Exeter Hebrew Congregation

& Jewish Community

Exeter, Devon

Page created: 20 September 2003
Latest revision or update: 13 September 2017

City of Exeter

The city of Exeter is situated on the river Exe in South West England and has a population of about 115,000. It was a county borough from 1889 until 1974, when it became a local government district of the county of Devon, of which it is the county town.

Exeter Synagogue exterior
©David Shulman 2016

Exeter Synagogue interior
©David Shulman 2016

The Exeter Jewish Community

There was a Medieval Jewish community in Exeter, expelled in 1290. The modern Exeter Jewish community dates back to the mid-eighteenth century. The community's synagogue built in 1763, is the third oldest extant synagogue in the United Kingdom and the second oldest Ashkenazi Synagogue in the English-speaking world (only Plymouth Synagogue, built 1762, is older).

Some Basic Congregation Data
Name:	Exeter Hebrew Congregation
Address:	Synagogue Place, Mary Arches Street, Exeter EX4 3BA. The building underwent extensive renovations and was rededicated on 11 July 1999. The synagogue is a Grade II* Listed Building, listed on 29 January 1953 (number 1273591). See Historic England Listing & Description.
Date Founded:	Built in 1763, consecrated in 1764, refronted 1835, the second oldest extant synagogue in the UK outside London.
Ritual:	Combination of Ashkenazi orthodox, Reform, Liberal, Masorti and occasionally others. It endeavours to cater to all shades of Judaism, alternately holding progressive and traditional services, frequently with visiting rabbis.
Status:	Active
Website:	http://exetersynagogue.org.uk/
Ministers:	See List of Religious Officials of Exeter Synagogue
Registration District (BDM):	Devon (from 1 April 2007) - Link to Register Office website. Previous Registration District: Exeter - from 1 July 1837 until 1 April 2007. (All records would now be held by current office.) Worship Number: 20929

Click below to enter:

The Archives include:

The History of the Community & Synagogue.

The old Jews Burial Ground in Exeter, including its history and details of burials with photographs of all extant gravestones.

Plans and Drawings of the Synagogue.

Holocaust Testimonies from Exeter.

Many photographs of the Synagogue, its artifacts and its people.

and lots and lots more

Exeter Synagogue

Also click below for:

The extensive documents and papers of the late Rabbi Dr. Bernard Susser, historian of the Jews of South West England, placed in the care of Frank J Gent, which have been donated to JCR-UK.

On-line Articles and Other Material
relating to the Exeter Jewish Community

on JCR-UK

Susser Archive:
- The Rise of Provincial Jewry - Exeter by Cecil Roth, 1950.
- The Jews of South-East England. Rabbi Bernard Susser's 1977 University of Exeter thesis for his PhD degree.
- Extract of Chief Rabbi's Correspondence for Devon and Cornwall - facimile. Made by Rabbi Susser from the duplicate correspondence books of the Chief Rabbis for the nineteenth century.
Provincial Jewry in Victorian Britain - Papers for a conference at University College, London, convened by the Jewish Historical Society of England, prepared by Aubrey Newman - 6th July 1975:
- Paper on Exeter.
- Chief Rabbi's Questionnaire of 1845 - Exeter Congregational & Charitable Data and Exeter Educational Data & Other Remarks.
Press Report on Fire in the Synagogue - August 1876.
Additional Photographs of the Exeter Synagogue
Articles relating to the Exeter Jewish Cemeteries. See below.
Medieval Jewish Community in Exeter.
Jewish Listed Heritage Sites in Devon.
Bibliography.

on third party's website

Jewish Encyclopaedia article on Exeter by Joseph Jacobs, c-1906.

Search the All-UK Database

The records in the database associated with Exeter include:

Marriages

1838 - 1907 (35 records)

Census

1841; 1851; 1861 Exeter (286 records)

1851 Anglo Jewry Database includes also Exmouth (12 miles to the south) (updated 2016)

Individuals in the 1851 Anglo Jewry Database who were living in:
Exeter during the 1760s (1 record); 1780s (3 records); 1790s (4records); 1800s (11 records); 1810s (28 records); 1820s (46 records), 1830s (51 records), 1840s (144 records), 1850s (170 records), 1860s (65 records), 1870s (16 records), 1880s (7 records), 1890s (1 record) and 1900s (1 record); and
Exmouth during the 1830s (3 records) and 1880s (2 records).

Exeter Jewish Cemeteries Information

The Exeter Jewish community has two Jewish cemeteries

The Old Jews' Burial Ground, Bulls Meadow, Magdalen Street, Exeter. The Cemetery dates from 1757, although the freehold was not acquired until 1977. Contains over 110 documented burials.
The walls of the cemetery is a Grade II Listed Building, listed on 26 July 1973 (number 1273651). See Historic England Listing & Description.

Exeter Old Jewish Burial Ground - ©David Shulman 2016

Articles on JCR-UK:
- The old Jews Burial Ground in Exeter, including its history and details of burials with photographs of all extant gravestones. Part of the Exeter Synagogue Archive.
- Gravestone Inscriptions at Exeter Jews' Cemetery, transcribed by Rabbi Dr. Bernard Susser (a section of Rabbi Susser's "Jewish Tombstone Inscriptions in S. W. England - Studies in Anglo-Jewish History No. 3", which includes an Introduction that also makes reference to Exeter). Part of the Susser Archive.
- Views of Exeter's Old Jewish Burial Ground.
The Jewish Section of the Exwick Cemetery, Exwick Road, Exwick, Exeter. The earliest burial dates from 1992.

Exwick Cemetery Jewish Section - ©David Shulman 2016

Article on JCR-UK:
- See Exwick Cemetery, Jewish Section for a plan of the Cemetery, a layout plan of the graves in the Jewish Section and photographs of all gravestones.

Exeter Synagogue Membership Data

1845 - 14 ba'alai batim and 6 seatholders (Chief Rabbi's Questionnaire)
1851 - 175 individual members (ibid.)
1852 - 21 seatholders (Board of Deputies Return)
1860 - 16 seatholders (Board of Deputies Return)
1870 - 13 seatholders (Board of Deputies Return)
1880 - 6 seatholders (Board of Deputies Return)
1896 - 8 seatholders (Jewish Year Book 1896/97)
1900 - 10 seatholders (Board of Deputies Return); 6 seatholders (Jewish Year Book 1900/01)
1999 - 50 members (Board of Deputies)

Exeter Jewish Population Data
1842	30 familes (175-200 individuals)	(The Rise of Provincial Jewry by Cecil Roth)

Jewish Congregations in Devon

Jewish Communities of England home page