TIMELINE
Important moments in
British
St Albans
and
Jewish history
1066 NORMAN INVASION
William the Conqueror invites Jews to England from Rouen in France.
1066 NORMAN INVASION
1190
YORK MASSACRE
York’s Jewish community is trapped by an angry mob inside the Clifford Tower of York Castle. Many choose to commit suicide rather than be murdered or forcibly baptised.
1190 YORK MASSACRE
1186
AARON OF LINCOLN &
ST ALBANS ABBEY
Death of Aaron of Lincoln, an English Jewish financier, dies in 1186. He had lent money for the building of St Albans Abbey. Jews were only allowed to work in certain occupations at that time, including as moneylenders.
1186
AARON OF LINCOLN &
ST ALBANS ABBEY
1290
EXPULSION FROM ENGLAND
Edward I expels the entire Jewish population of England – around
3,000 people.
1290
EXPULSION FROM ENGLAND
1656
JEWS WELCOME UNDER CROMWELL
Jewish residents of London begin living openly as Jews, under the rule of Oliver Cromwell.
1656
JEWS WELCOME UNDER CROMWELL
ROOTS GO BACK TO THE 18th CENTURY
St Albans community member, Judy Davis, can trace her family back eight generations to Sarah Lyon (1703-1807), who died aged 104. She was one of the earliest Jewish settlers to England during this period. This engraving is based on a painting by Constable.
ROOTS GO BACK TO THE 18th CENTURY
1701
BEVIS MARKS SYNAGOGUE OPENS
Bevis Marks Synagogue
opens in London.
Today it is the oldest continually used
synagogue in Britain.
1701
BEVIS MARKS SYNAGOGUE
OPENS
LOCAL CONNECTION TO
BEVIS MARKS
SYNAGOGUE
St Albans community member, Darren Marks, is descended from Abraham Vas Martinez, a Sephardi Jew, and one of the first wardens at the synagogue. Many of the Jews settling back in England were Sephardi, originating from Spain and Portugal. Darren restored some of the furniture in the Synagogue.
LOCAL CONNECTION TO
BEVIS MARKS
SYNAGOGUE
1900s
FIRST JEWISH FAMILIES ARRIVE IN ST ALBANS
Census records from 1901 and 1911 show the first Jewish families in St Albans. Many worked as tailors or machinists at Nicholson’s raincoat factory in Sutton Road, Fleetville (pictured here c1911), and lived in the nearby streets.
1900s
FIRST JEWISH FAMILIES ARRIVE IN ST ALBANS
1905
ALIENS ACT
The Aliens Act is passed – the first legal framework regulating migration, based on the notion of ‘desirable’ and ‘undesirable’ immigrants.
The Act is the result of rising nationalism based on disproportionate fear about newly arrived refugees, including Jews.
1905
ALIENS ACT
1914-18
FIRST WORLD WAR
50,000 Jews serve in the British Armed Forces during the First World War. Around 10,000 are killed on the battlefield.
1914-18
FIRST WORLD WAR
THE FIRST PRAYER MEETINGS
The few Jewish families in St Albans meet for synagogue services in family homes in and around Royston Road and Hedley Road.
THE FIRST PRAYER MEETINGS
1930s
RISE OF FASCISM
1936 - Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists attempt to march in East London. The Jewish community and its allies block them at the Battle of Cable Street in 1936.
1930s
RISE OF FASCISM
Following the Nazis’ rise to power in Germany, 90,000 Ashkenazi Jews from Germany and Eastern Europe emigrate to England fleeing Nazi persecution, including 10,000 unaccompanied children on the Kindertransport.
CONNECTION WITH THE BATTLE OF
CABLE STREET.
EAST LONDON
1936
Community member
Ruth Goldsmith’s
grandmother Cissy Miller,
on the right, at the
Battle of Cable Street.
BATTLE OF CABLE STREET, EAST LONDON 1936
1990
ST ALBANS MASORTI SYNAGOGUE
St Albans Masorti Synagogue (SAMS) is founded by three families.
After meeting in various venues, the community grows and SAMS acquires its own building in 2012.
1990 ST ALBANS MASORTI SYNAGOGUE
1960s
MORE JEWISH FAMILIES MOVE FROM LONDON
More Jewish families move out to St Albans from London and the provinces in the 1960s.
Beds/Herts Liberal Synagogue opens in St Albans in 1966, and later moves to Luton.
1960s MORE JEWISH FAMILIES
MOVE FROM LONDON
1951
INAUGURATION
OF THE PRESENT
UNITED SYNAGOGUE BUILDING
Sketch of St Albans United Synagogue by Rebbetzin Alli Sturgess, 2015
The first and only purpose-built synagogue still in use in Hertfordshire is inaugurated in Oswald Road, St Albans in 1951. Its building is consecrated with beautiful stained glass windows by artist and scholar, David Hillman.
1951 INAUGURATION OF THE PRESENT UNITED SYNAGOGUE BUILDING
Sketch of St Albans United Synagogue by Rebbetzin Alli Sturgess, 2015
1940s
ST ALBANS
UNITED SYNAGOGUE ESTABLISHED
The St Albans Hebrew Congregation establishes a synagogue in St Albans, inaugurating
54 Clarence Road which was purchased in 1942.
In 1948, the community becomes affiliated to the United (Orthodox) Synagogue.
1940s
ST ALBANS UNITED SYNAGOGUE ESTABLISHED
1930s
FIRST JEWISH FAMILIES MOVE FROM LONDON
A small number of Jewish families move to St Albans from London.
1930s
FIRST JEWISH FAMILIES
MOVE FROM LONDON
THE HOLOCAUST
AND
THE SECOND WORLD WAR (1939-45)
Six million Jews are murdered in the Holocaust.
THE HOLOCAUST
AND
THE SECOND WORLD WAR (1939-45)
TODAY-
A THRIVING, WELCOMING COMMUNITY
Blowing the shofar to mark Rosh Hashanah, St Albans Abbey, 2020
St Albans has a thriving and welcoming Jewish community which is embedded in the life of the city.
The shofar, or ram’s horn, is blown to mark
Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year from the bell tower of St Albans Abbey in September 2020. Socially distanced groups are able to hear the traditional sound, while unable to gather for festival services due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
TODAY - A THRIVING,
WELCOMING COMMUNITY
1880s
RUSSIAN POGROMS
Jews flee to England following persecution (‘pogroms’) in Russia and Eastern Europe.
1880s
RUSSIAN POGROMS
