the former

Buxton Hebrew Congregation

& Jewish Community

Buxton, High Peak, Derbyshire

JCR-UK is a genealogical and historical website covering all Jewish communities and
congregations throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.

Town of Buxton

The spa town of Buxton in the English East Midlands is considered the gateway to the Peak District National Park. It was a municipal borough until 1974, when it was merged with adjoining areas to form the District (later Borough) of High Peak, still remaining within the county of Derbyshire.

A photograph of Oddfellows Hall, where the former Buxton Congregation held its Sabbath morning services,
taken in December 2010 by Selwyn Rose.

Buxton Jewish Community

Although there had been individual Jews in Buxton from the early nineteenth century number, an organised Jewish community was not established until the influx of evacuees during World War II, who established the only known Jewish congregation in the town, the Buxton Hebrew Congregation, which did not survive long after the end of the War.

Congregation Data
Name:	Buxton Hebrew Congregation
Address:	Services were held on Friday evening at 4, Lower Hardwick Street and on Saturdays at the Oddfellows Hall, Market Street.⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ Prior to the establishment of the congregation, in about 1940 services were held frequently at Somerford House, Terrace Road.⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾
Date Founded:	Believed to have been established in about 1940.
Status:	Closed in about 1946.^(iv)
Ritual:	Orthodox - Ashkenazi
Minister:	Rev. Jonah Indech - early World War II^(v) Rabbi Chaim Kasriel Baddiel - World War II minister to 1943^(vi) Rev. I. Bernard Rosenblatt - during 1943^(ix) Rabbi Benzion Lapian - through much of World War II until about 1945^(x)
Lay Officers:	Until about 1945^(xi) Chairman - S. Oster Warden - M. Gurvitch Treasurer - A. Bishop Hon.- Secretary B. Hyams	From about 1945^(xii) Chairman - B.B. Lichtenstein Wardens - S. Leitner & Dr. S. Wohl Treasurer - P. Davies Hon.- Secretary D. Lever
Notes & Sources (↵ returns to text above) (i) Reserved. (ii) Jewish Year Books 1945/6 to 1948. ↵ (iii) Jewish Year Books 1940. ↵ (iv) The congregation was last listed in the Jewish Year Book 1948. However, the data is an exact repeat of that of the previous year, and there is a note that no information had been provided for the then current year, and it is likely that the congregation had closed some time earlier. ↵ (v) Jewish Chronicle obituary 5 February 1999. ↵ (vi) The Jewish Chronicle of 8 January 1943 reported that Rabbi H. Baddiel, at present Minister to the Buxton Congregation, had been appointed Minister, Teacher, and Secretary to the Torquay and Paignton Congregation. ↵ (vii) and (viii) Reserved. (ix) The Jewish Chronicle of 28 May 1943 reported that Rev. B. Rosenblatt served in Buxton prior to his appointment as chazan of Brixton Synagogue in 1943. ↵ (x) Althoug Rabbi Lapian is listed as minister in Jewish Year Books 1945/6 (the first following the resumption of publication following the war) through 1948, his inclusion in the 1947 and 1948 editions is clearly an error, as he was already listed as minister at his next post (Woolwich & Plumstead) in the 1947 edition. To view a short profile - hold the cursor over Rabbi Lapian's name. ↵ (xi) Listed in the Jewish Year Book 1945/46. It is not known from when such term of service commenced. ↵ (xii) Listed in Jewish Year Books 1947 and 1948. It is uncertain as to when the term of service ended (see note (iv) above). ↵

Search the All-UK Database

The records in the database associated with Buxton include:

1851 Anglo Jewry Database (updated 2016)
- Individuals in the 1851 Anglo Jewry Database who were living in Buxton during the 1820s (1 record), 1830s (7 records), 1840s (9 records), 1850s (9 records), 1860s (6 records) and 1870s (2 records).

Online Articles and Other Material
relating to the Buxton Jewish Community

On JCR-UK

The Jewish Community of Buxton in the English Peak District by Geoffrey M. Weisgard - an expanded and updated online version of an article that originally appeared in Shemot, the journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, April 2021 (Vol. 29, 1), kindly provided to JCR-UK by the author.

Communal Records
Registration District (BMD):	High Peak (Derbyshire) (since 1 April 1974) - Register Office website Previous Registration Districts: High Peak - 1 July 1837 to 20 January 1838; Chapel en le Frith - 20 January 1938 to 1 April 1974. (All registers would now be held by current office.)

World War II Evacuee Communities

Jewish Congregations in Derbyshire

Jewish Communities of England home page

Page created: 4 November 2005
Page most recently amended: 8 September 2023

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

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.