Medieval Jewry in Coventry (1180-1290)

Jews may have been in England from Roman times, but the first definitive records we have is of their arrival as part of entourage of the Norman Conquest from 1066. The initial community came from Rouen in Normandy. Initially Jews were allowed to live only in London, with special permission being needed to live elsewhere. Those permissions were progressively granted and by the end of the following century, communities had been established in most of the major cities and towns of England.  

The earliest specific reference to Jews in Coventry is to - see link for details.

Each community, or Jewry, was overseen by the local royal official. Because of the Jews’ legal status as the king’s property, these officials were responsible for both protecting them from anti-Jewish violence and for exploiting them financially. 

Jews were barred from most occupations but could be financiers to Christians. Many of the wealthier Anglo-Jews made their riches this way and the king, in turn, could then tax this wealth or seize the debts owed to a Jewish financier for himself. Even if they converted to Christianity, their property was then forfeited to the king. 

Many restrictions were placed on the Jewish community and in 1234 all Jews were excluded from Warwickshire for a number of years.

Growing oppression of the Jews included a series of laws had been created restricting the rights of the Jewish people. For instance, they were not allowed to own land, and after death their money went, not to their children, but directly to the Crown. Jews were entitled to earn a living as tradesmen or farmers, but were not allowed to be part of guilds or to own farmland. The Jews became poor and the king could no longer collect taxes from them. Many hundreds were arrested, hanged or imprisoned. And then finally in 1290, they were banished from England altogether. The entire Jewish community of England being expelled, or undergoing forced conversion, by the order of King Edward I in 1290. 

There are records of a house having been taken from a Jew in Coventry in 1290 at the expulsion, being passed on to a string of new owners over the next 200 years.

This time there would be no return for the Jews for nearly 400 years - until Oliver Cromwell allowed the return of the Jews in 1656.

Early references to Jews in Coventry and Warwickshire during the medieval period include the following. Follow the links to read more of their stories: 

See these Links for further information:  (Note: These are external links for which we have no responsibility for the content)

• Catalogue of archival sources for Jews in the medieval City of London and  the Tower of London

• History of the Jews in England (1066–1290) - Wikipedia Page

• Jews in England 1066 - National Archives Online Education Pack

• Jews in England 1216-72 - National Archives Online Education Pack

• Jews in England 1290 - National Archives Online Education Pack

• Expulsion of the Jews from England - British Library page

• The Edict of Expulsion 1290 - Wikipedia page

• The resettlement of the Jews to England 1656 - Wikipedia page