Plymouth Jewish Community

Plymouth, Devon

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congregations throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.
NOTE: We are not the official website for this community.

City of Plymouth

The city of Plymouth, an historic port on the south coast of Devon in South West England, has a population of about 240,000. The county borough of Plymouth, created 1889, had been enlarged a number of times by incorporation of adjoining localities, including the incorporation of the municipal borough of Devonport in 1914. In 1974, Plymouth lost its county borough status becoming a local government district within the county of Devon. However, in 1974, it once again became a unitary authority, remaining within Devon for ceremonial purposes.

Plymouth Synagogue
©David Shulman 2016

The Plymouth Jewish Community

The Jewish community in Plymouth dates fromthe 1740s and the Plymouth Synagogue is the oldest extant Ashkenazi synagogue still in use in the English-speaking world.

Jewish Congregations

The following are the Jewish congregations that exist or existed in Plymouth:

Plymouth Hebrew Congregation* - Plymouth Synagogue
Dock Minyan, a branch of Plymouth Synagogue
Devonport Synagogue, a branch of Plymouth Synagogue

* An active congregation.

Search the All-UK Database

The records in the database associated with Plymouth include:

Censuses
- Extracts for Plymouth for: 1841 / 1851 / 1861 / 1871 / 1881 / 1891 (1,612 records).
UK Jewish Communal Leaders Database
- 41 Plymouth records (as of 30 September 2021).
1851 Anglo Jewry Database (updated 2016)
- Individuals in the 1851 Anglo Jewry Database who were living in Plymouth during the 1760s (1 record); 1770s (2 records), 1780s (11 records), 1790s (14 records), 1800s (33 records), 1810s (67 records); 1820s (94 records), 1830s (135 records), 1840s (266 records), 1850s (380 records), 1860s (185 records), 1870s (102 records), 1880s (60 records), 1890s (13 records), 1900s (8 records) and 1910s (2 records).

Bibliography, Online Articles and Other Material
relating to the Plymouth Jewish Community

on JCR-UK as part of the Susser Archive

"Plymouth" from The Rise of Provincial Jewry by Cecil Roth, 1950.
Plymouth Synagogue. A short history by Rabbi Bernard Susser.

by Helen Fry
The Jews of South-East England. Rabbi Bernard Susser's 1977 University of Exeter thesis for his PhD degree.
Circumcision Register of Joseph Joseph of Plymouth.
Biography of Nathan Joseph Altmann.
Historical Maps of Plymouth.

also on JCR-UK

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:
- Paper on Plymouth.
- Chief Rabbi's Questionnaire of 1845 - Plymouth Congregational & Charitable Data and Plymouth Educational Data.
Plymouth Bibliography
Jewish Listed Heritage Sites in Devon.
See below for On-line Articles relating to Plymouth's Jewish cemeteries.
See also Plymouth Synagogue home page for additional articles and other material relating solely to the Plymouth Synagogue.

Other Plymouth Jewish Institutions & Organisations

Educational & Theological

Jack Nathan School (founded 1869).

Other Institutions & Organisations
(that had been formed by 1900*)

Ladies' Hebrew Benevolent Society (founded about 1830).
Hand-in-Hand' Charitable Society (founded 1861).
Chovevi Zion Association Branch (founded by 1896).
Anglos-Jewish Association Branch (founded by 1896).
Sick Visiting Society (founded by 1900).

* As listed in the Jewish Directory of 1874 and the Jewish Year Books 1896 & 1900.

Community Records

Registration District (for BMD): Plymouth (since 1 July 1837).
- Register Office website

Plymouth Jewish Cemeteries Information

Plymouth has two Jewish cemeteries:

The Plymouth Hoe Old Jews' Burial Ground, Lambhay Hill, The Barbican, Plymouth PL1 2NW. Burial date from 1744. The Cemetery was extended in 1758, 1811 and 1815. The cemetery is no longer in use but is still maintained by the community.
The Burial Ground is a Grade II Listed Building, listed on 31 October 2017 (number 1448469). See Historic England Listing & Description.

Articles on JCR-UK:
- Tombstone Inscriptions in the Old Jewish Cemetery on Plymouth Hoe;
- "Jewish Tombstone Inscriptions in S. W. England - Studies in Anglo-Jewish History No. 3", by Rabbi Dr. Bernard Susser, includes an Introduction that makes reference to Plymouth;
- Jewish Tombstone of South-West England. A brief article by Rabbi Dr. Bernard Susser, primarily on the Plymouth cemeteries and their inscriptions. A valuable insight into how he was drawn into his historical studies. It usefully supplements the above.
Gifford Place Jewish Cemetery, rear of 49 Gifford Place, Mutley Plymouth PL3. Opened in 1868 and still in use.

Plymouth Jewish Population Data
1746	Community founded (opening of Jewish Cemetery)
1898	260	(The Jewish Year Book 1898/99)
1915	400	(The Jewish Year Book 1916)
1934	400	(The Jewish Year Book 1935)
1945	370	(The Jewish Year Book 1945/46)
1955	356	(The Jewish Year Book 1956)
1965	225	(The Jewish Year Book 1966)
1990	200	(The Jewish Year Book 1991)
2004	181	(The Jewish Year Book 2005)

Jewish Congregations in Devon

Jewish Communities of England home page

Page created: 5 May 2006
Latest revision or update: 23 March 2023

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