the former

Halifax Jewish Community

Halifax, Calderdale, West Yorkshire

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congregations throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.

Town of Halifax

The town of Halifax now forms part of the borough of Calderdale, which was a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire in the North of England. Calderdale was formed in 1974 from the merger of the county borough of Halifax with a number of neighbouring local authorities, all of which had been part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1986, Calderdale became a unitary authority when West Yorkshire lost its administrative status and became purely a ceremonial county. Halifax (population about 82,000) had been a county borough since 1848.

Jewish Community

There have been reports of a small number of Jewish residents in Halifax since the mid-nineteenth century (see Jewish Chronicle reports 1851-2011). However, the only report of a congregation being formed was in the middle of the 1890s.

In addition, in recent years, the Caldervale Jewish Community Centre had been formed, centred in near-by Hebden Bridge, but it is uncertain whether this is still active.

Congregation Data
Name:	Halifax Synagogue
Address:	The home of Mr. Philip Solomon, based upon the following press report appearing on page 20 of The Jewish Chronicle on 27 September 1895: "A Minyan was formed among the few Jews in Halifax, and services were held at the home of Mr. Philip Solomon, who defrayed the cost of a Sepher Torah. Mr. Barnett, of Leeds, officiated as Chazan, assisted by Mr. N. Cohen, who was Baal Tokeah. A Halifax paper published an essay on the New Year, written by one of the worshippers, Mr. Samuel Harris."
Formation:	Formed by at least by 1895⁽ⁱ⁾
Closure:	The congregation probably closed very shortly after it was formed.⁽ⁱⁱ⁾
Ritual:	Ashkenazi Orthodox
Affiliation:	None known
Lay Officers:	Apart from those mentioned in the above press report of 27 September 1895, Nathaniel Lyons was listed as secretary of Halifax Synagogue in the Jewish Year Book 1896/7.
Registration District:	Calderdale, since 1 January 2003⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾ - Link to Register Office website
Cemetery Details	There is no Jewish cemetery in Halifax or elsewhere in Calderdale .

Online Articles and Other Material
relating to the Halifax Jewish Community

on JCR-UK

Press Reports relating to the Halifax Jewish Community 1851-2011 compiled by Harold Pollins.
" A Yorkshire Curiosity", article by Harold Pollins that originally appeared in the Oxford Menorah, May 2017.

Halifax Jewish Population Data
Year	Number	Source

1911

12 families - 60 residents (estimate)

National Census, extracted by Harold Pollins)

Notes & Sources
(↵ returns to text above)

(i) Based upon the above mentioned Jerusalem Chronicle press report of 27 September 1895. ↵
(ii) The congregation was only ever listed in the Jewish Year Book 1896/7 (the edition published). ↵
(xxvi) Previous Registration District: Halifax (from 1 July 1837 to 1 January 2003). Any registers would now be held by the current register office. ↵

Jewish Congregations in West Yorkshire

Jewish Communities of England homepage

Page created: 2 August 2007
Page most recently amended: 20 November 2023

Research by Harold Pollins and David Shulman
Formatting by David Shulman

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