please empty your brain below
By "Top Jewish school" I'm assuming you mean Jew's Free School (JFS)? the latest relocation of this school happened in 2002 - to my neighbourhood! It's an impressive school for sure. Oversubscribed too. And at 2000 pupils in a square mile where already there the some of the largest schools in the country (another few thousand pupils) you can imagine what the traffic is like in the mornings and evenings. If you really want to experience the effects of the "school run", then come to Kingsbury, London NW9 between 8 and 9am!

Jag | Homepage | 18.09.08 - 8:45 a.m. | #

Fascinating. It's like a mini snapshot of the world, changing populations and traditions and as people become wealthier they move somewhere perceived to be more fitting with their new status. Still it's a shame that the congregations are diminishing and the synagogues may close.

Joe | 18.09.08 - 10:00 a.m. | #

That cemetery is a lovely place for wildlife photography, often features in my photos on flickr.

There is another Jewish cemetery just before the railway bridge in Bancroft road, but this is in a much worse state.

DTL | Homepage | 18.09.08 - 10:42 a.m. | #

I attended JFS when it was in Camden Town. Its now in Kinsbury!

DG - a quick correction. The rule about local members is not quite correct. Anyone can join the synagogue, but you need 10 men (over the age of 13) for a service to take place on a Saturday. Becuase religious jews do not drive on the Sabbath, this means they need to live within walking distance. Hence the local member requirment.

duke | 18.09.08 - 12:27 p.m. | #

We were told that the rabbi at the Nelson Street synagogue walks all the way from Stamford Hill every Saturday, and has only missed a service once in recent years (when his wife was in labour).

diamond geezer | Homepage | 18.09.08 - 12:41 p.m. | #

Not forgetting the synagogue sticking out the back of 19 Princelet Street off Brick Lane. Obviously not a working synagogue, but pretty amazing all the same. Should be Open House this weekend.

Chloe | Homepage | 18.09.08 - 1:00 p.m. | #

Or not forgetting the synagogue next to the East London Mosque (interfaith harmony or what?).

This post mentions some key landmarks from my own childhood:

Hessel St where several relatives worked;
the synagogue on Commercial road next to our local optician (I'm surprised you did not spot this building on your recent trip on the 135, DG);
the Yiddish theatre, which during my school years was knocked down (I remember salmon pink paint and faded posters from its incarnation as an Indian cinema) and was a car park until its recent development, behind which we played;
Nelson St where my best friend lived; and the Jewish cemetery on the QMW campus (as mentioned in a previous HS2012 comment - quite disturbing to have to walk past in the dark to get to lectures/ the library).

Speaking for myself, perhaps this is something to do with the lot of the immigrant, wrapping oneself in the fabric of the community, whilst aware that this fabric itself was left behind by previous communities. I think this irony is lost on the majority of the current residents of Stepney/ Whitechapel/ Shadwell, though not on my parents, who came over in the early 70s and had Jewish tenants and acquaintances.

s | 18.09.08 - 1:39 p.m. | #

There was a programme on ITV (Carlton region) the other week, about the Jewish East End, where the daughter of a Yiddish theatre actor (re)visited Hessel St and joked that the (kosher) chicken shop was still there - even if it was a halal butchers nowadays.

s | 18.09.08 - 1:43 p.m. | #

Many thanks for advertising the Jewish tour on your blog - I would never have heard about it otherwise. I and a cousin came and much enjoyed ourselves. As much entertainment came from Clive, the guide, as from looking at buildings. His Jewish East End Celebration Society (http://www.jeecs.org.uk/)seems to be doing sterling work to preserve what no-one else cares about.

Mark Nesbitt | 18.09.08 - 2:24 p.m. | #

So sad. Where have the Jews gone? I get the impression that the East End is a place everyone leaves when they've made a step up the ladder. So, where did the Jews migrate to? Where do the Bangladeshis aspire to go next? And who are the next group in this cultural cauldron?

natasha mitchell | 18.09.08 - 10:31 p.m. | #

I find it interesting how inner city communities develop, thrive and then move away. Most Jews are now in outer London or the Home Counties, but they obviously seem to have left much to discover in the East End, which (if I remember correctly) once hosted a huge Jewish society up until the last few decades. I personally think we should preserve all that is possible, as it is things like the old synagogues in the East End which give an area character and heritage.

It would be a shame to let the synagogues go. I'm not Jewish, but I remember once visiting a synagogue when I was in school, and it was a fascinating and awe-inspiring place to say the least.

Andrewh | 18.09.08 - 10:38 p.m. | #

For anyone interested in the Jewish East End I can highly recommend Rachael Lichtensteins new book "On Brick Lane" and the recently republished "Journey Through A Small Planet" by Emanuel Litvinoff. Both excellent.

Johnny Topaz | 22.09.08 - 5:53 p.m. | #











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