History of the Jews in Coventry
Visit to the current exhibition in the Herbert Gallery and to the London Road Cemetery
Thursday 23 May, 2pm-ca. 4pm, meeting point at Herbert Gallery
Guided by local historian Mark Johnson, this excursion will take us first through the small temporary exhibition on Coventry鈥檚 Jewish history currently shown in the Herbert Gallery (2pm-ca. 3:15pm), and then to the Jewish section of the nearby London Road Cemetery (ca. 3:30-4pm). Please see more detail below
Mark Johnson is a local historian and author of . See also this on BBC Coventry.
Meeting point at 2pm will be in the foyer of Coventry鈥檚 Herbert Gallery near the bookshop (note: there are two main entrances). Transfer to the cemetery will be on foot (ca. 20 minutes), by bus or through rideshare with those who come by car. Please bring sensible footwear, the cemetery is rough terrain.
This is a unique chance to see the otherwise closed Jewish cemetery!
Programme
Mark will introduce participants to the rich history of Coventry鈥檚 Jewish community as one of the important contributors to the city鈥檚 history of migration. We will learn about Coventry鈥檚 Jewish watchmakers, e.g. Alfred Fridlander, producer of some of the world鈥檚 finest watches and progressive philanthropist, and his children, the suffragist Annie Fridlander and the poet and artist Ernest David Fridlander. Mark will also talk about other members of the Jewish community who left their mark on the life of the city, such as philanthropist and quill maker Joseph Levi or Mayor and founder of Triumph Motor Cycles Siegfried Bettmann, who had to step down from his post in 1914 as an 鈥榚nemy alien鈥�. We will hear about the history and present of Coventry Synagogue, about George Eliot鈥檚 close links with Jewish fellow citizens, their impact on her Jewish writings, and the influence of Eliot鈥檚 work on the Zionist movement, and about the heritage of the Holocaust, including the 50 children coming to Coventry on the Kindertransport, alongside many other examples for this rich and complex part of Coventry鈥檚 history and of Jewish history in Britain.
