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Jewish life under the spotlight

Ailsa Cranna
5/ 6/2008

THE fascinating history of Jewish life in Prestwich comes under the spotlight in a scholarly but readable book by one of the foremost authorities on the subject.

Bill Williams, founder of the Manchester Jewish Museum, has just published Jewish Manchester: An Illustrated History, drawing on a wealth of personal knowledge and using fascinating photographs, many taken from the museum’s own collection.

The book describes how as early as 1858, Manchester’s Jewish population had exceeded 2,000 and how, today, at around 38,000, it is the largest such community in the British provinces.

It relates how the settlement was founded after the more successful merchants and industrialists of Eastern European origin, including Michael Marks, of Marks and Spencer fame, bought mansions in the semi-rural and supposedly healthier Higher Broughton.

There they created their own sports and literary clubs, so that their children could be educated in the English middle class fashion, but within the safety of an Orthodox Jewish community where the Sabbath was observed, the food kosher and all the members Jewish.

Later, similar communities were established in Prestwich, where the more socially ambitious working class Jewish families made their way to from districts such as Lower Broughton.

Bill Williams said: "I have already written one book on the history of Manchester Jewry from its earliest beginnings in the 1780s up to 1875 and I’m currently putting the finishing touches to two more.

"All three of these books are substantial and scholarly works, and I wanted to do a pictorial record that was more accessible to people coming to the subject for the first time.

"That is why I wrote Jewish Manchester as an illustrated history. I am hoping it will introduce a fascinating subject to the general reader who will then go on to study it in greater depth."

Comprised of almost every religious segment in British Jewry, Manchester’s composite Jewish community bears the scars of modern European history.

Here in Mr Williams’ account are the migrants from 19th Century Eastern Europe, foreigners fleeing from early 20th Century Germany, and the refugees from the Nazi Reich. Yet this is no mere story of despair. As he resurrects vivid figures from this turbulent history, he simultaneously unearths their fortitude, courage and achievement.

Up to the present day, the narrative offers sharp insight into the contribution made by modern jews to Manchester’s culture and economy.

THE Advertiser has two copies of the book to give away. Simply answer the following question: What is the estimated Jewish population in Manchester today? Send your answer to: Book Comp, Prestwich Advertiser, 30 Church Street, Eccles, M30 0DF Or email to: prestwichadvertiser@menwn.co.uk, including your full name and address. Deadline for entries is Friday, June 13, 2008. For details of where to buy the book contact the publishers on: 01332 384235.