Oxford Inscriptions: Great Jewry
THIS STREET
KNOWN TILL 1300 AS
GREAT JEWRY CONTAINED
MANY HOUSES OF THE JEWS
INCLUDING THE SYNAGOGUE
WHICH LAY TO THE NORTH
OF TOM TOWER
1931
This plaque is on the front of the Town Hall in St Aldate’s and was unveiled in 1931 by the Mayor of Oxford, Dr William Stobie,
Before 1300, Great Jewry ran from Carfax to Folly Bridge, and many of the houses were owned by Jews, although some of them were let to Christians.
There were also Jewish houses in adjoining Pembroke Street (formerly known as Pennyfarthing Lane) and Brewer Street (formerly Lombard Street). The Town Hall itself is on the site of the house of David of Oxford, a financier, and on his death in 1244 it was presented to the Domus Conversorum, the “home for converted Jews”.
This is one of three plaques installed by Oxford City Council in 1931 to mark events connected with the medieval Jewish presence in Oxford (see report in Oxford Mail here). The other two commemorate:
- The medieval Jewish Cemetery (by the Danby Gate at the Botanic Garden)
- Martyrdom of Haggai of Oxford (on the remains of Osney Mill)
This more recent plaque is on the back extension of the Town Hall, facing Blue Boar Street.
This extension to the Town Hall stands on land
at the centre of the Anglo-Saxon town, later the
heart of the Medieval Jewish Quarter and fronts
a new street laid out by Christ Church in 1553.
This plaque records a joint project by
Oxford City Council and Amey Building,
November 1995.