York Jewish History: Community and Identity Through the Centuries
The history of the Jewish community in York is a fascinating, if often overlooked, chapter in the city’s long and colourful past.
Whilst attention is usually focused on the tragic event at the site now called Clifford’s Tower, there are stories to be told about the resilience of the Medieval Jewish community and of commemoration and revival of Jewish life in the more recent past.
Along the trail, we will discover the sites of synagogues both ancient and more recent, meet prominent historical Jews such as Aaron of York and the unfortunate Benedict, explore the remains of a 12thcentury house and the place of a significant Medieval Jewish burial ground, and finally reflect on murder and remembrance at Clifford’s Tower itself, where Jewish families tragically died on 16thMarch 1190.
User guide
The tour will lead you around York’s historic cityscape, exploring some of its forgotten stories. At each stop along the trail, listen along to the audio narrative provided and see the photographic illustration to position you at the location, and to reveal historic and archaeological objects from the site. These can be accessed via a script, a podcast, or an app as following:
Resources
Leaflet, including Map for Trail (pdf)
Trail podcasts
http://audioboo.fm/users/165936/playlists/3572-york-jewish-history-trail
