Jewish East End Walk

Cultural

Walks

1 &2

Exploring the vanishing

Jewish East End

walk for about 50 yards until you come to some smallblack railings on your right. Turn right into the grassedarea and walk up to the black gates at the rear. This is the(16) East London Synagogue, built in the 1870s, butconverted into flats fairly recently. Designed by the Jewisharchitect Barrow Emmanuel, it was one the only synagoguein the East End planned as a great Cathedral Synagogue. Ithad a beautiful Byzantine interior, and magnificentfurniture, most of which has disappeared. Retrace yoursteps. Turn right at the black railings and follow the narrowroad to the right of the small park ahead of you alongStepney Green. Go past Stepney Green Court (formerlyStepney Dwellings) one of the so-called Rothschilds 4%dwellings. The Rothschilds raised the money from wealthyJewish businessmen, and guaranteed them a 4% return ontheir money. Famous former residents of this blockincluded Bernard Kops (author of the “Hamlet of StepneyGreen”) and Lord Delfont.

Continue on past the (17) Stepney Green JewishSchool, which has now moved to Ilford. Step back andadmire the catouche with the name of the school inscribedin the pediment of the building. Continue on past theRosalind Green Hall, which used to be the (18) OrthodoxSynagogue on the Green. Walk past the site of the Stepney

Green JewishHospital where thereis now a modernblock of flats.

Finally, pause outsideone of the mostbeautiful houses inthe East End (19)Number 37Stepney Green.From about 1870until 1913 it was ahome for elderlyJews, but is nowbeing restored as afamily home.

Finish the walk bycontinuing on downStepney Green andturning right ontoMile End Roadtowards StepneyGreen Station.

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1 Gardiners2 Freedom Book Shop3 Jewish National Theatre4 ‘Hatton Garden of the

East End’5 Fieldgate Street Synagogue6 Tower House 7 The Pavilion8 Royal London Hospital9 100 Sidney Street10Workers Friends Club and

Institute

11 Rinkoffs12 The “Waste”13 Paragon Theatre of

Varieties14 Dunstan Dwellings15 Leonard Montefiore

Drinking Fountain16 East London Synagogue17 Stepney Green Jewish

School18 Orthodox Synagogue19 37 Stepney Green

1 St. Botolph’s, Aldgate2 Parliament of Petticoat Lane3 Jewish soup kitchen for the

Poor4 The Jews Free School5 The Sandy’s Row

Synagogue6 32 Elder Street7 12 Hanbury Street8 6 Princelet Street9 Princelet Street Synagogue

10 Katz11 Brick Lane Mosque12 Fashion Street13 44-45 Commercial Street14 43a Commercial Street15 Toynbee Hall16 Rothschild Archway17 Alberts18 The Whitechapel Art

Gallery and theWhitechapel Library

Walk 2

Walk 1 Walk 1 Aldgate to Whitechapel Library

Walk 2 Aldgate East to Stepney Green






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Institute










Walk 2



IntroductionBy Steven Berkoff, still resident in the East End

The East End, as I knew it fromthe brief time I spent there afterthe war, was a place of constantactivity. In the summer, my streetmates and I would go swimmingby Tower Bridge; tons of sandhad been placed on the shoreand it became the Cockney’s

Riviera. After a vigorous swim, it would be a treat to go tothe Lyon’s teashop in Aldgate and avail ourselves of thegoodies to be had there, tomato soup with mashedpotatoes being the favourite.

Naturally Sunday morning in the ‘Lane’ was a must and aplace to haggle with stamp collectors, since I was an avidphilatelist in those days. Weeknights were spent at theOxford and St. George’s Boys Club in Berner Street, where Iacquired high skills in ‘ping pong’, the working man’stennis. Rainy days were spent in Betts Street Baths wheremy enthusiasm to swim up and down endlessly wasrewarded with a ‘mile’ certificate. I can remember to thisday the Bath Manager giving me half a crown from hismeagre wages to crown my efforts. Mum and I wouldfrequently go to the Palaseum Picture House at the top ofour street to watch the double bill, taking with us a pile ofsandwiches and a bottle of Tizer to get us through thethree-hour programme. Hebrew classes at the largesynagogue in Brick Lane were less memorable, butendurable if afterwards I was to pick up some fish andchips from the shop opposite Aunty Betty’s in CannonStreet Road. Next door to us in 25 Anthony Street lived ayoung girl called Sadie who mysteriously used to dress uplike an adult and wear makeup on certain evenings. I thenlearnt that she was playing the Grand Palais, the oneremaining theatre at that time performing plays in Yiddish.

Uncle Henry’s barber shop was around the corner and oncewas enough for me since his clippers used to really pinchand had me in tears. Mum took me to the ‘Poplar’ cinemaafter finishing school at Raines in Arbour Square. I dislikedthe school intensely since corporal punishment was metedout for trivial offences like being unusually active orwhispering in class, so I was very glad to leave. As I grewolder I would hang out with all the other Jewish youth atJohnny Issac’s Fish and Chip Shop which was the Sunday

night ‘hang out’. ‘The Waste’, as it was called, alongWhitechapel, was another place of adventure and I workedthere for a while for a man who called himself the ‘PenKing’. I worked for him occasional Saturdays and I believeit was here that I first got my taste for acting. Eventuallyour family was re-housed to a council flat in Manor House,N4. But for years I would take the No. 653 bus back to theEast End. I somehow found it hard to get away.

© Steven Berkoff 2003

Aldgate to Whitechapel LibraryArtists, Cigarmakers and Markets

Walk 1

The walk commences outside the church of (1) St.Botolph’s, Aldgate in the ward of Portsoken in the Cityof London, a ward that is regarded very much as being partof the Jewish East End. Portsoken has had a centuries oldassociation with the Jewish community. Portsoken is thatpart of the City which fell outside the City walls but within the authority of the Cityitself. Ever since the Jews returned in 1656, they have settled in this area of the City. Almost all the Alderman of the ward since the 1840s have been Jewish and the present Alderman is Lord Levine, the former Lord Mayor.

Situated within the ward is one of the oldest and most beautiful synagogues in England. Bevis Marks was built in 1701 by the Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal. The great Cathedral Synagogue of Anglo-Jewry, built by the Ashkenazi community in the 18th century, the Dukes Place Synagogue was also close by. Other famous institutions of Jewish community were also in this ward such as

Starting point St. Botolph’s, Aldgate

Finishing point Whitechapel Library

Estimate time 2.25 hours

IntroductionBy Steven Berkoff, still resident in the East End

The East End, as I knew it fromthe brief time I spent there afterthe war, was a place of constantactivity. In the summer, my streetmates and I would go swimmingby Tower Bridge; tons of sandhad been placed on the shoreand it became the Cockney’s

Riviera. After a vigorous swim, it would be a treat to go tothe Lyon’s teashop in Aldgate and avail ourselves of thegoodies to be had there, tomato soup with mashedpotatoes being the favourite.

Naturally Sunday morning in the ‘Lane’ was a must and aplace to haggle with stamp collectors, since I was an avidphilatelist in those days. Weeknights were spent at theOxford and St. George’s Boys Club in Berner Street, where Iacquired high skills in ‘ping pong’, the working man’stennis. Rainy days were spent in Betts Street Baths wheremy enthusiasm to swim up and down endlessly wasrewarded with a ‘mile’ certificate. I can remember to thisday the Bath Manager giving me half a crown from hismeagre wages to crown my efforts. Mum and I wouldfrequently go to the Palaseum Picture House at the top ofour street to watch the double bill, taking with us a pile ofsandwiches and a bottle of Tizer to get us through thethree-hour programme. Hebrew classes at the largesynagogue in Brick Lane were less memorable, butendurable if afterwards I was to pick up some fish andchips from the shop opposite Aunty Betty’s in CannonStreet Road. Next door to us in 25 Anthony Street lived ayoung girl called Sadie who mysteriously used to dress uplike an adult and wear makeup on certain evenings. I thenlearnt that she was playing the Grand Palais, the oneremaining theatre at that time performing plays in Yiddish.

Uncle Henry’s barber shop was around the corner and oncewas enough for me since his clippers used to really pinchand had me in tears. Mum took me to the ‘Poplar’ cinemaafter finishing school at Raines in Arbour Square. I dislikedthe school intensely since corporal punishment was metedout for trivial offences like being unusually active orwhispering in class, so I was very glad to leave. As I grewolder I would hang out with all the other Jewish youth atJohnny Issac’s Fish and Chip Shop which was the Sunday

night ‘hang out’. ‘The Waste’, as it was called, alongWhitechapel, was another place of adventure and I workedthere for a while for a man who called himself the ‘PenKing’. I worked for him occasional Saturdays and I believeit was here that I first got my taste for acting. Eventuallyour family was re-housed to a council flat in Manor House,N4. But for years I would take the No. 653 bus back to theEast End. I somehow found it hard to get away.

© Steven Berkoff 2003

Aldgate to Whitechapel LibraryArtists, Cigarmakers and Markets

Walk 1

The walk commences outside the church of (1) St.Botolph’s, Aldgate in the ward of Portsoken in the Cityof London, a ward that is regarded very much as being partof the Jewish East End. Portsoken has had a centuries oldassociation with the Jewish community. Portsoken is thatpart of the City which fell outside the City walls but within the authority of the Cityitself. Ever since the Jews returned in 1656, they have settled in this area of the City. Almost all the Alderman of the ward since the 1840s have been Jewish and the present Alderman is Lord Levine, the former Lord Mayor.

Situated within the ward is one of the oldest and most beautiful synagogues in England. Bevis Marks was built in 1701 by the Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal. The great Cathedral Synagogue of Anglo-Jewry, built by the Ashkenazi community in the 18th century, the Dukes Place Synagogue was also close by. Other famous institutions of Jewish community were also in this ward such as

Starting point St. Botolph’s, Aldgate

Finishing point Whitechapel Library


the Jewish Chronicle. Founded in 1841, it is the oldestJewish weekly English language journal in the world. St.Botolph’s, the 18th century church, has had close linkswith the Jewish community. The bells were donated in1961 by the then Lord Mayor, Sir Robert Waley-Cohen.Outside the church is a drinking fountain erected on thechurch railings to honour the memory of FrederickMocatta, the 19th century Jewish philanthropist whohelped Jews and non-Jews alike.

Walk eastwards along Aldgate High Street into the subwayand emerge at the Middlesex Street exit. Middlesex Street isbetter known by its former name Petticoat Lane, the nameof the famous market which still exists, but which used tobe almost entirely Jewish. As now, it used to sell almostevery product imaginable including clothing and food andthe traders were known for their colourful banter. Walk upMiddlesex Street and turn right into Cobb Street walkingtowards Bell Lane. At Leyden Street look right and you willsee dilapidated public toilets where the Jewish traders usedto meet to put the world to rights. The toilets were knownas the (2) Parliament of Petticoat Lane. When you getto Bell Lane turn left then go on until you reach BruneStreet where you turn right. Walk a few yards until you seean attractive building on your left with a terracotta façade,the former (3) Jewish soup kitchen for the Poor.Designed by the well-known Jewish architect LewisSolomon in 1902, it was one of the many soup kitchensfounded by wealthy West End Jews to alleviate povertyamong the poor Jews in the area. It is now an expensiveapartment block. Retrace your footsteps to Bell Lane andlook up to your right at a rather modern office block (39

Bell Lane), the site of thegreatest Jewish educationalestablishment in the East End.(4) The Jews Free School wasfounded in the 19th century. Atone stage it was regarded as thelargest school in the world andits former pupils include BudFlanagan, the diamondmillionaire, Barney Barnato andJoe Loss the great bandleader. Itwas bombed in the SecondWorld War when it closed andmoved to Camden.

Walk north up Bell Lane andtake the first left into StewardsLane and continue alongArtillery Passage. Turn right upSandy’s Row and stop outsidethe synagogue, which is on theright hand side. (5) TheSandy’s Row Synagogue isone of the four synagogues still active in the East End(There used to be 150.) This former Huguenot chapel wasconverted into a synagogue in 1870 for the Jews of Dutchdescent. The Dutch Jews controlled the cigar and diamondcutting industries in London at that time.

Walk up Sandy’s Row, cross over to Fort Street, headingnorth along the paved footpath past Spitalfields Market,with a glass office block on your left. Spitalfields used toemploy a large number of Jewish workers. Go up to FolgateStreet and turn right and then left into Elder Street.

At (6) Number 32 Elder Street you will seea blue plaque to Mark Gertler, arguably themost famous artist to have emerged fromthe ghetto. If you look at the coal holecover on the pavement beneath the blueplaque, you will see a representationfrom his most famous painting “TheMerry Go Round”, a powerful indictmentof war. He committed suicide in 1939.

Retrace your steps to Folgate Street and turn left towardsCommercial Street. Turn right onto Commercial Street andthen left into Hanbury Street. On your right at (7) Number12 Hanbury Street is a blue plaque to Bud Flanagan (bornReuben Weintrop), a member of the Crazy Gang, whose most

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the Jewish Chronicle. Founded in 1841, it is the oldestJewish weekly English language journal in the world. St.Botolph’s, the 18th century church, has had close linkswith the Jewish community. The bells were donated in1961 by the then Lord Mayor, Sir Robert Waley-Cohen.Outside the church is a drinking fountain erected on thechurch railings to honour the memory of FrederickMocatta, the 19th century Jewish philanthropist whohelped Jews and non-Jews alike.

Walk eastwards along Aldgate High Street into the subwayand emerge at the Middlesex Street exit. Middlesex Street isbetter known by its former name Petticoat Lane, the nameof the famous market which still exists, but which used tobe almost entirely Jewish. As now, it used to sell almostevery product imaginable including clothing and food andthe traders were known for their colourful banter. Walk upMiddlesex Street and turn right into Cobb Street walkingtowards Bell Lane. At Leyden Street look right and you willsee dilapidated public toilets where the Jewish traders usedto meet to put the world to rights. The toilets were knownas the (2) Parliament of Petticoat Lane. When you getto Bell Lane turn left then go on until you reach BruneStreet where you turn right. Walk a few yards until you seean attractive building on your left with a terracotta façade,the former (3) Jewish soup kitchen for the Poor.Designed by the well-known Jewish architect LewisSolomon in 1902, it was one of the many soup kitchensfounded by wealthy West End Jews to alleviate povertyamong the poor Jews in the area. It is now an expensiveapartment block. Retrace your footsteps to Bell Lane andlook up to your right at a rather modern office block (39

Bell Lane), the site of thegreatest Jewish educationalestablishment in the East End.(4) The Jews Free School wasfounded in the 19th century. Atone stage it was regarded as thelargest school in the world andits former pupils include BudFlanagan, the diamondmillionaire, Barney Barnato andJoe Loss the great bandleader. Itwas bombed in the SecondWorld War when it closed andmoved to Camden.

Walk north up Bell Lane andtake the first left into StewardsLane and continue alongArtillery Passage. Turn right upSandy’s Row and stop outsidethe synagogue, which is on theright hand side. (5) TheSandy’s Row Synagogue isone of the four synagogues still active in the East End(There used to be 150.) This former Huguenot chapel wasconverted into a synagogue in 1870 for the Jews of Dutchdescent. The Dutch Jews controlled the cigar and diamondcutting industries in London at that time.

Walk up Sandy’s Row, cross over to Fort Street, headingnorth along the paved footpath past Spitalfields Market,with a glass office block on your left. Spitalfields used toemploy a large number of Jewish workers. Go up to FolgateStreet and turn right and then left into Elder Street.

At (6) Number 32 Elder Street you will seea blue plaque to Mark Gertler, arguably themost famous artist to have emerged fromthe ghetto. If you look at the coal holecover on the pavement beneath the blueplaque, you will see a representationfrom his most famous painting “TheMerry Go Round”, a powerful indictmentof war. He committed suicide in 1939.

Retrace your steps to Folgate Street and turn left towardsCommercial Street. Turn right onto Commercial Street andthen left into Hanbury Street. On your right at (7) Number12 Hanbury Street is a blue plaque to Bud Flanagan (bornReuben Weintrop), a member of the Crazy Gang, whose most

Cou

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Lon

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famous song was “Underneaththe Arches”. Go along HanburyStreet and then turn right atWilkes Street and then left intoPrincelet Street. At (8)Number 6 Princelet Streetyou will see a coal hole coverwith a viola on it, marking thespot of the first purpose-builtYiddish theatre in London –The Hebrew Dramatic Club. Itwas founded in 1887 by DavidSmith, a kosher butcher, but in1888, 17 people died whensomeone wrongly shouted,“fire” and the audiencestampeded for the exit. It closedshortly afterwards.

At 19 Princelet Street you willsee the former (9) PrinceletStreet Synagogue, which

closed down in the1970s. The front of thebuilding is a formerHuguenot house built in1722, but at the rear is asynagogue, built in 1862.The building has becomeworld famous as thesetting of the book,Rodinsky’s Room, byRachel Lichtenstein andIain Sinclair.

Go towards Brick Lane and then turn right. As you walkdown this busy thoroughfare look to your left at the lastJewish business in Brick Lane, (10) Katz, which used to sellnothing but string. On your right on the corner of BrickLane and Fournier Street you will see the (11) Brick LaneMosque. This building is symbolic of the various immigrantgroups who have settled in the area. It was built in the 18thcentury by the Huguenots and occupied for a while by theMethodists. It became a synagogue in the 19th century andclosed in the 1950s to become a mosque. Almost over theroad in Brick Lane is the site of the former steam baths, theSchewik, that was much used by the Jewish community. Theinterior is the subject of a famous painting by DavidBomberg called the “Mud Bath”. Bomberg was another greatpainter to have emerged from the ghetto.

Go south down Brick Lane and turn right into (12)Fashion Street. Israel Zangwill mentions the street in theopening of the book “Children of the Ghetto”. The famousplaywright Arnold Wesker also lived in the street and hissemi-autobiographical play “Chicken Soup with Barley” isset there. Walk to end of Fashion Street and notice how aonce shabby street is being gentrified.

At Commercial Street turn left and walk on a while. Overthe road at (13) Number 44-45 Commercial Street is abuilding, which was the Jewish and East End ModelLodgings, which used to house 30 families. (14) Number43a Commercial Street is the building, which used tohouse the Jews Free School’s infant section attended byArnold Wesker.

Go down Commercial Street until you come to (15)Toynbee Hall on your left. This institution was founded in1883 by local vicar Canon Samuel Barnett and his formidablewife Dame Henrietta Barnett. They encouraged Oxbridgegraduates to settle in the area and work with the poor atToynbee Hall. Toynbee Hall was a great centre for the Jewishpopulation where they obtained legal advice and Englishlessons. The facility is now available for Bangladeshis livingin the area.

Go north through thecomplex and emerge atWentworth Street whereyou turn right. Immediatelyon your left you will see the(16) RothschildArchway with the words‘4% Dwellings Company’written on it. This arch is allthat remains of theRothschild Building built toalleviate the housingshortage among poor Jews.The Rothschild familyformed the company andwealthy Jewish investorswere guaranteed a 4%return on their money,hence the name.

Walk along WentworthStreet and turn right intoGunthorpe Street and alongto Whitechapel High Street.

Before the SecondWorld War therewere over 150synagogues in theEast End andnow there areonly four, all ofwhich are at risk.d

id y

ou k

now

?

famous song was “Underneaththe Arches”. Go along HanburyStreet and then turn right atWilkes Street and then left intoPrincelet Street. At (8)Number 6 Princelet Streetyou will see a coal hole coverwith a viola on it, marking thespot of the first purpose-builtYiddish theatre in London –The Hebrew Dramatic Club. Itwas founded in 1887 by DavidSmith, a kosher butcher, but in1888, 17 people died whensomeone wrongly shouted,“fire” and the audiencestampeded for the exit. It closedshortly afterwards.

At 19 Princelet Street you willsee the former (9) PrinceletStreet Synagogue, which

closed down in the1970s. The front of thebuilding is a formerHuguenot house built in1722, but at the rear is asynagogue, built in 1862.The building has becomeworld famous as thesetting of the book,Rodinsky’s Room, byRachel Lichtenstein andIain Sinclair.

Go towards Brick Lane and then turn right. As you walkdown this busy thoroughfare look to your left at the lastJewish business in Brick Lane, (10) Katz, which used to sellnothing but string. On your right on the corner of BrickLane and Fournier Street you will see the (11) Brick LaneMosque. This building is symbolic of the various immigrantgroups who have settled in the area. It was built in the 18thcentury by the Huguenots and occupied for a while by theMethodists. It became a synagogue in the 19th century andclosed in the 1950s to become a mosque. Almost over theroad in Brick Lane is the site of the former steam baths, theSchewik, that was much used by the Jewish community. Theinterior is the subject of a famous painting by DavidBomberg called the “Mud Bath”. Bomberg was another greatpainter to have emerged from the ghetto.

Go south down Brick Lane and turn right into (12)Fashion Street. Israel Zangwill mentions the street in theopening of the book “Children of the Ghetto”. The famousplaywright Arnold Wesker also lived in the street and hissemi-autobiographical play “Chicken Soup with Barley” isset there. Walk to end of Fashion Street and notice how aonce shabby street is being gentrified.

At Commercial Street turn left and walk on a while. Overthe road at (13) Number 44-45 Commercial Street is abuilding, which was the Jewish and East End ModelLodgings, which used to house 30 families. (14) Number43a Commercial Street is the building, which used tohouse the Jews Free School’s infant section attended byArnold Wesker.

Go down Commercial Street until you come to (15)Toynbee Hall on your left. This institution was founded in1883 by local vicar Canon Samuel Barnett and his formidablewife Dame Henrietta Barnett. They encouraged Oxbridgegraduates to settle in the area and work with the poor atToynbee Hall. Toynbee Hall was a great centre for the Jewishpopulation where they obtained legal advice and Englishlessons. The facility is now available for Bangladeshis livingin the area.

Go north through thecomplex and emerge atWentworth Street whereyou turn right. Immediatelyon your left you will see the(16) RothschildArchway with the words‘4% Dwellings Company’written on it. This arch is allthat remains of theRothschild Building built toalleviate the housingshortage among poor Jews.The Rothschild familyformed the company andwealthy Jewish investorswere guaranteed a 4%return on their money,hence the name.

Walk along WentworthStreet and turn right intoGunthorpe Street and alongto Whitechapel High Street.

Before the SecondWorld War therewere over 150synagogues in theEast End andnow there areonly four, all ofwhich are at risk.d

id y

ou k

now

?

As you go under the archlook left above the shop(17) Albert’s and you willsee an emblem containingthe Star of David. This isthe emblem of the nowdefunct Jewish Daily News.The emblem is by ArthurSzyk in the Arts and CraftsStyle.

Proceed eastwards alongWhitechapel High Street toview the last two buildingson our walk. (18) TheWhitechapel ArtGallery andWhitechapel Library.

Both were founded at the behest of Canon Barnett and hiswife Henrietta Barnett, who felt it was important thatJewish immigrants should also have access to culturalcentres. The gallery designed by Charles HarrisonTownsend in the Arts and Crafts Style held exhibitions byJewish artists from the East End such as Bomberg, Gertlerand Kramer. The blank space above the entrance wassupposed to contain a mural “The Sphere of Message andArt” by the Victorian artist Walter Crane, but the financeswere not forthcoming. The library was used by the Jewishcommunity to escape the poverty and overcrowding oftheir tenementsand became knownas the “Universityof the Ghetto”.Among the famouspersons who usedthe library on aregular basis werethe poet and artistIsaac Rosenberg (hisblue plaque is onthe building), the writerJacob Bronowski and theplaywrights ArnoldWesker and Bernard Kops.The building designed byPotts Sons and Hemmingsin the Arts and Craftsstyle, is to close as alibrary and has been soldto the Art Gallery.

This walk commences at the corner of Whitechapel HighStreet and Commercial Street next to Aldgate East tubestation (on the north side of the street). Look across to therather dreary building in brown brick belonging to LloydsTSB. On this site until the 1960s stood a beautifuldepartment store called (1) Gardiners, the “Harrods ofthe East”. On the 4th October 1936 this site was involvedin one of the most important political events in the historyof the Jewish East End - the Battle of Cable Street. Theleader of the British Union of Fascists, Sir Oswald Moseleyhad planned to invade the East End with his blackshirts tointimidate the Jews. Moseley was stopped at Royal MintStreet by the police and the Battle of Cable Street actuallytook place between the anti-fascist demonstrators (mainlyJewish) and the police.

Walk eastwards downWhitechapel High Street andjust before the Kentucky FriedChicken go up a dirty littlealley called Angel Alley. Atthe end of the alley is a bookshop called the (2) FreedomBook Shop, which stocks agreat deal of left wing andanarchist literature reflectingthe political history of thearea. On the wall of the alleyis a mural containing theportraits of prominentanarchists. The mostimportant for the purposes ofour walk are Prince PeterKropotkin and Rudolf Rocker.

Go back to the High Streetand head eastwards alongWhitechapel Road past

Walk 2

Aldgate East to Stepney GreenRabbis Radicals and the Yiddish Theatre

Historiansestimate thatthere were some120,000 Jewsin the Boroughof Stepney in1910.d

id y

ou k

now

?Starting point Aldgate East Station

Finishing point Stepney Green Station


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As you go under the archlook left above the shop(17) Albert’s and you willsee an emblem containingthe Star of David. This isthe emblem of the nowdefunct Jewish Daily News.The emblem is by ArthurSzyk in the Arts and CraftsStyle.

Proceed eastwards alongWhitechapel High Street toview the last two buildingson our walk. (18) TheWhitechapel ArtGallery andWhitechapel Library.

Both were founded at the behest of Canon Barnett and hiswife Henrietta Barnett, who felt it was important thatJewish immigrants should also have access to culturalcentres. The gallery designed by Charles HarrisonTownsend in the Arts and Crafts Style held exhibitions byJewish artists from the East End such as Bomberg, Gertlerand Kramer. The blank space above the entrance wassupposed to contain a mural “The Sphere of Message andArt” by the Victorian artist Walter Crane, but the financeswere not forthcoming. The library was used by the Jewishcommunity to escape the poverty and overcrowding oftheir tenementsand became knownas the “Universityof the Ghetto”.Among the famouspersons who usedthe library on aregular basis werethe poet and artistIsaac Rosenberg (hisblue plaque is onthe building), the writerJacob Bronowski and theplaywrights ArnoldWesker and Bernard Kops.The building designed byPotts Sons and Hemmingsin the Arts and Craftsstyle, is to close as alibrary and has been soldto the Art Gallery.

This walk commences at the corner of Whitechapel HighStreet and Commercial Street next to Aldgate East tubestation (on the north side of the street). Look across to therather dreary building in brown brick belonging to LloydsTSB. On this site until the 1960s stood a beautifuldepartment store called (1) Gardiners, the “Harrods ofthe East”. On the 4th October 1936 this site was involvedin one of the most important political events in the historyof the Jewish East End - the Battle of Cable Street. Theleader of the British Union of Fascists, Sir Oswald Moseleyhad planned to invade the East End with his blackshirts tointimidate the Jews. Moseley was stopped at Royal MintStreet by the police and the Battle of Cable Street actuallytook place between the anti-fascist demonstrators (mainlyJewish) and the police.

Walk eastwards downWhitechapel High Street andjust before the Kentucky FriedChicken go up a dirty littlealley called Angel Alley. Atthe end of the alley is a bookshop called the (2) FreedomBook Shop, which stocks agreat deal of left wing andanarchist literature reflectingthe political history of thearea. On the wall of the alleyis a mural containing theportraits of prominentanarchists. The mostimportant for the purposes ofour walk are Prince PeterKropotkin and Rudolf Rocker.

Go back to the High Streetand head eastwards alongWhitechapel Road past

Walk 2

Aldgate East to Stepney GreenRabbis Radicals and the Yiddish Theatre

Historiansestimate thatthere were some120,000 Jewsin the Boroughof Stepney in1910.d

id y

ou k

now

?

Starting point Aldgate East Station

Finishing point Stepney Green Station


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Whitechapel Art Gallery and Whitechapel Library(discussed in walk 1). Stop opposite a green space (Altab AliPark) and look across to a modern brick building in AdlerStreet. The building previously on this site, for a briefperiod, housed the (3) Jewish National Theatre, whichput on plays in Yiddish, virtually the lingua franca of thearea for many years. The most famous play in Yiddishperformed at this theatre was Shakespeare’s “The Merchantof Venice” starring the legend of the Yiddish Theatre MeierTzelniker as Shylock.

Proceeding along the north side of Whitechapel Road, stopat the modern building called Black Lion House. This was,until relatively recently, the site of the so-called (4) ‘HattonGarden of the East End’, as the yard contained some 18jewellery shops. Women who bought their engagement ringsthere probably had their wedding photographs taken at theshop over the road (number 14 – the Victorian building withthe Art Deco frontage) where the legendary photographerBoris Bennet (trading as “Boris”) specialised in weddingphotographs of an extremely high standard.

Go on a few yards, cross the road at the traffic lights and turnright into Fieldgate Street. Follow this street round to the leftuntil you come to the (5) Fieldgate Street Synagogue,one of the few active synagogues left in the area. It is nowdwarfed by one of the largest mosques in Britain and willshortly be almost totally surrounded by the Islamic Centre,which is now being constructed. It is a typical small “stiebel”built in 1899 and rebuilt after bombing in the Second WorldWar. To the left of the Synagogue, notice a plaque on the wallcommemorating the founding of the Jewish bakeryGrodzinskis in 1888.

Go on for about 200 yards and you will see a decayingformer doss house called (6) Tower House or RowtonHouse which is destined to be turned into an expensiveblock of flats. In 1907 Joseph Stalin and Maxim MaximovitchLitvinov (a Jew who was subsequently to become Stalin’sCommissar of Foreign Affairs) lived in this doss house sharinga bed at sixpence a night, whilst attending the 5th

conference of theRussian SocialLabour DemocraticParty. It has alsobeen a temporaryhome to numerousother impoverishedanarchists whocame to London.

Walk until you get to New Road andturn left and walk till you get to thetraffic lights on Whitechapel Road.Look across to the bill boards to theright of the Andrew SketchleyTheatre and you will see the site ofthe most famous of all the YiddishTheatres (7) The Pavilion, which closed in 1936 andwas demolished in the 1960s. It had been a great Victoriantheatre doing melodramas and pantomime but in 1906 itbecame an exclusively Yiddish theatre.

Anna TzelnikerThe sole surviving Yiddishactress who starred inmany of the great Yiddishproductions.Photographed here asPortia in The Merchant ofVenice in 1946 said,

‘There used to be fourgreat Yiddish theatres inthe Aldgate area of theEast End, The Pavillion,

Feinmans, The Jewish National Theatre and the GrandPalais, the last one surviving until 1961. Jewishimmigrants needed the Yiddish theatre for their souls,just as they needed bread to eat. Many of the plotswere melodramatic, but the poor immigrants saw theplays as an escape from their drabsurroundings. Once the immigrantsbecame proficient in English, theYiddish Theatre began to die.’

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Whitechapel Art Gallery and Whitechapel Library(discussed in walk 1). Stop opposite a green space (Altab AliPark) and look across to a modern brick building in AdlerStreet. The building previously on this site, for a briefperiod, housed the (3) Jewish National Theatre, whichput on plays in Yiddish, virtually the lingua franca of thearea for many years. The most famous play in Yiddishperformed at this theatre was Shakespeare’s “The Merchantof Venice” starring the legend of the Yiddish Theatre MeierTzelniker as Shylock.

Proceeding along the north side of Whitechapel Road, stopat the modern building called Black Lion House. This was,until relatively recently, the site of the so-called (4) ‘HattonGarden of the East End’, as the yard contained some 18jewellery shops. Women who bought their engagement ringsthere probably had their wedding photographs taken at theshop over the road (number 14 – the Victorian building withthe Art Deco frontage) where the legendary photographerBoris Bennet (trading as “Boris”) specialised in weddingphotographs of an extremely high standard.

Go on a few yards, cross the road at the traffic lights and turnright into Fieldgate Street. Follow this street round to the leftuntil you come to the (5) Fieldgate Street Synagogue,one of the few active synagogues left in the area. It is nowdwarfed by one of the largest mosques in Britain and willshortly be almost totally surrounded by the Islamic Centre,which is now being constructed. It is a typical small “stiebel”built in 1899 and rebuilt after bombing in the Second WorldWar. To the left of the Synagogue, notice a plaque on the wallcommemorating the founding of the Jewish bakeryGrodzinskis in 1888.

Go on for about 200 yards and you will see a decayingformer doss house called (6) Tower House or RowtonHouse which is destined to be turned into an expensiveblock of flats. In 1907 Joseph Stalin and Maxim MaximovitchLitvinov (a Jew who was subsequently to become Stalin’sCommissar of Foreign Affairs) lived in this doss house sharinga bed at sixpence a night, whilst attending the 5th

conference of theRussian SocialLabour DemocraticParty. It has alsobeen a temporaryhome to numerousother impoverishedanarchists whocame to London.

Walk until you get to New Road andturn left and walk till you get to thetraffic lights on Whitechapel Road.Look across to the bill boards to theright of the Andrew SketchleyTheatre and you will see the site ofthe most famous of all the YiddishTheatres (7) The Pavilion, which closed in 1936 andwas demolished in the 1960s. It had been a great Victoriantheatre doing melodramas and pantomime but in 1906 itbecame an exclusively Yiddish theatre.

Anna TzelnikerThe sole surviving Yiddishactress who starred inmany of the great Yiddishproductions.Photographed here asPortia in The Merchant ofVenice in 1946 said,

‘There used to be fourgreat Yiddish theatres inthe Aldgate area of theEast End, The Pavillion,

Feinmans, The Jewish National Theatre and the GrandPalais, the last one surviving until 1961. Jewishimmigrants needed the Yiddish theatre for their souls,just as they needed bread to eat. Many of the plotswere melodramatic, but the poor immigrants saw theplays as an escape from their drabsurroundings. Once the immigrantsbecame proficient in English, theYiddish Theatre began to die.’

Cou

rtes

y of

Ban

crof

t Lo

cal

Libr

ary

Post

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ourt

esy

of J

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Lond

on

Walk eastwards along Whitechapel Road until you get tothe (8) Royal London Hospital. This institution wasfounded in 1750 and has always had close links with theJewish community. The Sophia, Talbot and Raphael wardscatered for Orthodox Jews and kosher food was provided.The hospital also received substantial support from wealthyJewish businessmen including the Rothschilds, SamuelLewis, Basil Henriques and Samuel Montagu. Over the roadfrom the hospital you will see a monument to Edward VIIerected in his honour (in 1911) by the Jewish communityof the area. It is by the famous sculptor W.S. Frith and iscrowned by a winged angel. It contains a medallionportrait of the King.

Continue walking along Whitechapel Road and turn rightinto Sidney Street, keeping to your right. Stop at the gates,opposite Elrich Cottages, next to an ugly brown buildingand look up the street to a block of flats with bluebalconies. On this site there stood at (9) Number 100Sidney Street a house in a terrace (which has longdisappeared) which was the scene of the most notorioussiege in London’s history. In January 1911, two Jewishimmigrant anarchists, who were wanted for severalmurders, were discovered hiding in this house. The policearrived but realised they could not deal with suchdesperadoes. Troops were summoned from the Tower ofLondon and eventually the house caught fire and thebodies of two anarchists were found inside. One of thegreat myths of the East End arose here as it was suspectedthat Peter Piatkov, (also known as Peter the Painter, afamous anarchist) had been in the house but had escaped.Nothing has ever been proved. Several films have beenmade about the siege including two by Alfred Hitchcock.The irrepressible Home Secretary of the time, WinstonChurchill, insisted on being present throughout the siege.

Turn left into Lindley Streetand walk as far as JubileeStreet. On the south westcorner of the junction ofthe two streets there usedto stand the (10)Workers’ Friends Cluband Institute founded in1906 by a non-JewishGerman immigrant,Rudolph Rocker. He learnedYiddish, organised theJewish workers into unionsand staged the 1912

Tailors’ Strike, which led toimproved working conditionsfor workers in the notorioussweatshops.

Turn left into Jubilee Street andgo through O’Leary Square.Stop at (11) Rinkoffs for abeigel or a slice of delicious cheesecake at the last Jewishbaker left in the East End. Go on through O’Leary Squareand onto Mile End Road. The green space on the other sideof the road known as (12) “The Waste” is where manypolitical demonstrations took place. Theodor Herzl, thefather of Zionism, addressed a meeting there in 1898 andduring the Tailors’ Strike in 1912 the tailors met there. In1914 the so-called Schneiders Battalion (composed ofJewish tailors) was formed there.

Go east along Mile End Road passing the Genesis Cinemaon your left. At one stage this was known as the (13)Paragon Theatre of Varieties and among the peoplewho performed there was the young Charlie Chaplin (hebilled himself as the “Hebrew” comic) and the youngBarnet Winogradowsky (later Lord Delfont). Keep walkingand turn right into Stepney Green. You will come to aVictorian block of flats called (14) Dunstan Dwellingswhere Rudolph Rocker lived at no.33 in what was virtuallyan anarchist commune.

Go on and come to the (15) Leonard MontefioreDrinking Fountain next to a clock tower. Thisdilapidated fountain was erected in the 19th century inmemory of Leonard Montefiore, whose family was one ofthe great philanthropic families in the East End. Go on andcross at the next zebra crossing. Turn left immediately and

There is onlyone Jewishbakery left inthe East End.Rinkoffs inO’LearySquare.d

id y

ou k

now

?

Walk eastwards along Whitechapel Road until you get tothe (8) Royal London Hospital. This institution wasfounded in 1750 and has always had close links with theJewish community. The Sophia, Talbot and Raphael wardscatered for Orthodox Jews and kosher food was provided.The hospital also received substantial support from wealthyJewish businessmen including the Rothschilds, SamuelLewis, Basil Henriques and Samuel Montagu. Over the roadfrom the hospital you will see a monument to Edward VIIerected in his honour (in 1911) by the Jewish communityof the area. It is by the famous sculptor W.S. Frith and iscrowned by a winged angel. It contains a medallionportrait of the King.

Continue walking along Whitechapel Road and turn rightinto Sidney Street, keeping to your right. Stop at the gates,opposite Elrich Cottages, next to an ugly brown buildingand look up the street to a block of flats with bluebalconies. On this site there stood at (9) Number 100Sidney Street a house in a terrace (which has longdisappeared) which was the scene of the most notorioussiege in London’s history. In January 1911, two Jewishimmigrant anarchists, who were wanted for severalmurders, were discovered hiding in this house. The policearrived but realised they could not deal with suchdesperadoes. Troops were summoned from the Tower ofLondon and eventually the house caught fire and thebodies of two anarchists were found inside. One of thegreat myths of the East End arose here as it was suspectedthat Peter Piatkov, (also known as Peter the Painter, afamous anarchist) had been in the house but had escaped.Nothing has ever been proved. Several films have beenmade about the siege including two by Alfred Hitchcock.The irrepressible Home Secretary of the time, WinstonChurchill, insisted on being present throughout the siege.

Turn left into Lindley Streetand walk as far as JubileeStreet. On the south westcorner of the junction ofthe two streets there usedto stand the (10)Workers’ Friends Cluband Institute founded in1906 by a non-JewishGerman immigrant,Rudolph Rocker. He learnedYiddish, organised theJewish workers into unionsand staged the 1912

Tailors’ Strike, which led toimproved working conditionsfor workers in the notorioussweatshops.

Turn left into Jubilee Street andgo through O’Leary Square.Stop at (11) Rinkoffs for abeigel or a slice of delicious cheesecake at the last Jewishbaker left in the East End. Go on through O’Leary Squareand onto Mile End Road. The green space on the other sideof the road known as (12) “The Waste” is where manypolitical demonstrations took place. Theodor Herzl, thefather of Zionism, addressed a meeting there in 1898 andduring the Tailors’ Strike in 1912 the tailors met there. In1914 the so-called Schneiders Battalion (composed ofJewish tailors) was formed there.

Go east along Mile End Road passing the Genesis Cinemaon your left. At one stage this was known as the (13)Paragon Theatre of Varieties and among the peoplewho performed there was the young Charlie Chaplin (hebilled himself as the “Hebrew” comic) and the youngBarnet Winogradowsky (later Lord Delfont). Keep walkingand turn right into Stepney Green. You will come to aVictorian block of flats called (14) Dunstan Dwellingswhere Rudolph Rocker lived at no.33 in what was virtuallyan anarchist commune.

Go on and come to the (15) Leonard MontefioreDrinking Fountain next to a clock tower. Thisdilapidated fountain was erected in the 19th century inmemory of Leonard Montefiore, whose family was one ofthe great philanthropic families in the East End. Go on andcross at the next zebra crossing. Turn left immediately and

There is onlyone Jewishbakery left inthe East End.Rinkoffs inO’LearySquare.d

id y

ou k

now

?






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Further informationThe AuthorThis booklet was compiled by Clive Bettington a lawyerand tour guide. In March 2003 Clive founded the JewishEast End Celebration Society (JEECS) in order to save thefast disappearing heritage of the Jewish East End. JEECSwill work to preserve the remaining Jewish buildings of theJewish East End and encourage the academic study of allaspects of the history of the area.

If you want to know more about JEECS, please email Cliveat [email protected] or [email protected]

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) JGSGB is the premier society for Jewish genealogy in GreatBritain.

Membership Enquiries: General Enquiries: The Membership Secretary, PO Box 13288, PO Box 2508, London N3 3WD. Maidenhead SL6 8WS. Email: [email protected]

Website: www.jgsgb.org.uk

For more information on things to do in Tower Hamletsvisit www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/data/discover

The four remaining activesynagogues in the East End:

Congregation of JacobSynagogue (1903 –Kehillas Ya’akov)351-353 Commercial RoadLondon E1 2PSTel: 020 7790 2874

East London CentralSynagogue (1922)30-40 Nelson StreetLondon E1 2DETel: 020 7790 9809

Fieldgate Street GreatSynagogue (1899)Fieldgate StreetLondon E1 1JUTel: 020 72472644

Sandy’s Row Synagogue(1766)4a Sandy’s RowLondon E1 7HWTel: 020 7253 8311

East End Synagogues

Timeline1066 Arrival of King William I (‘the

Conqueror’) with his ‘personal’Jews from Rouen.

1190 Massacre of Jews in York

1290 Expulsion of the Jews fromEngland by King Edward I.

1656 Return of the Jews to Englandafter negotiations betweenOliver Cromwell and MenassehBen Israel.

1753 Passing of the JewishNaturalization Bill.

1855 Sir David Salomons becomesfirst Jewish Lord Mayor ofLondon.

1858 Baron Lionel de Rothschildbecomes the first practising Jewto take his seat in the House ofCommons.

1868 Benjamin Disraeli becomes firstJewish-born Prime Minister ofEngland.

1881 Assassination of TzarAlexander II of Russia leads toprogroms against Jews inEastern Europe.

1905/6 Russo-Japanese War results ina large migration of EastEuropean Jews to the West.

1907 Aliens Act seeking to restrict thenumber of Jews enteringEngland.

1936 Battle of Cable Street. SirOswald Moseley and the BritishUnion of Fascists attempt toinvade the Jewish East End.

1939-1945 Destruction of a great deal of theEast End results in a largenumber of Jews in the East Endleaving for Essex and NorthLondon.

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4274

Further informationThe AuthorThis booklet was compiled by Clive Bettington a lawyerand tour guide. In March 2003 Clive founded the JewishEast End Celebration Society (JEECS) in order to save thefast disappearing heritage of the Jewish East End. JEECSwill work to preserve the remaining Jewish buildings of theJewish East End and encourage the academic study of allaspects of the history of the area.

If you want to know more about JEECS, please email Cliveat [email protected] or [email protected]

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) JGSGB is the premier society for Jewish genealogy in GreatBritain.

Membership Enquiries: General Enquiries: The Membership Secretary, PO Box 13288, PO Box 2508, London N3 3WD. Maidenhead SL6 8WS. Email: [email protected]

Website: www.jgsgb.org.uk

For more information on things to do in Tower Hamletsvisit www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/data/discover

The four remaining activesynagogues in the East End:

Congregation of JacobSynagogue (1903 –Kehillas Ya’akov)351-353 Commercial RoadLondon E1 2PSTel: 020 7790 2874

East London CentralSynagogue (1922)30-40 Nelson StreetLondon E1 2DETel: 020 7790 9809

Fieldgate Street GreatSynagogue (1899)Fieldgate StreetLondon E1 1JUTel: 020 72472644

Sandy’s Row Synagogue(1766)4a Sandy’s RowLondon E1 7HWTel: 020 7253 8311

East End Synagogues

Timeline1066 Arrival of King William I (‘the

Conqueror’) with his ‘personal’Jews from Rouen.

1190 Massacre of Jews in York

1290 Expulsion of the Jews fromEngland by King Edward I.

1656 Return of the Jews to Englandafter negotiations betweenOliver Cromwell and MenassehBen Israel.

1753 Passing of the JewishNaturalization Bill.

1855 Sir David Salomons becomesfirst Jewish Lord Mayor ofLondon.

1858 Baron Lionel de Rothschildbecomes the first practising Jewto take his seat in the House ofCommons.

1868 Benjamin Disraeli becomes firstJewish-born Prime Minister ofEngland.

1881 Assassination of TzarAlexander II of Russia leads toprogroms against Jews inEastern Europe.

1905/6 Russo-Japanese War results ina large migration of EastEuropean Jews to the West.

1907 Aliens Act seeking to restrict thenumber of Jews enteringEngland.

1936 Battle of Cable Street. SirOswald Moseley and the BritishUnion of Fascists attempt toinvade the Jewish East End.

1939-1945 Destruction of a great deal of theEast End results in a largenumber of Jews in the East Endleaving for Essex and NorthLondon.

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Documents

Jewish East End Walk