City of Glasgow

Glasgow, situated on the river Clyde, in Scotland's west central lowlands, is the largest city in Scotland. Although the City of Glasgow, a self-contained unitary local authority since 1996, has a population of about 630,000, there are approximately 2,100,000 people living in the Greater Glasgow area (which also includes East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, most of East Renfrewshire and part of South Lanarkshire).  From 1975 to 1996, the City of Glasgow and the other areas mentioned were districts of the now defunct Strathclyde Region. Prior to 1975, Glasgow was in the traditional county of Lanarkshire.

Glasgow Jewish Community

The first Jews came to Glasgow during the Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the 19th century - predominantly Dutch and German merchants, furriers and businessmen. The first recorded Jew in the city was Isaac Cohen - a hatter - who became burgess in 1812. The first synagogue was opened in the High Street in 1823. The first cemetery was opened in 1832. Harvey L. Kaplan

The Jewish Congregations

The following congregations are, or were, considered to be part of the Greater Glasgow Community

The Location of some Jewish-inhabited Neighbourhoods of Greater Glasgow

Clarkston  - a relatively affluent suburb of Greater Glasgow in East Renfrewshire, to the south of Glasgow.
Crosshill - - a district  of Glasgow, on the south side of the river Clyde. 
Garnethill - a residential district  in the centre of Glasgow, on the north side of the river Clyde.
Giffnock  - a relatively affluent suburb of Greater Glasgow in East Renfrewshire, to the south of Glasgow, with a large Jewish community.  
The Gorbals - a predominantly poor working-class district of Glasgow on the south bank of the river Clyde . The district at one stage housed the vast majority of the city's Jewish population.
Langside - a district  of Glasgow, on the south side of the river Clyde.
Netherlee  - a small relatively affluent suburb of Greater Glasgow in East Renfrewshire, of about 4,500 inhabitants,  to the south of Glasgow.  
Newton Mearns - a suburban town in East Renfrewshire of about 22,000 inhabitants, about seven miles southwest of Glasgow.
Pollokshields - an area of the south side of Glasgow, formerly part of the Burgh of Govan.
Queens Park - a residential district on the south side of the city of Glasgow, approximately two miles from the city centre.
Rutherglen - a town of about 30,000 inhabitants bordering on the city of Glasgow. From 1975 to 1996, it was administratively part of Glasgow, but is now in South Lanarkshire.
Strathbungo - an neighborhood on the south side of the city of Glasgow, along the Pollokshaws Road, one of the main roads leading from the centre of Glasgow.  Now part of Queens Park.

Articles on the Glasgow Jewish Community

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

Jewish Encyclopaedia article on Glasgow by Joseph Jacobs and Isadore Harris, c-1906.

Jewish Population Data

Other Glasgow Jewish Information

Jewish Property and Heritage & Places of Local Interest

Bibliography and other sources

Glasgow Cemetery Information (IAJGS Cemetery Project)

Jewish Telegraph - http://www.jewishtelegraph.com

Jewish Communities of Scotland home page

Explanations of Terms Used