Jewish merchants followed William the Conqueror to London in 1066, where they flourished. But by 1290 resentment of Jewish privileges led to them being expelled from England.
Portuguese Jewish merchants were permitted to return to live in London from the 1650s. The new arrivals built synagogues in east London. During the 18th century Jews played an active role in making the City of London an important financial centre.
Persecution in late 19th century Russia caused large numbers of Jews to migrate to the East End, but immigration was ended by the 1905 Aliens Act. World War II brought thousands fleeing Nazi Europe for London. Postwar, London’s Jewish community moved out of the East End to the more prosperous northern suburbs.
What outsiders could not see was the rich organisational life of the immigrants, the extensive network of institutions they created to meet their religious, cultural, social and political needs…The Jewish East End became for more than a few newcomers to London…a social and cultural ghetto they rarely left. Todd M. Endelman ‘The Jews of Britain 1656 to 2000’, 2002
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William the Conqueror encouraged the leading Jews of Rouen to settle in London from 1066. At that time the Church taught that Christians must not lend money at interest. The King gave Jews privileges to do so and benefited by taxing them heavily.
To practise most trades, men had to be members of organisations called guilds, but Jews were excluded from these.
The earliest Jewish community was established in 'the street of the Jews', now Old Jewry. The Jewish cemetery was outside Cripplegate on a site now partly covered by the Museum of London.
For a while the Jews flourished, but resentment of their privileges and the preaching of crusades against non-Christians eventually led to attacks.
Heavy taxation under Henry III led to considerable Jewish emigration. Finally, after further persecutions, Edward I expelled all Jews from England in 1290, and seized their possessions.
In 1656 Cromwell allowed Portuguese Jewish merchants to open a synagogue in Creechurch Lane, Aldgate. For the first time since 1290, Jews were allowed to worship openly in England.
By 1696 London was home to about 1000 Sephardi Jews from Spain and Portugal, countries which often forced Jews to convert to Catholicism. There were another 500 Ashkenazi Jews from Germany.
The elite of the 18th century Jewish community were merchants and brokers on the Royal Exchange. There were also Jewish diamond polishers, tobacco workers and many street traders, such as old clothes buyers and hawkers of stationery, medicines and oranges.
Jewish financiers introduced new techniques to the City. N.M. Rothschild and Sons brokered loans to foreign governments.
In 1831, Jews were admitted to the Freedom of the City of London, and could establish businesses there. One was Marcus Samuel's shell box factory, which later became the Shell Company. By 1837 there were around 3,000 Sephardi and 20,000 Ashkenazi Jews in London.
From 1881 to 1914, London's Jewish community was swelled by refugees fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe. This increased London's Jewish population from around 35,000 to 150,000.
Most of the newcomers settled in the East End, developing their own distinctive community. They worked as tailors, shoemakers, cabinet-makers, traders and cigarette makers. At its height the community was served by over a hundred synagogues.
To reduce the number of settlers, the Government introduced the Aliens Act of 1905. The outbreak of World War I brought immigration to a standstill.
In the 1930s the government was initially reluctant to admit a large influx of Jewish refugees from Nazism. In their search for safety, even those who were highly educated sought work as domestic servants in order to enter Britain. One famous refugee was psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, whose Hampstead house is now a museum.
Thousands of children were given asylum through the Kindertransport convoys, but many of their parents perished in concentration camps.
After World War II, as general prosperity increased, many Jews moved north from the East End to suburbs like Golders Green and Hendon.
‘Jewish’ can describe a person’s ethnic background, culture, religion, or a combination of some or all of these. There are over 149,000 Jews in London, over half the Jewish population of Britain.
North London areas like Hampstead, Golders Green and Stamford Hill are still where the majority of Jewish Londoners lives and where most synagogues are now located.
Over a third of British Jews has a degree and they are more likely than average to work in managerial or professional occupations. Jewish Londoners are the most likely of all groups to be self-employed.
The Jewish Museum in Camden tells the story of Jewish life, religion and culture in Britain, while the Ben Uri Gallery in Hampstead displays Jewish art. The London Jewish Cultural Centre, also in Hampstead, offers courses in subjects like Jewish culture, history and language and holds cultural and community events.
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