• Introduction
• History
• Key Dates
• Disability and Access

• Touring the area
• Places of interest
• Post a comment

A tour of Jewish Stroud is probably best combined with a visit to nearby Cheltenham to which it is historically linked. Stroud itself still preserves much of its picturesque if gritty mill-town atmosphere as well as many of its older buildings. The industrial past of the town is recounted in the local museum. The main Jewish site in the town is the former synagogue in Lansdowne Road, now a private residence and business. This is off the Slad Road, which can be reached by the A46 at its west end. Otherwise a tour of the Lansdowne district - the Jewish area of the town - is worthwhile and where some of the old Jewish domestic and business addresses can be seen, mostly in the near vicinity of Slad Road and Lansdown Road. Also the sites of the former mills which employed the local Jews can be visited. Most of the sites are private and can only be seen from the street.

Bradford is well worth a special visit to enjoy both the remnants of its Victorian civic grandeur and its significant Jewish heritage. While Bradford is not an obvious tourist destination, the city has great character and the city centre is filled with superb stone buildings from its hey-day as a wool capital. There is much Jewish interest within walking distance and close to the city centre, though 'Little Germany' is the high-light, with its great number of listed ware-house buildings, many of which were Jewish built and owned. Further out from the centre, the Reform Synagogue, which remains in use, is a jewel of Moorish architecture and decoration. The Reform cemetery at the municipal cemetery has some exceptional funereal monuments to the great and good of the community. The central sites can be walked around, though transport may be needed to visit some of the other sites. It is best to start ones tour from Hall Ings, in the Centre of Bradford, where a convenient car park can be found for those arriving by car.

Cheltenham remains an elegant and attractive town which continues to draw visitors from around the world for its fine buildings and ambiance. Most of the sites of Jewish interest lie around the centre of the town. The synagogue is of exception interest due to the acknowledged beauty and historical interest of its interior and should be visited. The cemetery is also worth visiting, it is very neatly kept and the old section of the cemetery is picturesque as well as having real historical interest. As in many cases the cemetery gives the most tangible impression of the community and its personalities through time. Other than visiting the site of the first synagogue and the site of Corinth House, a walk through the streets of the centre and the immediate suburbs, with the list of historical Jewish street addresses in mind, is worth conducting. However it is worth bearing in mind that the townscape of Cheltenham is much changed considerably in modern times; more than one would imagine - therefore locating individual house addresses is not straight forward and is potentially frustrating. Also many addresses given as so and so "Terrace" are not always separate streets but sections of main streets of the same name - usually distinct rows of houses built by the same developer.

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Hoop Lane Trails - Provided by Leo Baeck College

Lincoln is a Jewish heritage destination of the first importance and should be visited; it has perhaps the greatest number of surviving medieval Jewish heritage-sites in the country, quite apart from its numerous other attractions.

There still exist three medieval houses on Steep Hill and the Strait, which belonged to, or are linked to, Lincoln Jews and the Lincoln Jewry. In terms of monuments to anti-Semitism, the remains of the Shrine to Little Hugh, in the Cathedral, is exceptionally significant as one of the most tangible relics in the whole country at which the cult of Christian boy martyrs and the terrible reality of the medieval Blood Libels can be appreciated. There are also a number of other features of the Cathedral of exceptional Jewish interest, including the tomb of St Hugh of Avalon, a patron and saviour of English Jews, as well as many direct references to Jewish legends and traditions in the art and iconography of the Cathedral. The Jewish trail through the Cathedral is a reminder that it is easy to over-simplify the historical relations between Christians and Jews, seeing them strictly in terms of prejudice and anti-Semitism, when there were also positive and creative aspects of the relationship.

It is recommended to start the tour of the sites at the Cathedral, which may have been rebuilt in part with funds provided by Aaron of Lincoln, and then to work down the hill to the three surviving houses on Steep Hill and the Strait which have Jewish links, with an excursion to see medieval Jewish artifacts in the museum at 'The Collection'. At the bottom of the Strait, the site of the second synagogue can be visited, opposite Grantham Street. In Grantham Street itself is a medieval Jewish site now the Cardinal's Hat along with the sites of other Jewish houses, on the western side of the street.

All these sites are within a few minutes walk of the Cathedral. But, be warned - Steep Hill lives up to its name and the Strait is on a steep slope too.

Touring Jewish Richmond From the point of view of a Jewish Heritage tour, Richmond is in many ways ideal. It is a beautiful town of great historical character, with many fine buildings, whose Jewish sites are in most cases still surviving and very well preserved. While Richmond is well worth visiting in its own right it is fortunate that its finest areas and buildings largely coincide ones of those of considerable Jewish interest. The best place to start a Jewish tour of Richmond is from Richmond Green. From there a nearly circular walk can be taken passing along the green, through the site of the old palace, down to the river side and along the river to Richmond Bridge and modern day Heron Square and its near vicinity. Those with more energy (or transport) can then go up Richmond Hill towards the Royal Park ending at the Terrace, where there are exceptional views of the Thames and the area. The better part of the day could be spent in Richmond, though those with less time could complete the first part of the walk in about an hour and a half or two hours. For those with more time and transport, there are many other locations in the south west and south of London, with significant and interesting Jewish associations, in Isleworth, Barnes, Morden, Mitcham, Roehampton, Wandsworth, Tooting, Norwood and Sydenham Hill. The places in these locations mentioned in this trail are not in the least exhaustive of possible Jewish heritage much of which still awaits further research.

Touring the Jewish sites of the city The City of London almost certainly has more history and heritage in its square mile than any other comparable place in the United Kingdom. As the main place of settlement for Jews through the last thousand years, it also has an exceptional range of sites and buildings associated with the whole span of Anglo-Jewish history. Most of the main sites of the medieval Jewry can be readily trace and the physical outline of the community can be easily detected in the streets adjoining the Guildhall. Further east the era of the resettlement of the Jews can be rehearsed, as the sites of the earliest synagogues can all be found, amongst the streets that were formerly largely a Jewish terrain. At the heart of this area, the "jewel in the crown" of Anglo-Jewish heritage, Bevis Marks synagogue, can be readily visited. As befits its long Jewish history, a variety of other sites of special Jewish significance can visited amongst the famous landmarks of the modern city. These sites can all be visited on foot and could be completed in a very full morning. It is recommended to start at the Museum of London, close to the site of the medieval cemetery and to work your way eastwards, through the medieval Jewry and then across to the area around Dukes Place and Bevis Marks. Those with less time or inclination to walk may find it better to use transport between Poultry and Bevis Marks. It may be noted that using your own car around the city is not to be recommended!