The Jews of Boston, Lincolnshire

Abstract

In Anglo-Jewish history the county of Lincolnshire was important in two eras. First, in the Middle Ages the town of Lincoln had a significant Jewish settlement and was particularly notorious for the long-lived blood-libel and myth of Little Hugh of Lincoln. More recently, there has been the community of Grimsby and also the role of that port as a point of entry for Jews and other immigrants. In the 19th century small numbers of Jews settled in several towns in the county — a few at Gainsborough and Louth; rather more at Lincoln, and most at Boston. The Jewish community of Grimsby has greatly declined in recent years, but a new community, a Progressive congregation, was formed in Lincoln in 1992. In this article i shall look at Boston.