JCR-UK

Coventry Jewish Community

Coventry, West Midlands

 

 

 

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 for this community.

City of Coventry

Coventry, with a population of about 300,000, is the ninth largest city in England.  The metropolitan borough of Coventry was created in 1974, within the then new metropolitan county of West Midlands.  Coventry became a unitary authority in 1986, when West Midlands lost its administrative status, becoming purely a ceremonial and geographical county.  Until 1974, Coventry was a county borough and within the county of Warwickshire.

The Coventry Jewish Community

There was a medieval Jewish community in Coventry. In modern times, Jews first settled in Coventry during that latter part of the eighteenth century, although it was not until the early part of the nineteenth century that a formal congregation was established. Many f the community founders were engaged in the watchmaking business. For the early history of the Jews in Coventry, see section on Coventry by Cecil Roth and article on Coventry compiled by Prof. A. Newman

Jewish Congregations

The following are the Jewish congregations that existed in Coventry:

* An active congregation.

 

Search the All-UK Database


The records in the database associated with Coventry include:

  • Marriages

    • Coventry Hebrew Congregation (55 records).

  • UK Jewish Communal Leaders Database

    • 63 Coventry records (as of 30 September 2021).

  • 1851 Anglo Jewry Database (updated 2016)

    • Individuals in the 1851 Anglo Jewry Database who were living in Coventry during the 1780s (3 records), 1790s (9 records), 1800s (6 records), 1810s (2 records); 1820s (4 records), 1830s (9 records), 1840s (9 records), 1850s (27 records), 1860s (12 records), 1870s (13 records); 1880s (6 records) and 1890s (2 records).

 

On-line Articles, Videos and Other Material
relating to the Coventry Jewish Community

on JCR-UK

on third parties' websites


Notable Jewish Connections with Coventry

(prepared with the assistance of Steven Jaffe)

  • Siegfried Bettmann (1863-1951), was mayor of Coventry 1913-1914. Bettmann was a naturalised British citizen, but his German birth and upbringing resulted in his having to step down as Mayor following the outbreak of World War I. He was one of the leading entrepreneurs in the manufacture of bicycles in Coventry and its later development to production of motorbikes and cars. The company he founded in 1885 became the Triumph Motor Company.

  • Philip Cohen (1827-1898), watchmaker, and his wife Priscilla Cohen (1820-1891). A blue plaque (part of the Coventry watchmaking heritage trail) marks their former home and watchmaking workshop. This is located at the corner of Allesley Old Road and Hearsall Lane.

  • Maurice Edelman (1911-1975) was a Cardiff-born Labour MP who represented several Coventry constituencies for over 30 years. A published novelist and biographer of Ben Gurion, he was also president of the Anglo-Jewish Association.

  • Councillor Alfred Emanuel Fridlander JP (1840-1928), born in Birmingham, built up one of the largest watch manufacturing businesses in Coventry. He was also a director and later chairman of the Triumph Cycle company.

  • Keith M. Landy (c.1950-2017) born in Coventry, was a Canadian lawyer and former national president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Vice President of the World Jewish Congress and Governor of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews. He was the son of the minister of the Coventry Hebrew Congregation, Rev. David L Landy, who also served in South Africa and Canada.

  • Nahum Salomon (1828-1900), a chemist by training, was the first to establish a plant for the manufacture of bicycles, at Coventry, at the time when the invention of the spider-wheel resulted in the development of the modern bicycle and tricycle. He was chairman of the Coventry Machinists Company, which pioneered the mass manufacture of bicycles in the city, which became the world centre for the production of bikes. He wrote the first book on the modern bicycle. He was also a pioneer in the British trade in sewing-machines. He introduced from America into England the "Howe," the pioneer machine.

 

Community Records

 

Coventry Jewish Cemeteries Information

There is a Jewish cemetery in Coventry

  • London Road Cemetery, Jewish Section, Whitley, Coventry CV3.

    Purchased 1863. Earliest Burials 1866. Prior to the acquisition of the cemetery, the Community used the Betholom Row Cemetery in Birmingham.

(For additional information, see IAJGS Cemetery Project - Coventry)

 

Coventry Jewish Population Data

Year

Number

 Source

 

1775

  First Jewish settlement

1896

c.38

(The Jewish Year Book 1896/7)

1899

c.30

(The Jewish Year Book 1899/1900)

1902

25

(The Jewish Year Book 1902/3)

1904

20

(The Jewish Year Book 1904/5)

1908

40

(The Jewish Year Book 1909)

1912

159

(The Jewish Year Book 1913)

1913

151

(The Jewish Year Book 1914)

1914

80

(The Jewish Year Book 1915)

1918

150

(The Jewish Year Book 1919)

1921

200

(The Jewish Year Book 1922)

1945

150

(The Jewish Year Book 1945/6)

1952

210

(The Jewish Year Book 1953)

1957

220

(The Jewish Year Book 1958)

1963

240

(The Jewish Year Book 1964)

1970

224

(The Jewish Year Book 1971)

1972

200

(The Jewish Year Book 1973)

1978

150

(The Jewish Year Book 1979)

1986

60

(The Jewish Year Book 1987)

1988

30 families

(The Jewish Year Book 1989)

1991

140

(The Jewish Year Book 1992)


Jewish Congregations in West Midlands

Jewish Communities of England home page


Page created: 21 August 2005
Latest revision or update: 15 August 2024

Research and formatting by David Shulman


Explanation of Terms   |   About JCR-UK  |   JCR-UK home page

Contact JCR-UK Webmaster:
jcr-ukwebmaster@jgsgb.org.uk
(Note: This is to contact JCR-UK, not the above Community or Congregation)

JGSGB  JewishGen


Terms and Conditions, Licenses and Restrictions for the use of this website:

This website is owned by JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. All material found herein is owned by or licensed to us. You may view, download, and print material from this site only for your own personal use. You may not post material from this site on another website without our consent. You may not transmit or distribute material from this website to others. You may not use this website or information found at this site for any commercial purpose.


Copyright © 2002 - 2024 JCR-UK. All Rights Reserved