue and the Synagogue’s judaica collection. Archive Description Sandys Row Synagogue was founded in 1854 by Dutch immigrants from Amsterdam, in the heart of the former Jewish East End. It is now London’s oldest Ashkenazi Synagogue and the last functioning synagogue in Spitalfields. The Sandys Row Archive has been digitised as part of the Our Hidden Histories project which celebrates the unique story of this historic community. Users can explore the extensive Digital Archive on the website which includes: excerpts from the oral history collection, searchable and downloadable marriage records, minute books, seat registers and more, along with photographs of its collection of Judaica. Access Information The physical material the archive is created from can be found in the Bishopsgate Institute Archives. Online Accessibility The archive is available online at the project’s web page. HOME
Cultural | Religion | SocialOnly online Jewish Museum London A banner of the London Jewish Bakers Union, front and reverse sides, 1984.126 • Jewish Museum London The Jewish Museum London is a public museum, with an archive collection of historic Jewish cultural, social and religious items. Archive Description The museum’s archive holds photographs, oral histories and paper ephemera which contain memoirs, personal letters and documents as well as minute books of Jewish charities and ledgers of businesses. Among the highlights are photographs of the Jews’ Free School in the early 20th century, a medieval charter forbidding the lease of land to Jews and a circumcision and marriage register going back to the late 1700s. The Museum’s own institutional archive gives an insight into the Museum’s history since its beginnings in Bloomsbury in 1932. Access Information The archive is not open to the public, and special access must be requested from the Museum’s curation team by email: curation@jewishmuseum.org.uk. Online Accessibility The museum’s collection catalogue is available online along with online exhibitions showcasing items from the museum’s wider holdings. https://jewishmuseum.org.uk/ London Jewish Bakers Union banner London Jewish Bakers Union banner • The Jewish Museum, London Yiddish Typewriter Yiddish Typewriter belonging to the playwright Abish Meisels Sukkot in the Jewish Orphanage, Norwood Children from the Jewish Orphanage, Norwood, celebrate Sukkot • Jewish Museum London
Commercial | Communal Records | Family History | Local History | ReligionNot online Merseyside Jewish Community Archive at Liverpool Record Office The Merseyside Jewish Community Archive, collected by the Merseyside Jewish Representative Council, is housed at Liverpool Record Office in Liverpool Central Library. Archive Description Liverpool Record Office holds the archives of the Merseyside Jewish Community from the mid 18th century to the present day. The records are of tremendous significance as the Liverpool community is considered to be the first organised Jewish community in the north of England, and until the mid-19th century it was the largest Jewish community outside of London. Liverpool’s Jewish community established their first synagogue around 1745 and there has been a continuous Jewish presence in the city since then. The archive holdings reflect the vibrancy and activity of the community which has contributed to Merseyside life and national and international organisations. The Jewish archive is also one of the largest community collected archives held in the Liverpool Record Office. In 2025, it was the 50-year anniversary of when the community first started depositing documents to the Central Library in 1975. One of the most extensive collections in the Merseyside Jewish Community Archives is the records of the Old Hebrew Congregation. The earliest archive of a Jewish organisation in Liverpool is found in this collection, namely the ‘Register Book of the Jews in Liverpool’ which records births, deaths and marriages from 1804 to 1816. The register also includes retrospective information on members of the community from as early as 1722. The 1789 indenture also provides the full history of the development of the Upper Frederick Street synagogue and burial ground. The records of the Old Hebrew Congregation capture the development of the community from the 18th century and give an insight into the life of many of the early members of the Liverpool Jewish Community. In 2024-2025 a funded joint project of Merseyside Jewish Representative Council and Liverpool City Council’s Libraries Service took place to sort, catalogue, preserve, and make available to the public additional material that has accumulated in the community over the last 20 years. The collection now celebrates 280 years of the history of the Liverpool community. The goals of the MJRC as regards their archive are to act as a facilitator between the community and the local authority and to represent civic, cultural and religious Jewish communities in Merseyside. The archive now consists of around 200 collections, mostly representing an organisation: a synagogue, welfare, professional, philanthropic, social, cultural, or political group. Access Information The Archive is open to the public and can be accessed through the public search room in Liverpool Central Library. Opening times are available on their website. Readers will need to be a member of Liverpool Libraries and can join on the day with proof of address. We require at least two days’ notice for access to the collections. Requests for access and information can be made to: archives@liverpool.gov.uk. Online Accessibility The archive catalogue is available online. Street Address Liverpool Central LibraryWilliam Brown Street,Liverpool,L3 8EW Jewish archives – Liverpool City Council Liverpool Wedding Photo The Clumpus, Finestone & Bennet families • Merseyside Jewish Community Archive Galkoff’s Kosher Butcher Original Family Butcher’s Shopfront • Liverpool Museum 9 Aug 2024 Collection Encounter: Liverpool Record Office Collection Encounter: Liverpool Record Office
Cultural | Historical Documents | Middle Eastern Jewry | Religion | SocialOnline Cairo Genizah Collection The Cairo Genizah Collection is a publicly accessible research collection housed in the Cambridge University Library. Its collection of manuscripts contains information on Jewish history, religion, and culture. Archive Description The Cairo Genizah Collection is an enormous collection of medieval and early modern Jewish manuscripts, formed principally from the Taylor-Schechter Collection of more than 193,000 fragments removed from the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat, Old Cairo, by the Cambridge scholar Solomon Schechter in 1896–7. Further fragments have been added from the Lewis-Gibson Collection (jointly owned with the University of Oxford) and the Jacques Mosseri Genizah Collection, currently on loan in Cambridge. The material has been cleaned, conserved, and digitised. It is accessible both online and for consultation and viewing in person. The collection contains a broad array of texts, encompassing all genres of literature, from sacred to profane, as well as a remarkable documentary archive of letters, legal deeds and other writings of everyday life, allowing us to reconstruct in great detail the literary, economic and social history of the Jews of Egypt over centuries. Particular treasures include not only the earliest known copies of many Jewish sacred texts, but also the autograph writings of major medieval figures such as Moses Maimonides and Judah ha-Levi. Access Information The collection can be accessed for research purposes in the Manuscripts Reading Room by holders of a University Library reader’s card. More information about the University Library readers card can be found on the Cambridge University Library website, as can University Library opening hours. Members of the general public can view the collection as part of a pre-booked visit, hosted by a member of the Genizah Research Unit. These visits can be arranged Monday-Friday during office hours (9.30–5.30) and Saturdays and Bank Holiday access is also sometimes possible. These visits should be scheduled at least two weeks in advance, and the collection can be contacted at: genizah@lib.cam.ac.uk. More information on access requirements can be found on the collection’s website. Online Accessibility The Cairo Genizah collection is almost completely digitised, and can be accessed online via The Friedberg Jewish Manuscript Society web portal following a free registration. Digital catalogues of the material can be found on the Cambridge University Library website in two collections: The Genizah Collection and the Lewis-Gibson Collection Street Address Cambridge University LibraryWest RoadCambridgeCB3 9DR https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/taylor-schechter-genizah-research-unit
Religion | SocialPartially online UCL Special Collections UCL Special Collections is part of the University College London Library system, based in London. Its collection contains religious and communal records along with personal archives. Archive Description UCL Library Special Collections is one of the foremost university collections of manuscripts, archives and rare books in the UK. Jewish material forms a significant part of these collections. The Jewish archival material relates mostly to Anglo-Jewry from the 19th to 20th centuries. Its largest component (around 170,000 items) is the personal archive of the Chief Rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese community in England from 1887 to 1918, Moses Gaster. This covers almost every aspect of Jewish life and community affairs in England during the Victorian and Edwardian periods, from the personal to the political. Access Information UCL Library Special Collections is open to the public but appointments must be made at least two weeks in advance. Extensive information for visitors can be found on their website. The Special Collections Reading Room is open Monday-Thursday 10am-4pm, and appointments can be made by emailing spec.coll@ucl.ac.uk. Online Accessibility UCL Libraries have a large collection of digitised material which can be accessed here. UCL Special Collections can be searched using the wider UCL Library Catalogue, available here. Street Address University College London,Gower Street,London,WC1E 6BT https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/special-collections
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