Jews Court, Lincoln – an evaluation of Cecil Roth’s medieval synagogue and the discourse on the English medieval synagogue taking a buildings archaeology approach

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper presents an overview investigation of Jews’ Court, Lincoln, research findings, and preliminary thoughts on the form and location of the English medieval synagogue. Dr Cecil Roth assigned synagogue use to the building in the medieval period; however, its appearance is of post-medieval date. The study which took a buildings archaeology approach concluded that Roth’s hypothesis was incorrect. It further investigated the divergent opinions on the building’s construction date and phasing. This paper presents thoughts on the use of medieval building typologies to inform the understanding of the material evidence for the Medieval Anglo-Jewish community and hypotheses on the form and location of medieval synagogues.