Canterbury and District Jewish Community

Canterbury, Kent

Previous updat3 9 August 2009
Latest revision or update: 24 December 2011

The City of Canterbury

The historic cathedral city of Canterbury is in the local government district of the City of Canterbury in the county of Kent in southeast England. The district was formed in 1974 by the merger of the city of Canterbury (then a county borough) with adjoining areas. Canterbury city has a population of about 47,000, whereas the district, covering a much wider area, has a population of some 140,000.

The Jewish Community

There was an important medieval Jewish Community in Canterbury. The modern Jewish community is probably the second oldest community in Britain congregation (after London), Jews having settled there in larger numbers following resettlement in England in the seventeenth century. Since the resettlement, there was only ever one congregation at any one time in Canterbury, now known as the Canterbury & District Jewish Community (previously known as Canterbury Synagogue). The present community also includes members from the Hythe and Whitstable area.

Congregation Data

Name:	Canterbury and District Jewish Community
Former Name:	Canterbury Synagogue
Synagogue Address:	Old Synagogue, King Street, Canterbury, from 1847, when first stone laid by Sir Moses Montefiore. Although the synagogue was sold in until 1947, it is still used from time to time by the community.
Previous Synagogue:	St. Dunstan's, Canterbury, from about 1762 until 1846, when demolished to make way for a railway track.
Date Founded:	About 1762
Current Status:	Active, but the synagogue closed.
Marriage Certification:	Registration District: Canterbury
Membership Data:	1896 - 4 seatholders (Jewish Year Book 1896/97)

Articles on the Canterbury Community

Canterbury from "Provincial Jewry in Victorian Britain" - Papers for a conference at University College, London, convened by the Jewish Historical Society of Great Britain, prepared by Aubrey Newman - 6th July 1975. Reproduced here with his kind consent.

The Rise of Provincial Jewry - Canterbury by Cecil Roth, 1950. Available on JCR-UK as part of the Susser Archive.

Jewish Population Data

1680
1762
1846
1896
1905
2004

- Possibly earliest Jewish settlement
- Earliest Jewish congregation and acquisition of cemetery
- about 14 members
- 12 Jewish residents (The Jewish Year Book 1896/97)
- 3 Jewish families (The Jewish Year Book 1906)
- 210 (The Jewish Year Book 2005)

Other Information

Medieval Canterbury Community

Explanation of Terms Used

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