Plaque to commemorate Jews driven out of Worcester in Middle Ages

Dignitaries from all over the country will arrive on Friday, July 22 to commemorate the Jewish community and remember the persecution they endured. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

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In an act of remembrance, around 40 people representing secular and religious organisations and major UK faiths will witness the unveiling.

KING: Edward I drove the Jews out of Worcester

Members of the public are invited to attend St Andrew’s Gardens, just opposite Copenhagen Street car park entrance, at 10.30am.

During the Middle Ages there was a small Jewish community in Worcester from around 1154. Evidence suggests a Jewish Quarter in Cooken Street (now Copenhagen Street).

QUARTER: Copenhagen Street was believed to be the Jewish Quarter in the Middle Ages

During this time, Worcester, at the behest of Henry III, played host to a national gathering of England’s leading Jews to levy a tax on about a third of their property. 

Worcester was one of 26 Jewish centres to have an archa or official document store for Jewish records.

The introduction of archae was part of the reorganisation of English Jewry ordered by King Richard I in light of the massacre of Jews in 1189-1190.

CHANGES: The Bishop of Worcester John Inge said the bishops of Worcester had been involved in the expulsion of the Jews during the Middle Ages despite them being God's 'chosen people'

The massacres resulted in a heavy loss to Crown revenue partly as a result of Jewish financial records being destroyed in order to conceal evidence of debts.

The archa was intended to safeguard the royal rights in case of future disorder.

All Jewish possessions were to be registered and certain cities, including Worcester, were designated to serve as the centre for all future Jewish business operations.

In 1263, during the Baronial Wars, Worcester’s Jewish community was attacked by the Earls of Leicester and Derby.

However, Jews continued to live in Worcester until 1275 when Edward I drove them out of the city.  In 1290, the Jews were expelled from England altogether.

Ephraim Mirvis, Chief Rabbi said: “The story of the small but prominent Jewish community of Worcester shines a light on what it was to be a Jew in Medieval England."  

The Right Reverend Dr John Inge, Lord Bishop of Worcester said the medieval Bishops of Worcester who supported the expulsion of the Jewish community had "clearly forgotten that the Jews were and are God’s chosen people".  

"It is a privilege to join with people of different faiths and none to honour the memory of those who suffered and to do all we can to promote understanding and harmony."