the former

Hassocks Hebrew Congregation

West Sussex

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Village of Hassocks

Hassocks is a large village in southern England, with a population of about 7,000, situated some seven miles north of Brighton. It was part of the former rural district of Cuckfield in the county of East Sussex, until 1974, when most of that district was merged with neighbouring areas, also then in the county of East Sussex, to form the local government district of Mid Sussex, which was transferred to the county of West Sussex.

Hassocks Jewish Community

There was a small war-time Jewish community in Hassocks, numbering little over a dozen families in 1941.

Congregation Data
Name:	Hassocks Hebrew Congregation
Address:	According to one source, services in 1939 were held in Ayers Hall, Bury Street, Hassocks.⁽ⁱ⁾ However, according to press reports, regular Shabbat morning children's services in 1939 were held at Hassocks County School, as were the the 1939 high holy day services.⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ By 1941, regular Shabbat morning children's services were held in the village school (presumably the Hassocks County School), followed by adult services.⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾
Date Founded:	Established in late 1939.^(iv)
Status:	Closed prior to the end of World War II.^(v)
Ritual:	Orthodox - Ashkenazi
Affiliation:	No affiliation known
Minister:	None known, although Rev. I. N. Fabricant of Brighton is known to have conducted Chanukah service in 1940.^(viii)
Lay Officers:	In 1939^(ix) J. Lipman - President A. Weiner - Treasurer and Secretary	In 1941^(x) J. Lipman - Chairman H. Wright - Vice Chairman R. Goldfarb - Treasurer J. Goodman - Secretary
Registration District:	West Sussex (since 1 April 2010)^(xiii) - Link to Register Office website
Institutions associated with the congregation:	The congregation had an active Ladies Guild, formed by 1939.^(xiv) A Habonim group was formed at Hassocks for evacuated children in February 1941.^(xv)
Cemetery Information:	The closest Jewish cemeteries are in Brighton.
Notes & Sources (↵ returns to text above) (i) Address given in the Jewish Year Book 1940. ↵ (ii) Mid Sussex Times report of 12 September 1939. ↵ (iii) Jewish Chronicle report of 14 February 1941. ↵ (iv) Jewish Chronicle report of 17 November 1939 relates to the congregation and a report the following week refers to the congregation as "recently established". The congregation was listed in the Jewish Year Book 1940, which would also indicate that it had already been founded by 1939. ↵ (v) The congregation was not listed in the Jewish Year Book 1945/6, the first to be published following the cessation of publication in 1940 ↵ (vi) and (vii) Reserved. (viii) Jewish Chronicle report of 20 December 1940. ↵ (ix) Both listed in the Jewish Year Books 1940. Mr. Weiner resigned in March 1940 according to Jewish Chronicle report of 20 December 1940. ↵ (x) Jewish Chronicle report of 27 January 1942. ↵ (xi) and (xii) Reserved. (xiii) Previous Registration Districts: Cuckfield from 1 July 1837 until 1 October 1980; and Haywards Heath from 1 October 1980 until 1 April 2010. All records would now be held by the current office. ↵ (xiv) Jewish Chronicle report of 24 November 1939 and listed in the Jewish Year Books 1940. ↵ (xv) Jewish Chronicle report of 14 February 1941. ↵

Online Articles and Other Material
relating to the Hassocks Jewish Community

on JCR-UK

Press Reports relating to the Hassocks Jewish Community.

Hassocks Jewish Population Data
1941	14 families	The Jewish Chronicle 31 October 1941

World War II Evacuee Communities

Jewish Congregations in West Sussex

Jewish Communities of England home page

Page created: 18 August 2022
Page most recently amended: 10 September 2023

Research by David Shulman and Steven Jaffe
Formatting by David Shulman

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