A History of the Jews in England
Albert Montefiore Hyamson, A History of the Jews in England. Manuscript. 1901–05. The National Library of Israel, V 3554 / 1
To the archive
Jewish UK — Memory Exhibition
The Jewish community in the UK is one of the largest and strongest Jewish communities in Europe today. With its eventful, centuries-long history, recorded since the 11th century, the community has created a rich and diverse heritage, reflecting the experiences of Jewish people in the UK, and the journeys their ancestors took to arrive there: from Spain and Russia, Yemen and Poland, and many other places all over the world. This religiously, socially, and culturally diverse community has influenced both the history of the UK, and the world at large. It has produced prominent historians, politicians, philosophers, artists, writers, scholars, religious leaders, and even several mayors of London.
In our exhibition, we chose the illustrious Salaman family as our window into the communal memory of UK Jews. The Salamans were both quite exceptional. Redcliffe Nathan Salaman (1874–1955) was a physician, pathologist, botanist, and potato breeder. His landmark work was the 1949 book The History and Social Influence of the Potato, which established the history of nutrients as a new literary genre, and the notes for which you saw in the exhibition. He was also an ardent supporter of his wife, Nina Salaman née Davis (1877–1925), who was a poet, an outstanding translator, and a social activist.
We also focus on the Montefiore family through Judith Montefiore, who in addition to being the wife of renowned philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore (whose archive is in the National Library's collections), was a linguist, musician, diarist, and humanitarian in her own right.
These, and so many others, comprise the communal memory of UK Jewry. For some more glimpses of this communal memory, view the items and links below.