the former

Sheerness Synagogue

& Jewish Community

Sheerness, Swale, Kent

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congregations throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.

Town of Sheerness

The port town of Sheerness, with a population of about 12,000, is the second largest town on the Isle of Sheppey, in the county of Kent in south-east English, situated close to the river Thames estuary.

It is part of the local authority district of Swale, formed in 1974 by the amalgamation of the municipal borough of Queensborough-in-Sheppey (which comprised the whole of the Isle of Sheppey) with several other local authorities..

Sheerness Jewish Community

There was a Jewish community in Sheerness from the late eighteenth century, reaching its peak as Sheerness attained its greatest importance as a naval port during the Napoleonic Wars, and the community included a significant number of licensed navy agents amongst its members. Following the end of those wars, the community began to decline and became defunct in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

Jewish conscripts in the Russian army were imprisoned at Sheerness in 1854. They were captured by the British navy on the island of Bomarsund in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War. They were visited at Sheerness by Sir Moses Montefiore and they were provided with a sefer torah and a reader for the high holy days. The prisoners were later dispersed to a number of prisons in the south of England.⁽ⁱ⁾

Congregation Data

Name:

Sheerness Synagogue

Formation:

The congregation was founded in 1790.⁽ⁱⁱ⁾

Synagogue, Services and Closure:

The synagogue was in Blue Town, Sheerness, Kent (between Sheppey Street and Kent Street)⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾

A new synagogue was built in 1811^(v) and restored in 1841.^(vi)

In about 1887, the Synagogue was in such a deplorable condition that, on the advice of the Chief Rabbi, it was dismantled,^(viii) although it was not demolished until 1935.^(ix)

During the World War I, a weekly service was held at Sheerness for Jewish servicemen. Rev. Herman Shandel of Ramsgate also visited the town periodically as an assistant chaplain. Some larger services (which could attract up to 150 men) were held at the Masonic Hall, Sheerness and at the Garrison Gymnasium.^(x)

Ritual:

Orthodox - Ashkenazi

Some Ministers or Officers who served the Congregation:^(xi)

Minister/Readers

Abraham ben R. Judah Leib - chazan in 1816.

Rev. Joseph Benjamin - chazan from 1837 to 1844.

Rev. Abraham Harfeld - shochet/chazan - dates uncertain^(xii)

Lay Officers

Isaac and Samuel Abrahams - founders of the congregation on about 1790.

Isaac Jacobs and Moses Abrahams - wardens in 1840s.

John Jacobs - president in 1853.

S. Russell - president in and about 1855^(xiii)

Asher Jacobs - amateur reader in 1855^(xiii)

Membership Data:

General

1845 - 10 ba'alai batim and 2 seatholders (Chief Rabbi's Questionnaire)

1853 - 15 seatholders (C. Roth, The Rise of Provincial Jewry)

Number of Seatholders - Board of Deputies Returns^(xvi)

1856

1860

1865

13

10

10

Registration District:

Kent from 1 April 2003^(xviiv) - Link to Register Office website.

Online Articles and Other Material
relating to the Sheerness Jewish Community

on JCR-UK

"Sheerness" from The Rise of Provincial Jewry by Cecil Roth, 1950, containing a history of the Jewish community. Available on JCR-UK as part of the Susser Archive.
Provincial Jewry in Victorian Britain - Papers for a conference at University College, London, convened by the Jewish Historical Society of England, prepared by Aubrey Newman - 6th July 1975:
- Paper on Sheerness - contains brief background data on the Community;
- Chief Rabbi's Questionnaire of 1845 - Sheerness Congregational Data and Sheerness Educational Data.
Sheerness Bibliography

on Third Party websites

JTrails History of Sheerness.

Notable Jewish Connections with Sheerness

George Bilainkin (1903-1981), traveller, diarist, journalist and author, lived at Sheerness from at least the 1960s until his death.

Courtesy Steven Jaffe, 2025

Henry Russell (formerly Levy) (1812-1900), singer, pianist and song-composer, whose works include "Cheer, Boys, Cheer" and "Life on the Ocean Wave", was born in Sheerness. He was father of: William Clarke Russell, author of sea-novels and biographies; Sir Herbert Russell, the war-correspondent; and Sir Landon Ronald, the composer. There is a Russell Street in Sheerness to commemorate the family's connection with the town.

Sheerness Jewish Cemetery Information

External Wall of Sheerness Old Jews' Burial Ground
courtesy Steven Jaffe, 2025

Jewish Cemeteries in and around Sheerness:

Sheerness Old Jews' Burial Ground, between 2 and 4 Hope Street, Sheerness ME12. Opened 1804 and last burial believed in 1855. Among the disused cemeteries administered by the Board of Deputies;
Isle of Sheppey Cemetery, Jewish Section, Halfway Road, Minster on Sea, ME12 (also known as Halfway or Queensborough Cemetery). A very small cemetery, in use from 1859 until 1899. Maintenance funded by the Board of Deputies.

Sheerness Jewish Population Data
1841	5 families	(The Rise of Provincial Jewry by Cecil Roth, 1950)

Notes & Sources
(↵ returns to text above)

(i) The Jewish Chronicle, 31 January 1997. ↵
(ii) C. Roth, The Rise of Provincial Jewry, referring to a Jewish Chronicle report. ↵
(iii) C. Roth, The Rise of Provincial Jewry. ↵
(iv) Reserved.
(v) C. Roth, The Rise of Provincial Jewry, quoting a report from The Star of 12 May(?) 1911. ↵
(vi) C. Roth, The Rise of Provincial Jewry. ↵
(vii) Reserved.
(viii) C. Roth, The Rise of Provincial Jewry, and a note in the Jewish Year Book 1935. ↵
(ix) A note in the Jewish Year Book 1935. ↵
(x) The Jewish Chronicle, 23 June 1916, 15 December 1916 and 26 April 1918. ↵
(xi) Unless otherwise stated, mentioned in C. Roth, The Rise of Provincial Jewry. ↵
(xii) The Jewish Chronicle, 15 November 1867, p.1. ↵
(xiii) Based the Jewish Chronicle of 26 October 1855 which reported from Sheerness that "[t]he annual meeting of this congregation was held on the 14th inst. Mr. S Russell was re-elected president...A vote of thanks was also accorded to Mr. Asher Jacobs for his services as amateur reader during the holidays." ↵
(xiv) and (xv) Reserved.
(xvi) Paper on Sheerness from 1975 conference on Provincial Jewry in Victorian Britain organised by Aubrey Newman. ↵
(xvii) Previous Registration District: Folkestone (from 1 April 1941 to 1 April 1974); Shepway (from 1 April 1974 to 1 April 1998); and Ashford with Shepway (from 1 April 1998 to 1 April 2003). All registers would now be held by the current office. ↵

Jewish Congregations in Kent

Jewish Communities of England home page

Page created: 9 November 2005
Data significantly expanded and notes first added: 16 January 2024
Page most recently amended: 6 June 2025

Research and formatting by David Shulman

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