History of the Jews in North East England facts for kids

The Jewish presence in north east England is centered around several important towns. Jewish people have lived in this area for a long time, creating communities and building places of worship and learning.

Gateshead's Jewish Community

Gateshead is home to a large community of Haredi Jews. This group is well-known for its excellent schools and colleges. Students from all over the world come to Gateshead to attend its yeshivas (schools for advanced Jewish studies) and kollels (colleges for married men to continue their Jewish studies). Young Jewish women also come to study at the Teacher Training College and Beis Chaya Rochel.

This community is mostly found in the Bensham area and includes hundreds of families. It started in the late 1800s when Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe, like Eliezer Adler and Zachariah Bernstone, moved from Newcastle upon Tyne. They felt the Newcastle community was not strict enough in its religious practices, so they crossed the river to start a new synagogue in Gateshead.

After the Holocaust (a terrible time when many Jewish people were persecuted), Gateshead became a very important center for Orthodox Jewish education in Europe. It was the biggest outside of the United States and Israel. This happened partly because many Orthodox Jewish refugees came to Gateshead, escaping the Nazis in Europe. Because of this, Gateshead became a key place for studying Torah Judaism.

In 1941, a man named Reb Dovid Dryan had a big idea to start a "Kolel" (a place for advanced Jewish study) in Gateshead. He invited many important rabbis to help make this dream a reality.

The Gateshead Talmudical College is a very important and famous Haredi yeshiva in Gateshead. It attracts students from all over the world. Gateshead is currently the only Jewish community in the North East that is growing, and it is also the largest.

Jewish Schools in Gateshead

Here are some of the important Jewish schools in Gateshead:

• Beer Hatorah
• Tiferes Ya'akov
• Gateshead Yeshiva
• Sunderland Yeshiva

Jewish Colleges for Girls in Gateshead

Here are some colleges for young Jewish women:

• Beis Chaya Rochel
• Jewish Teachers Training College - often called 'The Old Sem'

You can see pictures of Jewish buildings in Gateshead online.

Newcastle's Jewish History

There aren't many old records of Jewish people living in Newcastle before 1830. However, some stories say the community started as early as 1775. It's also believed that over 500 years before that, Jewish people lived on a street called Silver Street (which used to be known as Jew Gate).

In 1830, the community got a cemetery, and by 1831, there were about 100 Jewish people. On October 8, 1832, the community officially formed. When their first synagogue opened in Temple Street on July 13, 1838, the cathedral bells were rung! The local newspaper, the Newcastle Courant, even published a headline in Hebrew.

By 1845, the community had grown to 33 adults and 33 children. Many of the first members eventually moved away or passed away. But many new immigrants from Poland and Russia arrived, replacing those who left and helping the community grow even more.

A grand stone building, the Leazes Park Synagogue, was built in Leazes Park Road in 1880. The Chief Rabbi officially opened it. At that time, there were about 750 Jewish people in Newcastle. This synagogue was used until 1978.

Sir Israel Brodie, who was the first Chief Rabbi to be given the title of 'Sir', was born in Newcastle in 1895.

Many more synagogues were built in Newcastle during the 20th century, including Corporation Street Synagogue (1904–1924), Jesmond Synagogue (1914–1986), Ravensworth Terrace Synagogue (1925–1969), and Gosforth and Kenton Hebrew Congregation (1947–1984).

As people moved away from the West End of Newcastle, the Jesmond synagogue was opened in 1914. The Leazes Park Road Synagogue remained in the city center. A third synagogue was built in Gosforth, called the Gosforth and Kenton Hebrew Congregation. Eventually, it became too expensive to run three Orthodox synagogues as the Jewish population in other parts of the city declined. So, a new community center and synagogue were built in Gosforth at Culzean Park, where most Jewish families now lived. A new Reform movement synagogue was also built nearby in 1986 and is still active today.

In March 2021, the Culzean Park Synagogue, which was built to hold 300 people, had only about 50 members left. Because of this, the building was sold. The synagogue has now moved to the Lionel Jacobson House - Community Centre, located down the road at 20 Graham Park Road.

Sunderland's Jewish Community

The first Jewish people settled in Sunderland in 1755, and the first Jewish community was formed around 1768. The Sunderland community was the first outside of London to have a representative on the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which is an important group that speaks for Jewish people in Britain. Rabbi Shmaryahu Yitzchak Bloch was a religious leader in Sunderland in the early 1900s.

In 2001, only 114 people of Jewish faith were recorded living in Sunderland, which is a very small number. Before 1750, there wasn't a Jewish community, but then Jewish merchants from across the UK and Europe started to settle there. The Sunderland Synagogue on Ryhope Road, which opened in 1928, closed in March 2006.

The Sunderland Beth Hamedrash (a house of study) was started in Villiers St around 1890, and that building is still standing. In 1930, it moved to a new building on Mowbray Road. It closed in 1984, and that building is no longer there.

The Sunderland Talmudical College, a Haredi yeshiva (Jewish school), was founded in Sunderland in 1945 but moved to Gateshead in 1990.

The North-East Joel Intract Memorial Home for Aged Jews was opened in Sunderland in 1963 and closed in 1998.

The Jewish community in Sunderland has become very small in recent years.

Hartlepool's Jewish Community

The Jewish community in Hartlepool saw a big decline in the 20th century. The only known synagogue in the years before 2000 was led by Rabbi Robinson. This synagogue closed around 2003.

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