Little is known of Jews in Darlington before 1884, when a minyan was formed by Solomon Abrahams, meeting in the Livingstone Buildings, Northgate. There was not even a cemetery for many years, and interments took place in the cemeteries belonging to neighbouring communities. Thus in 1888 one of the community was taken to Middlesbrough and in 1890 Abrahams was buried in Stockton. The early community frequently found difficulty in renting suitable accommodation for worship, and although in 1904 a synagogue was formally established between then and 1914 services were held in three different places. Between 1904 and 1912 the figures for Jewish population varied between 80 and 90.