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JCR-UK
is a genealogical and historical website covering all Jewish communities and
congregations throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.
NOTE: We are not the official website of this
community or its congregations.
Town of Canvey Island
Canvey Island is a town on an island of the same name in the Thames estuary in southeast England,
having a population of about 40,000. It is within the borough of Castle
Point in the county of Essex. Castle Point was formed as a local
government district in 1974 by the merger of the urban districts of Canvey
Island and Benfleet.
Canvey Island Jewish Community
For much of the twentieth century Canvey Island was a popular resort for holidaymakers and day trippers, many of them Jewish residents of the East End of London.
There was a Jewish congregation on Canvey Island in existence for a few years in the 1930s.
In February 1953, it was reported that there were some 16 to 20 Jewish families living on Canvey Island,
of whom about eight Jewish families were re-housed temporarily at Westcliff (some of them being maintained by the local congregation),
as a result of the low-lying island being struck by a severe flood, causing the
death of 58 people.(ii)
In 2016, a new Jewish community was established on the island, when a pioneer
group of six Ultra-Orthodox families
from the Satmar Chasidic sect moved into the area from the Stamford Hill area of North London,
approximately one-hour's drive away.
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Data on 1930s Jewish Congregation |
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Name: |
Canvey Island Hebrew
Congregation.(iii) |
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Address: |
No synagogue building.(iv)
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Formation: |
In November 1935, it was reported that:(v)
"Some nine or ten years ago, Mr. A. Rosenthal and
Mr. [Maurice] Schifren, with Mr. [Maurice] Hartfield (who has since died), started to hold
services on New Year
and the Day of Atonement at "Goldina", [Shell Beach Road,] Mr. Rosenthal's bungalow on the sea-front.
Since then, the Jewish Community on Canvey has steadily grown, until this year it was found possible not only
to hold, for the first time, services on the High Festivals, but also seriously to contemplate forming a permanent Congregation and, ultimately the building of a Synagogue."
The congregation was formally founded in 1935.(vi) There were,
however, no reports of a synagogue
being built.(ix)
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Closure: |
Although the congregation was only listed in a
single Jewish Year Book,(x)
indicating that it only lasted until
1936, it is understood that home services at 'Goldie' continued for a
number of years.(xi) |
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Ritual: |
Ashkenazi Orthodox. |
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Affiliation: |
None known |
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Officers:(xii) |
President - I. Flitterman;
Treasurer - I. Sugar;
Hon. Secretary - A. Barnett |
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Data on Current Jewish Community |
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Name: |
The Jewish Congregation of Canvey Island(xx) |
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Address: |
Canvey Island Jewish Centre,
which is situated at the former Castle View School,
Meppel Avenue, Canvey Island, SS8 9RZ, and which was purchased for the community
on 24 March 2016.(xxi) The synagogue services are held in the
former assembly hall of the school.
One of the buildings, used as the Luzern Yeshiva, was severely damaged by a
fire during Chanukka 2019(xxii) and there are plans for the building to be replaced with a
new structure, consisting of a kitchen and bedrooms on the ground floor,
with classrooms and a religious hall on the
first floor.(xxiii)
In
April 2021, there was a proposal to build an additional small synagogue in the garden of a house on Furtherwick Road, for
use on Sabbath and Festivals by the the elderly, disabled and parents of young children who find it difficult
to make a lengthy walk to the synagogue on Meppel Avenue.(xxiv) |
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Date Founded: |
The community began in May 2016, when six
pioneer families moved to Canvey Island from Stamford Hill at the same
time.(xxvii) |
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Current Status: |
By 2020, the community already consisted of some
500 people (80 families).(xxviii) |
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Ritual and Affiliation: |
The community is Ashkenazi Orthodox, consisting
almost entirely of young Satmar Chassidim.
As such, it is presumably
associated with the
Union of
Orthodox Hebrew Congregations (UOHC)
or, at least, the Adath Yisroel Burial Society. |
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Spiritual Leader: |
The community had not yet appointed its own
rabbi or minister, although several members of the community are reported
to have semicha. |
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Charitable and Legal Status: |
A number of charities have recently been
established to further the interest of the new Jewish Community on
Canvey Island. These include:(xxix)
Beis Hamedrash Canvey, registered charity number
1198799,
standard registration registered on 3 May 2022.
Canvey Talmudic Congregation Limited, registered charity number
1198864, registered on
6 May 2022, and which is also a private charitable company limited by guarantee without share capital (company number
13382902)
incorporated on 7 May 2021.
Canvey Kehilla Ltd., registered charity number
1201990, registered on
17 February 2023, and which is also a private charitable company limited by guarantee without share capital (company number
14171098)
incorporated on 14 June 2022.
Canvey Jewish Trust Ltd., registered charity number
1195064, registered on
6 July 2021, and which is also a private charitable company limited by guarantee without share capital (company number
11746003)
incorporated on 2 January 2019.
Hatzola Canvey Ltd., registered charity number
1203224, registered on
24 May 2023, and which is also a private charitable company limited by guarantee without share capital (company number
12008843)
incorporated on 21 May 2019.
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Online Articles, Videos, Bibliography and Other Material
relating to the Canvey Island Jewish Community
Third Party Articles and Videos
Some Notable Jewish Connections with Canvey Island
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Councillor Sidney Alterman served as Chairman of Canvey Island Urban District Council in 1963/64.
(Photographs
on CanveyIsland.org website.)
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Peter Greenbaum (1946-2020), known professionally as
Peter Green, was a singer-songwriter and guitarist and the founder of Fleetwood Mac. At the time of his death he was living on Canvey Island.
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Maurice Hartman (c.1859-1932), local parish
councillor, was an early property developer on Canvey Island. (Obituary
and "Memories"
by his grandson, on CanveyIsland.org website.)
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Community Records |
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Registration District (BMD): |
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Jewish Cemetery Information
There is no Jewish Cemetery on Canvey Island
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Canvey Island Jewish Population
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1953
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16-20 familes |
(Jewish Chronicle, 13
February 1953) |
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2011
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183 |
(2011 Census - Borough
of Castle Point) |
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2021
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661 |
(2021 census - Borough
of Castle Point) |
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Notes & Sources
(↵
returns to text above)
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Jewish Congregations in Essex
Jewish Communities of England home page
Page created: 10 August 2017
Data expanded and notes added: 28 January 2024
Page most recently amended:
5 February 2024
Research by David Shulman. assisted by Steven Jaffe
Formatting by David Shulman
Explanation of Terms |
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