Brighton Jewry reconsidered

<plain_text><page sequence="1">Brighton Jewry reconsidered* DAVID SPECT0R It is some twenty years since a paper on Brighton's Jewry, delivered to this Society, aroused considerable national and local interest.1 The present article supplements the earlier one and draws attention to new material, some of which has come to hand since the lecture on which it is based was presented in 1987. The earliest reference to Jewry in post-resettlement Sussex appears in the records of fees, duties and Rents of Assizes of the Harbour of Rye dated 1670: 'The Bailiff received one shilling headmoney on every Jew leaving or entering the Harbour'.2 Until about 1840 there was an inlet east of Rye known as 'Jews Gap', but the name has since been corrupted to 'Jury Gap'.3 It is possible that it obtained its original name by being a place of landing or exit for those who chose not to pay this impost. In proposals to finance works for the new harbour at Newhaven in 1724, one Fuller suggested a tax to be levied on Jews on any ship entering the harbour. Henry Pelham, the local MP, while sympathetic, doubted whether merchants would tolerate another impost on shipping and noted that a tax on Jews had often been rejected.4 In the latter half of the nineteenth century, ironically enough, under-privileged Jewish children of the East End subscribed their half-pennies and pence to provide a series of lifeboats at Newhaven, which altogether saved 136 lives. The lifeboats were all named 'Michael Henry', after the editor of the Jewish Chronicle who founded the Jewish Scholars' Life-Boat Fund.5 'Jacobs Post'?north of Ditchling?where the body of Jacob Harris was gibbeted in 1734, has been restored by a local school and the original indictments at Horsham Assizes examined.6 The Lewes press reported in 1789 that Jewish pedlars were travelling the county with 'pens, sealing wax and slippers'.7 The question has been raised recently whether Antioch Street in Lewes was the medieval Jewish quarter.8 The Brighton Vestry Minutes of 18 December 1797 ordered 'that John Reeder's daughter now living with Mr Levi be allowed a Gown, petticoats, two shifts, two aprons, two pairs of stockings and a Bonnet'. Isaac Levi's address is given as 'Pounes Court, West Street' where the synagogue succeeding that in Jew Street is recorded in about 1800. Geoffrey Green has identified two former Naval Agents, Isaac Aaron and Saul Charles Aaron, among early-nineteenth-century residents.9 Jacob Montefiore in 1840 is noted as the twelfth-largest landowner in the area, with a 476-acre estate, used * This paper is based on a lecture delivered to the Society on 10 December 1987. 91</page><page sequence="2"></page><page sequence="3">Brighton Jewry reconsidered as a farm, in Rottingdean.10 The Police History Society published the present writer's account of the murder in 1844 of the Chief Constable, Henry Solomon; and the Brighton Museum has on permanent exhibition a silver-mounted tipstaff presented to him by the citizens of Lewes in April 1840, in gratitude for his efficiency as Chief Officer of Police in Brighton.11 A more detailed examination of the origins of Jew Street in Brighton, and the deeds of premises, lead one to the conclusion that the first synagogue opened in Jew Street in 1789, and not, as previously thought, in 1792. The first section of Jew Street leads immediately south from Church Street (formerly Springs Walk), and then turns east into a twitten with one building on the south side, and leads out into Bond Street (known at times as New Street). Both sections are designated Jew Street. Land in this area was purchased from Nathaniel Kemp on 23 March 1787, and there is a reference in the Land Tax Assessments for 1789 to 'three buildings in Jew Street'.12 Budgen's map of 1788 shows neither Bond Street nor Jew Street; nor is a synagogue listed or marked among the non-denominational places of worship.13 A deed dated 9 October 1789 refers to 'Little Bond Street otherwise Jew Street'. The section immediately south of Springs Walk is reported to have been known at one time as Little Bond Street, but with the erection of a building on the south side of the twitten and its use as a synagogue, both sections became known in 1789 as Jew Street. The building on the south side of the twitten extends into Bond Street and is known as 14 Bond Street. Edward Cobby's Map of Brighthelmstone of 1799 clearly shows the area, and gives it the name Jew Street.14 Frederick Harrison, the local historian, states 'Jew-street was so called as there was at one time a synagogue in it'.15 An additional storey has been added to the old building in Jew Street, but an archway and windows on the ground floor are clearly visible. There is an entry point on the exterior wall for either coal or water, and a covered-in recess in the basement perhaps for a mikveh. J. Godfrey-Gilbert, FRIBA, has examined the area and confirmed that it was constructed of eighteenth-century material. A basement room, 20x14 feet in size, was found to be sound-proofed by a contemporary method known as 'pugging', and may well have been the room Plate 1 Pike and Ivimy's New Map of Brighton, 1867. The numbers refer to the following locations: 1 Jew Street: the first synagogue, 1789 2 Poune's Court: the home of Isaac Levi and the second synagogue {c. 1800-23) 3 Devonshire Place: the third synagogue (1823-75) 4 Middle Street: synagogue consecrated 1875 5 Old Cemetery: opened 1826, on land given by Thomas Read Kemp 6 34 North Street: the offices of the Brighton Guardian, where Levi Emanuel Cohen, the editor, was burnt in effigy 7 Lewis's Buildings: the home of Hyam Lewis' family 8 Town Hall: part of the town hall was used as a police station. It was here that Henry Solomon was murdered in 1844. 93</page><page sequence="4">David Spector Plate 2 Jew Street, showing the door of the building that contained the first synagogue, 1789. used for services by the then small minyan. Jew Street was then on the outskirts of the town, and in about 1800 the congregation moved to Pounes Court in the centre of the town, where the Brighton Vestry recorded Isaac Levi's address. It is clearly indicated in Marchant's map of 1808 and given the reference number seven.16 It remained there until 1823, when the congregation made its third move, to Devonshire Place, where it remained until the opening of Middle Street in 1875. This is confirmed in a book published in 1937 which states that: 94</page><page sequence="5">Brighton Jewry reconsidered 'Boyces Street was formerly Boyces Lane and a little further down there was a passage that led to a small square, Pounes Court, in which was the Jews' Synagogue built before Devonshire Place'.17 The Sussex Archaeological Collections published an article on Religious Dissenters in Sussex and referred to returns ordered by the House of Lords in 1810 and 1829.18 The background of these returns was the disturbance caused to the Anglican establishment by the growth of dissent and the pressure for the removal of discrimination. There was strong opposition to the idea of collecting and publishing figures showing the extent of this movement. However, in 1810 the House of Lords called by order for a list of places of worship in parishes with a population of more than 1000. The returns of 1810 for the Diocese of Chichester at the British Library contain a special column for Jews, showing at Brighthelmstone one synagogue with room for fifty worshippers.19 The only other reference to Jews in the 1810 returns is for the Diocese of Norwich, which records a synagogue at Kings Lynn. In 1829 a similar order was made by the House of Lords, but this time only Jews 'belonging' to the community were to be so called. The returns were not printed, and most of the material was destroyed in the great fire at the Palace of Westminster in 1834. The originals of the parish returns for Sussex survived in the Quarter Session Records at Lewes, and in 1829 Jews who 'belonged' numbered forty.20 Dr Lipman has suggested that as the congregation premises moved at some point between the 1810 and 1829 returns, one might assume they preferred a place of worship of smaller capacity. Another figure of interest is the record of sixty-three Jewish signatures from Brighton in the petition organized in 1833 by Isaac Lyon Goldsmid for the removal of disabilities from the Jews; but some signatories may have been visitors to the town.21 Brighton is therefore unique in having official figures available for 1810 and 1829. Jewry also had a public place of worship in Brighton before the Roman Catholics (1806) or the Methodists (1808).22 More information has been forthcoming on Hyam Lewis (1767-1851). The name 'Hyam Lobb' is found among the children of the Emanuel Hyam Cohen family, and a family relationship can be assumed, since 'Hyam Lewis' would be its anglicization. A postcard showing 44 Kings Road, the former premises of the family, reveals the words 'founded in 1790' on the side blind of the shop. Hyam Lewis supplied swords to the local Commissioners and was the first pawnbroker in Brighton. He married a daughter of Emanuel Hyam Cohen, was a member of the Great Synagogue, and was active in the affairs of the congregation, serving as an Elder and President.23 His brother George Lewis is referred to in early minutes. Except that he is recorded in an 1823 Directory of Lewes as having a pawnbroker's shop at 'The Cliffe', little is known about him. In 1826 Richard Dighton depicted Hyam Lewis in the print 'Lewis and Brighton' (see Plate 3).24 Antony Dale, an eminent authority on Brighton, commented T always thought of Hyam Lewis as being an averagely prosperous local tradesman. I am 95</page><page sequence="6">Plate 3 Hyam Lewis, commissioner and jeweller. Richard Dighton's print shows the 'Chain Pier' (opened in 1823) in the background and a small steamboat. 96</page><page sequence="7">Brighton Jewry reconsidered surprised that he was well-known enough to have justified making such a print, and that it was plain to whom it referred, because the majority of these prints referred to very well-known people. For instance a "View of Norfolk" meant the Duke of Norfolk. It is amazing that Lewis could be treated on that level.'25 Brighton Corporation recently restored the name 'Lewis's Buildings' to a passageway opposite the Post Office in Ship Street, to mark adjacent premises occupied by the Lewis family for a number of years.26 In 1813 he was elected an 'Improvement Commissioner for Brighthelmstone', which was some three years before he was 'endenizened' on 16 November 1816.27 'Improvement Com? missioners' were established by Acts of Parliament to meet the needs arising from the growth of towns and the increasing industrial population. Eventually, 200 such bodies?together with nearly 100 similar bodies in the Metropolitan area of London?functioned in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a form of local government. The 1810 Act for Brighthelmstone laid down that the first obligation of a Commissioner was to sign the Oath, or in the case of Quakers the Affirmation. The next task was to testify that they were householders paying 'scot and lot': that they occupied a house to the annual value of ?50. Hyam Lewis attended the first meeting of the new Commissioners on 24 November 1813, but declined to take the Oath as he stated that he was not duly qualified. He was again elected on 15 February 1822, and now being properly qualified he took the Oath on 6 March 1822. The abjuration of the Oath was 'So help me God'. In 1823 he was appointed Director and Guardian of the Poor. His name is printed in the 1825 List of Commissioners, and in 1838 he became a member of the first Police Committee established under the Municipal Corpora? tion Act of 1835.28 The mainly Jewish area of the Parish of St James, Duke's Place, in the City of London, provided Jewish members for the 'Leet Jury', a form of local government, but it is not known whether they took an Oath on accepting office.29 Hyam Lewis is the first recorded professing Jew to have been elected and sworn to office in a form of local government. His son, Benjamin (1806-76), assisted him in his business, and Benjamin received the Royal Warrant in 1838.30 Benjamin's daughter, Leah, married a Coleman-Cohen in 1854.31 Lewis Coleman-Cohen (1897-1966), later Lord Cohen of Brighton, was a direct descendant.32 Hyam Lewis is reported to have paid for the tombstone of Phoebe Hessel in the grounds of St Nicholas Church, who died at the age of 108, having served as a private soldier for a number of years.33 The tombstone was recently restored by her regiment. I cannot trace any obituary of Hyam Lewis in local papers or the Jewish Chronicle. The transformation of a young man arriving from Prague in about 1790, into the well-dressed gentleman depicted by Richard Dighton is remarkable. A great-grandson, Harry B. Lewis, who died in 1955, was an Alderman and an extremely able Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Brighton Council at a period when he was completely blind.34 97</page><page sequence="8">Plate 4 'Hanging in Effigy': Levi Emanuel Cohen in a cartoon from 'Looking Glass No. 10' i October 1830, London. Plate 5 'The London &amp; Brighton Railway Advertizer', depicting Levi Emanuel Cohen walking on the promenade at Brighton during the controversy about the site of the proposed railway station.</page><page sequence="9">Brighton Jewry reconsidered The role of the three brothers-in-law in nineteenth-century Brighton must be considered in relation to the small number of Jewish residents. Hyam Lewis, Commissioner and man of influence, and Henry Solomon, Chief of Police, are overshadowed by the third brother-in-law, Levi Emanuel Cohen, an Elder and Reader of the Congregation. Levi founded the Brighton Guardian in 1827 and was sixth President of the Newspaper Society for the years 1841-3.35 Editorials attacked the Corn Laws, paid Police, emphasized that poverty was the cause of crime, demanded universal suffrage as in the USA and civil marriage, praised the 1830 revolution in France, expressed delight at the fall of Wellington's ministry and recommended a political union among the middle classes, who should combine with the working class, and not the aristocracy. On 18 August 1830, in the course of a leading article occupying nearly a column in the Brighton Guardian, Cohen stated that 'the King is not a strong-minded man'. This comment created an uproar, as many people felt that the goodwill and visits of royalty to Brighton were essential to the prosperity of the town, and that the king would be Vexed' and spend his money elsewhere. A hostile crowd stoned and broke the windows of the building at 34 North Street where his offices were situated, and he was hanged in effigy (see Plate 4). In May 1988 a previously unknown cartoon depicting this incident was found at the Brighton Reference Library. The Royal Pavilion can be seen in the background and a pickpocket of Jewish appearance.36 The Brighton Guardian of 8 September 1830 stated that the king had expressed his displeasure at 'the loyal holocaust of the Brightonians' and Cohen defended himself by stating that his enemies had exploited his 'unguarded expression'. The weekly edition of The Times, according to Cohen, had also attacked him, but the daily edition of 28 August 1830 defended him in the name of freedom of the press. Political life was fierce at this period, and Cohen, who represented the Liberals, was marked for harassment by the magistrates who were well-to-do. Newspapers and their editors were a special object of contempt to Grand Jurymen. An opportunity for revenge arose with the publication in the Brighton Guardian of 28 November 1832 of a 'correspondent's' report on incendiary fires in the areas of Arundel and Horsham.37 The paragraph was not quite thirty-three lines long, but was said by adversaries to contain not less than eight distinct and grave charges. A complaint was made by a Mr Wm C. Mabott, and although a Grand Jury met in December 1832 and again at the Quarter Sessions in January 1833, the authorities convened a special Grand Jury to consider the complaint against Cohen. This Grand Jury ultimately consisted of twenty-three members, of whom twenty were magistrates and declared enemies of Cohen. His fate was decided in advance, and the trial of 'The King v. Cohen' took place before a special jury of ten men at the Lewes Assizes on 31 July 1833. Cohen defended himself splendidly and with great dignity, but the jury took only a quarter of an hour unanimously to find him guilty. He was convicted of libel, 'tending to bring the 99</page><page sequence="10">David Spector Plate 6 Levi Emanuel Cohen, distinguished journalist and radical, in the memorial portrait commissioned by the committee organized by the Jewish Chronicle. IOO</page><page sequence="11">Brighton Jewry reconsidered magistrates of Sussex into contempt, to set the lower classes against the higher and to incite the people to acts of incendiarism'. The last part of the charge, Justice Parke the presiding Judge told the jury, was quite unsupported. Cohen was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, fined ?50 and had to find sureties for three years. Chelmsford Prison was selected for his internment, so as to impede the continuity of the newspaper. Cohen used this to his advantage by heading his weekly leaders in the following manner: 'Chelmsford Gaol, Twentieth week (last but six) of our incarceration on the prosecution of W. C. Mabbott, Esq., of Uckfield'. On 21 February 1834 the matter was brought to the attention of the House of Commons, but the Government abstained and the motion was rejected by fifty-eight votes to twenty-seven, drawing severe comments on the liberty of the press under a Whig administration. Uninhibited by his imprisonment, Cohen involved himself in the turbulent controversy over the site of the terminal of the proposed Brighton railway from London, then in the course of legislation.38 Stephenson had proposed a site just north of Brunswick Square for the terminus, in the fashionable section of Hove; his rival Rennie's choice was north of the centre of Brighton. The radicals combined with the wealthy residents of Brunswick Square and won a victory for the Rennie line, to the discomfiture of the Whigs. Cohen is depicted in a cartoon captioned 'The London &amp; Brighton Railway Advertizer' (Plate 5). Cohen became a prominent member of the Incorporation Committee, organizing a petition to the Privy Council for the granting of a Charter to Brighton as a Municipal Borough, which was eventually granted on 30 January 1854.39 Posters used in the campaign show that Cohen printed all the pro-incorporation material with the name 'Cohen Brighton' prominently displayed.40 The mayor of Brighton at the time of the fiftieth Incorporation Celebrations in 1904 was Emile Maurice Marx (1887-1932), the first Jewish mayor of Brighton and the youngest ever elected in the town?he was twenty-seven.41 Cohen led the life of a recluse and died in i860. His brother Nathan succeeded him and was reported to have abandoned the bitter tone which had characterized its articles.42 An extensive obituary of Levi was printed in the Brighton Guardian on 28 November i860 with a supplement containing 'the Speech of the Defendant, Levy Emanuel Cohen, at the TRIAL "The King v. Cohen"'. The Jewish Chronicle paid generous tribute to Levi and organized a committee to publish a memorial portrait (see Plate 6).43 He is a neglected figure in Anglo-Jewish history, and is not mentioned in the 125th- or i50th-anniversary publications of the Newspaper Society (founded 1836), which he served so loyally. Printers' ink ran in the blood of the Cohen family, as apart from Levi, Nathan and Rosetta, another sister, Zipporah Harris, at times assisted, and during the illness of Levi edited the paper.44 Two other brothers, Abraham (1812-74) and Ralph (1814-90), were also involved. Both subsequently emigrated to Aus? tralia, where Abraham purchased an interest in The Australian and Ralph, who 101</page><page sequence="12">David Spector came out in 1838, was initially employed by Abraham on the paper.45 Yet another brother, George, who will be discussed in more detail later, established The Intelligencer at Belleville, Ontario, then Lower Canada. This paper is still in production. Zipporah wrote to Ralph on 19 January 1848 to tell him of the improvement she was able to obtain after the installation of 'a machine'. This had been necessary because The Times was now arriving by rail from London at 10 o'clock in the morning, which required them to work rapidly. They could now establish the outer forme by 7 o'clock (instead of 3 o'clock) and the inner by 10 o'clock, and could print 800 an hour. They could do job printing, and produce thousands instead of hundreds.44 Other Cohen families produced journalists. Cohen posters can be seen in the foyer of the Theatre Royal, Brighton. The first issue of the Brighton Guardian appeared on 31 January 1827, and the final issue on 25 September 1901. In 1869 it described itself as 'Published every WEDNESDAY Morning, circulates through Sussex generally, but more especially among the Gentry, Clergy and Influential Classes in Brighton, Arundel, Worthing, Chichester and Hastings; and is besides sold at the principal Stations of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.' Research on crime in the early eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the provinces has been carried out by Bill Williams in Manchester, Louis Hyman in Ireland, and published by John Samuel Levi in his studies of Jews transported to Australia.46 A Lewes group recorded and indexed details of 6000 cases for the years 1810-40 from the rolls of the criminal cases at the Lewes Quarter Sessions. The present writer could identify only four Jewish names. In 1810 Mordecai Barnet was charged with fraud and bound over to appear at the Old Bailey, which he failed to do. Abraham Phillips was charged in 1819 with having uttered base shilling coins, was imprisoned for one year and ordered to find sureties for two years. David Isaacs, a twenty-three-year-old general dealer, was acquitted in 1824 of stealing twenty yards of calico. In 1828 Mary Aiternacker, alias Burchell, otherwise called Mary Turner, was convicted of 'keeping and maintaining a common bawdy house for her lucre and gain' and was sentenced to hard labour. In 1830 she was again charged, this time with 'keeping a disorderly house in Apollo Gardens, Brighton', and was once more imprisoned. Her family is known in early records and this account is printed with the permission of their descendants. Contrary to repeated allegations that Jews at this period were the main passers of counterfeit coins, the Sussex researchers record that the passing of counterfeit coins was a common charge among the local population.47 In March 1838a letter appeared in the Brighton Herald stating that with a population of 40,000 there were no Jewish beggars, drunkards, prostitutes or suicides. One agrees with Bill Williams' conclusion that viewed in the context of general crime, Jewish criminality was relatively insignificant in the provinces and certainly negligible in Sussex, in spite of its proximity to London, the mass centre of Jewish population in the United Kingdom. 102</page><page sequence="13">M^^^^^^^^^^,&gt;, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Plates 7 and 8 Philip Salomons' private synagogue today. It also contained his private collection of Hebrew books and religious appurtenances. It is on the top floor of 26 Brunswick Terrace, Hove, and is visible from the promenade.</page><page sequence="14">David Spector Another example of local research of interest to Jewry was the publication in 1986 of Clockmakers of Sussex 1600-1900 by E. J. Tyler. Twenty-three names can be identified as Jewish, with premises at Brighton, Hove, Lewes, Chichester, Hastings, Petworth and Worthing. All are nineteenth-century entries, by which period very little clockmaking in the traditional sense was carried out, since imported parts were made up to form many of the clocks produced. The 'Ann of Cleves Museum' at Lewes has among its exhibits a mantel clock with the name Berncastel on its movement and a barometer with the name Berncastel (to be discussed below) on its face. The writer obtained access to the room used by Philip Salomons (1796 1867) as his private synagogue, at 26 Brunswick Terrace, Hove (see Plates 7 and 8).48 It is under the pepperpot feature still clearly visible from the promenade at Hove. Israel Davis in the Jewish Chronicle of 13 November 1891 records his impression of visits to the private synagogue: 'Philip Salomons... one of my early memories is his pretty little private synagogue in Brunswick Terrace. When it was dressed in white for Rosh Hashona it was charming. Some learned immigrant from the Ruthenian provinces was usually engaged as reader for the holy days. Mr Salomons himself acted as Baal Koreh and virtually the Shomas.' His collection of books and appurtenances could be described as the first Jewish museum in this country. After his death Reuben Sassoon, fellow resident of Hove, purchased the bulk of his appurtenances. They were exhibited at the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition in 1887, which led to the formation of this Society.49 Recently the Jewish Museum in London acquired a pair of Queen Anne Rimonim formerly belonging to Philip Salomons. They are dated 1712 and are one of three English silver Rimonim of that period known to be in existence. The maker's mark has been identified as that of Samuel Edlin, London. The Hebrew inscription on the shafts says T bought the Torah Scrolls and its bells. They are the glory of God, may He Bless me, for His service without?David Lopes Pereira?5743'.50 A corresponding Scroll of the Law, dated 1712, was also donated by the same David Lopes Pereira to Bevis Marks Synagogue and is still in their possession. As was the custom of the time, it is likely Jhat when the donor died the beneficiaries reclaimed the finials. Part of the original inscription was removed at a later date to make room for the name 'P. Salomons, Esq.'. The Rimonim had not been in use for the past sixty years and had suffered damage. They are now restored and on display in the Jewish Museum, a visible reminder of our history. On 15 May 1864 Philip Salomons signed, as President of the Brighton Hebrew Congregation, a certificate from its members to Sir Moses Montefiore, expressing the sentiments of Brighton Jewry: 'You left the quiet of home and your own fireside at an inclement season of the year accompanied by a small band of earnest men to do battle against ancient prejudices, NOT for the love of glory but to remove those oppressive burdens under which our brethren have so long suffered'.51 104</page><page sequence="15">Brighton Jewry reconsidered The records indicate that Emanuel Hyam Cohen (c. 1762-1823), founder of the community, had ten children; but in December 1986 a letter was received from Sheldon J. Godfrey, a Toronto barrister, requesting information on the 'Cohen' family and giving details of one George Benjamin, formerly Cohen, born in Brighton on 15 April 1799.52 The details of the family, which had been copied into a Hebrew prayer book, while not accurate, were sufficiently precise to establish that he was a hitherto unknown son. George ran away from Brighton in about 1820, dropped the surname Cohen and adopted 'Ben? jamin'?his mother's maiden name. He was well educated and could speak eight languages. He is referred to in family correspondence as 'Mo'. Moses was a name in use in the Benjamin family and 'George' is found in the Cohen family. One can surmise that his original name was 'George Moses Cohen', but he will be referred to here as 'George Benjamin'. He joined Orange Lodge No. 27 in Liverpool, and on 12 July 1822 the Lodge awarded him a silver medal.53 This medal, still in the possession of the family in Canada, is inscribed with the name 'George Benjamin'. Membership of the Orange Order is restricted to Protestants, but no clarification can be obtained as local Orange Order records were unfortunately destroyed in the bombing of Liverpool in the Second World War.54 George migrated to America, and on 5 February 1832, aged thirty-two, married in North Carolina a twelve and three quarter year old Jewish girl named Isabella Jacobs, daughter of Lipman Jacobs and Esther Abrahams. Their first child was born in November ofthat year. Isabella had fourteen children and lived to the age of eighty-four. Benjamin travelled north to Lower Canada, where he met James Hunter Samson, member of the Lower Assembly for Hastings, and a leading barrister in Belleville.55 Samson persuaded Benjamin to purchase a printing press and establish himself as printer in Belleville, and in 1834 he founded The Intelligencer, which is still in production. Benjamin continued his association with the Orange Order, although, according to Sheldon J. Godfrey, he apparently admitted to being Jewish in Canada during the 1830s. He was a Captain in the Belleville Militia, and served in the ranks of a volunter company in 1848, repelling Canadian rebels and USA infiltrators. He was active and successful in local politics and was helped to lucrative and impressive offices by his Orange Order connections. When Benjamin advertised for an apprentice, a youth named Mackenzie Bowell joined him. Bowell lived with the Benjamins, and Benjamin greatly influenced his education and subsequent career, for he became a successful journalist, was active in the Orange Order and later Prime Minister of Canada. The Orange Order had started in Ireland before the 1798 rebellion, and found its way to Canada in illegal army Lodges.56 Catholics formed just 20 per cent of the population of Canada, and Orange Lodges gained the patronage of influential sections of the upper and middle classes, and became an important factor in the politics of the Province of Ontario in which Belleville was situated. George Benjamin was Grand Master of 105</page><page sequence="16">David Spector the Orange Order of British North America from 1846 to 1854, but there were internal schisms in the movement which were eventually resolved. He was elected by a substantial majority to the Province of Canada Assembly in 1856, and served with distinction under Sir John MacDonald, who promised George Benjamin a Cabinet appointment but did not keep his word.57 Benjamin resigned in 1863 to devote himself to family matters but died in 1864 from injuries received in an accident the previous year. It is difficult to reconcile the unbaptized George Benjamin's adherence to the Orange Order and to Christianity. George and his wife were early founders of an Anglican church in Belleville. Eight children were baptized between 1846 and 1852, and in his last year, 1864, both George and his wife and mother-in-law were baptized. Photostats, in the possession of the writer, of pages of a Hebrew prayer book belonging to George Benjamin, show his own record of his marriage and the births of his children. In a letter sent in 1864 to one of his brothers in Australia we find him writing Hebrew.58 Family seals were popular with European Jewry and the family have in their possession the Cohen family seal. George returned to Brighton in 1857 and was reconciled with his family?this was before his baptism, naturally. His photograph (see Plate 9) shows him to be of Jewish appearance, and according to the 150th Anniversary-Year number of The Intelligencer others were aware of this. In 1888 there was correspondence between the first Prime Minister of the Confederation of Canada, Sir John MacDonald, and Colonel Arthur W. Hart, on the complaint 'that there were no Jews in public affairs in Canada due to scarcely veiled prejudiced feelings of influential Canadian circles'. MacDonald replied, 'the late George Benjamin was a Jew although I believe had become a Christian. His son is now in one of the public departments and a year ago I got an appointment for one of your race with the Post Office in Ontario.'59 Correspondence between the brothers revealed yet another unknown son of Emanuel Hyam Cohen, a Dr Benjamin N. Cohen, born in Brighton on 8 August 1807, living in New York in 1862 with a family of four boys and two girls, and two sons serving in the Northern Army, in fighting for which the eldest was severely wounded.60 Dr Cohen became a naturalized United States citizen on 5 June 1833.61 As a result of a communication from Ontario in 1986, the story of the Cohen who became a Grand Master of the Orange Order can now be told, together with details of the previously unknown Dr Cohen. In April 1983 the writer gave a series of broadcasts on the history of the local community, and was later contacted by Frank Berncastle, great-grandson of Solomon Nathan Berncastel, mentioned earlier as a resident of Lewes. Frank Berncastle had recently retired to the area and was seeking further information about his family, which he was aware was Jewish. His great-grandfather was president of the congregation in 1824 and active in its affairs.62 The '1798 1803 Sussex Register of Aliens' recorded his arrival at Deptford in 1803.63 In an 106</page><page sequence="17">Brighton Jewry reconsidered 1805 Lewes Directory he is recorded as a watchmaker and jeweller, and in 1823 he moved to a newly erected building, No. 1 Cliffe High Street, still in use as a jeweller's shop.64 A Jewish wedding was performed there on 9 June 1852.65 Solomon Nathan Berncastel moved to Brighton and later to London, where he ceased his association with the community. Frank Berncastle revealed that the family originated from Trier and that Solomon's father, Jacob Nathan, represen? ted the Trier community at the Assembly of Notables convened by Napoleon in 1806. A brother of Solomon, Lion Berncastel (1770-1840), qualified as a doctor at Jena University in September 1797, and in 1809 was a member of the Consistorium of the Trier synagogue. The Berncastel family had close connec? tions with the Marx family in Trier, and Dr Lion Berncastel and Heinrich Marx (father of Karl Marx) jointly owned a vineyard at Metersdorf?an area of the Moselle not far from Trier?which after Heinrich's death was legally divided between his widow and Dr Lion Berncastel.66 In 1818 Dr Lion Berncastel was the doctor present at the birth of the subsequently famous Karl Marx. When Karl Marx needed a medical certificate in 1836, his father recommended that it should be obtained from Dr Berncastel in Trier 'who was a highly esteemed Jewish physician'.67 Solomon Nathan Berncastel's eldest daughter Diana (1812-97) married Simon Deutz (1802-52), a French politician.68 His father Emanuel Deutz (1763-1842) had been a member of the 1807 Grand San hedrin, and in 1822 was appointed Grand Rabbin of France.69 Simon Deutz was converted to Catholicism when he was twenty-three, but returned to Judaism in London on 11 March 1833.70 Simon became involved while in France with the Duchesse de Berry, whose husband, the Due de Berry, was murdered at the Paris Opera in 1820.71 The duchesse was actively engaged in a legitimist conspiracy against King Louis-Philippe of France, her uncle, and sent Simon Deutz to Spain and Portugal to obtain arms and men. He was also entrusted with the delicate mission of securing a promise of Russian military intervention. On his return to France, Deutz betrayed the duchesse to Thiers, Minister of the Interior, and she was arrested at Nantes on 7 November 1832. Rumour had it that Simon had betrayed her for a considerable sum of money, but he denied this, saying he was activated by motives of loyalty to France and wished to avoid bloodshed. There was an outcry against the 'Jewish traitor', which did not subside until 1835. At some time Diana parted from Simon and set up a school in Leamington Spa.72 The Berncastels are thus Brighton's link with the family of Karl Marx and politics of early-nineteenth-century France. Howlett and Clarke, the oldest firm of solicitors in Brighton, who acted for the congregation, have deposited their nineteenth-century papers at the East Sussex Record Office.73 These contain references to Mendes da Costa and Adelaide, South Australia. Levi and Bergman state: 'In Adelaide lived the middle-aged Sephardic Jew Benjamin Mendes da Costa and his sister Louisa. Da Costa was a merchant in Adelaide from 1840 to 1848, when he returned to 107</page><page sequence="18">Plate 9 George Benjamin, born George Moses Cohen, Brighton, 1799. Canadian politician and journalist, member of the Legislative Assembly, Grand Master of the Orange Order of British North America. Plate 1 o The Devonshire Place Synagogue was opened in 18 2 3, enlarged by David Mocatta in 1837, and disposed of when the Middle Street Synagogue opened in 1875. It is a Grade II listed building. IO8</page><page sequence="19">Brighton Jewry reconsidered England. In the years immediately prior to Da Costa's departure Bishop Short was organizing the foundation of a Church of England School for Boys. By the way of a parting gift, Da Costa donated six town acres in the centre of Adelaide to the College which was built in 1849 in the suburb later to be called St Peters. Now Da Costa Building stands on immensely valuable land at the corner of Gawler Place and Grenfell Street and the Anglican institution "St Peter Collegiate School" can attribute its present sound financial condition to the generosity of a descendant of the Sephardim of Portugal.'74 There is more detailed reference to this gift and later benefactions in Jews of South Australia 183 6-193 6 by Hirsch M?nz, but little was otherwise known about the background of Benjamin and Louisa. The college, unaware of the material in Lewes, requested the writer's help; he traced the family, and this particular branch of the Mendes da Costa clan, back to France at Saint Esprit?a designated quarter for Sephardim at Bayonne?where they had fled the Inquisition.75 Bayonne was a centre of considerable mercantile activity, in which the Sephardim were prominent. Louis Henriques Mendes da Costa (1652-1724), later known as Abraham, was born in Bayonne and married Theresa Mendes Salazar. In about 1700 they moved to Amsterdam, where he died in 1724. A son, Jacob Mendes da Costa (1682-1752), settled in London and was endenizened in 1704. Jacob's son Hannanel (1739-1810) was the father of Benjamin Mendes da Costa (176 7-1817) who married twice, his first wife dying in 1798 after having borne him two sons: Hannanel (1789-1826) and Jacob Joseph (1791-1826). In 1802 he married, by licence, a minor of the Church of England, one Louisa Naylor, who also had two children.76 The first was Benjamin (1803-68) and the second Louisa (1806-98), both of whom were brought up in the faith of their mother and in 1840 journeyed to Adelaide. Jacob and Hannanel, the father and son who settled in London, were successful and wealthy merchants, related to the outstanding Sephardi families of England.77 Benjamin, Hannanel's son, did not abjure Judaism after his second marriage, and was buried beside his first wife at the Mile End Jewish Cemetery. The children maintained good relations with their Jewish relatives, whom we find leaving them legacies.78 Benjamin became a Freeman of the City of London on 2 February 1837, and a member 'by redemption' of the Spectacle Makers Company of London. He is described as an 'indigo merchant'. In 1840 the brother and sister left for Adelaide, no doubt influenced by their association with Jacob Montefiore (1801-95), a founder of the South Australian Associa? tion.79 Their first address was Hindley Street, an area associated with Jewish merchants.80 Benjamin was successful and acquired a portfolio of properties in the town and surrounding areas. Two other Jews were associated with the school project: Philip Levi and Montague Phillipson.81 The first Minutes of the Governors, of 4 November 1848, record a request for the admission of Samuel Solomon (son of Emanuel Solomon), which was granted. The school had a 109</page><page sequence="20">David Spector liberal admission policy, and thirteen further Jewish names can be identified as scholars between 1847 and 1857.82 Benjamin and Louisa returned to England in 1848, having appointed and granted Powers of Attorney to local agents. They lived for a period in London and then took up residence at a Brighton boarding house, 6 Bedford Square, close to the seafront, where Benjamin died in 1868. In his will he left the life interest in all his properties and assets to Louisa, and on her death, in varying proportions to his Jewish and non-Jewish relatives. On their eventual death the entire estate was to revert to the St Peter Collegiate School. The school had no prior knowledge of this and were surprised and delighted with the news, which reached them in early 1869. Louisa and her relations lived for many years and it was not until 1912 that the entire estate was vested in the school.83 From time to time 'spies' were sent over by the school to discover how many relatives were still alive, and the school raised funds on its 'expectations'. This act of philanthropy was outstanding in the history of South Australia and possibly for Australia itself. The school? nowadays the major public school in the Antipodes?was firmly based for eventual expansion. Its history records: 'In 1946 the school was spending upon each boy approximately 20 per cent more than he was paying in fees, and this educational liberality, together with most of the cost of buildings, such as the Memorial Hall and the great building scheme of 1935, was due to the munificence of Benjamin da Costa'.84 If we allow for the extensive grounds and buildings of the school, the value of property and current developments in Adelaide, and additional securities, the successor charity must have current assets of over fifty million pounds sterling.85 Ironically the only Jewish gift in Benjamin's will was the sum of 'Ten Pounds to the Portuguese Jews Synagogue, Bevis Marks'. Wealthy by modern standards, brother and sister lived austere Victorian lives at Brighton. Although Benjamin was born in Britain, he is described on his tombstone as 'of Adelaide'. The school had not heard of its patron's connections with the terror of the Inquisition or of his journey to Adelaide by way of Bayonne, Amsterdam and London. They had known only that he was a merchant of Jewish descent. Lucien Wolf once said that the story of the Anglo-Jewish family of Mendes da Costa composed the greater part of Anglo-Jewish history. Brighton Jewry has contacts also with Sierra Leone, where, after the suppression of the slave trade, ordinary merchants began to penetrate. In 1855 John Myer Harris, a tailor, left 11 Oriental Place, Brighton, together with his younger brother Abraham, for Sierra Leone.86 Abraham died in May 1859 during a Yellow Fever epidemic. John Myer Harris started trading in the Sherbo estuary and by i860 had prospered sufficiently to open a factory at Sulima in the Gallinas country, formerly one of the principal areas of slave trading.87 ('Factory' was a nineteenth-century word in Africa for a 'trading store'.) Traders were not keen to pay customs dues and many of them established no</page><page sequence="21">Brighton Jewry reconsidered themselves in border regions where sovereignty was disputed and customs difficult to enforce. Harris took advantage of this in the disputed area between Sierra Leone and Liberia (now Monrovia). At times he was encouraged by the government, which eventually annexed certain regions to British rule, for which John Myer Harris is esteemed to this day by the inhabitants of the annexed area. His book, Annexations in Sierra Leone and their influence on British Trade with West Africa, was published in 1883 and is of sufficient importance to have been reprinted in 1975.88 Harris's first wife was Boie Sally of the family of the Chief of Juring. Her grand-daughter was Lady Beoku-Betts, wife of a barrister, Sir Ernest (Samuel) Beoku-Betts (1895-1957), who was the first elected member of the Legislative Council and subsequently Speaker of the House of Representatives in Sierra Leone.89 The second wife was reputed to be a native princess, Yana or Jane Tucker, daughter of Chief Thomas Tucker. Her son, John or James Nathaniel Harris, married the daughter of the President of Liberia, Rosie Marie Roberts. Some members of the Harris family moved to Liberia and recently a descendant, William Tolbert, then Chairman of the Organization of African Unity, was assassinated during a coup d'etat. On his return to England, Harris married a London Jewish woman and settled down in Maida Vale. His grandson, Bernard Harris of Hove, discovered the 1883 book, and recollected coloured cousins visiting the family.90 In 1975 he visited Sierra Leone and met no fewer than twenty-five cousins of some degree. Their positions ranged from the president's personal doctor to vice-chairman of a university, and the then mayor of Freetown. The president of Sierra Leone placed his private helicopter at the disposal of Ben Harris to enable him to visit the old factory at Sulima, where he was greeted on arrival by 600 villagers. The Sierra Leone descendants of the Brighton Jewish tailor are proud of their background and their personal contribution to the political and cultural fabric of Sierra Leone. Equally surprising are some of the accounts of how Jewish families found their way to Brighton in the first place. One begins with the kidnapping by Cossacks of a boy in the 1880s, from his village in Russia. The path of the Cossacks crossed that of a band of Russian non-Jewish peasants on their way to Palestine. The peasants bought the boy from the Cossacks and continued on their journey, eventually finding employment in Palestine in the recently opened vineyards of Zichron Yaacov. The boy grew up, married and had children, but the climate did not suit the family and they left for England, where descendants eventually settled in the Hove area. The story was told to me by a grandchild of the kidnapped boy, and I searched for corroboration of its background. The first was from an account, in the weekly Jerusalem Post of 15-21 November 1981, of the story of Ephraim Avidan, who died in 1969, and was the son of a Russian 'Sobetnik' Christian farmer, one of the Grodianskis who had immigrated to Palestine at the end of the last century and were invited in</page><page sequence="22">David Spector to move to Metulla from Yesud Hama'ala in 1900.91 The invitation came from the local agent of Baron Rothschild's Palestine Jewish Colonization Association. The settlers were to set an example to newcomers who had not farmed before. The second corroboration appeared in a book published in 1924 by Myriam Harry, who recalls meeting in Sejera (now Ilaniya) an old Russian peasant woman and her son, and in response to enquiries as to whether she was really a Slav, was told that the woman came from the Caucasus and belonged to the Russian sect of Sabbatists, who read the Bible and held their sabbath on Saturday.92 They were on good terms in Russia with neighbouring Jewish families, and when the latter were persecuted in the 1880s many were converted to Judaism, moved by the desire to suffer as a protest. The baron needed good husbandmen and and employed them in his colonies. Clearly the basis of this account of the kidnapping and eventual arrival of the boy with the Russian Christian parents is credible. A discovery was recently made by Antony Dale in uncatalogued material in the basement of the Brighton Museum, of two hitherto unknown sketches of the interior and exterior of the third synagogue in Devonshire Place (1823-75). This synagogue was enlarged by David Mocatta in 1837. In 1824 the following description was recorded: Tn Devonshire Place is a small square building standing in an enclosed space, at a little distance from the road. The Minister, Rabbi Levi. Service on Saturday at eight in the morning and two in the afternoon'.93 The 1853 sketch shows Sephardic influence on the interior of the enlarged synagogue and there is a plaque recording the 'Eliason Legacy' discussed in the present writer's previous lecture.94 Baron de Rothschild worshipped in this synagogue when in Brighton, and is reported as prostrating himself on the sanded floor on Tisha B 'Av. Lectures in English were given as early as 1840, with attendance of non-Jews welcomed.95 It has however been described in later years as a 'rather primitive place of worship'.96 It is a Grade II listed building, as is Middle Street, and since the listing of synagogues is rare in the United Kingdom, Brighton has yet another unique feature in possessing two such buildings.97 The Devonshire Place building is now a health studio (see Plate 10). Michael Ray, Planning Director of Hove, in his thesis The Evolution of Brunswick Town, Hove 1830-1881, revealed useful information on the nature of the relationship of the community, particularly the Goldsmids, with the local people.98 He records 'that the Rev. Henry Venn Elliott was the Secretary of the Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, but there was no local evidence of anti-semitism'.99 Michael Ray then dealt with the possibility of problems between the Goldsmids and the local population, but concluded: 'If friction was to be found it would be more likely to arise with the Goldsmids, who bought the rest of the land [this refers to the Wick Estate] on which the estate was built from Scutt. They did not always sell freehold, kept a residence in the 112</page><page sequence="23">Brighton Jewry reconsidered area and were far more wealthy.' Their religion could have alienated local residents but the evidence for conflict was very slight. Negotiations with the Commissioners to extend their jurisdiction over his land went well at first. However, in February 1851 they objected to the proposed right of Sir Isaac to drain his land outside the proposed new district through its sewers, and the retention of his right to remove beach and shingle in front of Adelaide Crescent. Goldsmid then proposed to exclude Adelaide Crescent from the scheme. This led to the complete hostility of the Commissioners who threatened 'every opposition' to the further progress of the Bill. The disputes were finally resolved and when the extended Commission met for the first time, Goldsmid was in the chair. Perhaps it was his wise donation of land that won the support of the local people. He allowed Western Road to be extended so as to avoid 'funerals from the northern part of the District passing through the principal squares and streets', and donated the site of St John's Church.100 His successor, Sir Francis, also seems to have been well respected. He attended twenty-two meetings of the Commissioners over four? teen years (his father sat in at eleven over eight years). Sir Francis was a busy man who became a QC in the year before his father's death and an MP the year after it. The Goldsmids also won support by holding an annual dinner for the estate workers, starting in 1862. This was a major social event involving as many as a hundred men and boys. In 1866 the resident surveyor recalled that while he had worked on the Estate, for thirteen years, 'he had never to dismiss a man in anger'.101 Sir Francis was also active in the campaign for the improvement of the sewerage system of Brighton and Hove and was the power behind the 'Grand Hotel Group', no doubt influen? ced by his development of the Wick Estate.102 Sir Isaac left over ?2,000,000 in 1859, which was the fourth-largest estate nationally recorded between 1809 and 1914.103 Sir Francis left ?1,000,000 in 1878, and it was revealed that Sir Julian (1838-96) had land in Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Berk? shire with an annual income of ?35,000; however, of a total of 14,272 acres, only 193 lay in Sussex, but it was worth a staggering ?20,000 per annum.104 One must in no way underrate Sir Isaac's shrewdness in his affairs, as the planners for the railway between Brighton and Shoreham found when they proposed a short tunnel of only 231 yards under his property. He secured an agreement that 'there shall be no manufacturing allowed, no coals deposited in the Depot to be made on his [Mr Goldsmid's] property, so that coals shall not pass down the road through his property at Hove.'105 Sir Julian Goldsmid was a Director of the London, Brighton and South-Coast Railway. An engine was named 'Goldsmid' after him in May 1892, and is recorded as having been handed over by Southern Railway to British Railways on its formation in 1948. The handsome outline of this engine was reproduced in copper as an engineer's cap badge and remained 113</page><page sequence="24">Plate 11 The Middle Street Synagogue's fagade in Middle Street. It is a Grade II listed building on account of its interior, shown in the next plate. Plate 12 The Middle Street Synagogue's interior, an extremely sumptuous example of late nineteenth-century craftsmanship. All the windows are of stained glass.</page><page sequence="25">Brighton Jewry reconsidered the insignia of Brighton's drivers and firemen for many years. A history of the railway records Sir Julian as living at Wick, Hove, with the comment 'this great Jewish family was very much a power in these parts.'106 The famous Chazan and composer the Reverend Haim Wasserzug (1822-82) was the father-in-law of the Reverend A. Levinson, Minister of Middle Street, and a frequent visitor to and lover of the town. He was also a keen swimmer, and on 24 August 1882, in spite of warnings, entered the sea to swim between the two piers. He subsequently collapsed on the beach from exhaustion, and died seven hours later in the Royal Sussex Hospital.107 He was twice married and left a widow and fifteen children, five of them from his first marriage. The Reverend Levinson's wife was a daughter of the second marriage. The evening prior to his death was spent at the residence of the Chief Rabbi to whom he sang portions of the service for the New Year and Yom Kippur. Sir Michael Costa (born 1810) retired to 13 Seafield Road, Hove, and died there on 29 April 1884.108 He was a most important conductor of the nineteenth century, a good musician, and a stern but fair disciplinarian. It is said that Rossini, who was a noted gourmet, passed the following judgement on Costa's music in 1856: 'Good old Costa has sent me an Oratorio score and a Stilton cheese. The cheese was fine'.109 Sir Henry Irving purchased a house at 41 Lansdowne Place, Hove, and gave the house and deeds to Morris Abrahams of the Pavilion Theatre, Whitechapel, on Abrahams' retirement. Morris Abra? hams' name appears in the local directories from 1898 to 1907 with the name of his house given as 'Irving House'. Modern research has discovered no details of this remarkable friendship between a distinguished actor and the lessee and director of the home of the Yiddish theatre. Dr L. Loewe advertised the attractions of his boarding school at Brighton as 'Hindustani, fencing, horse? hair mattresses' and the fact that 'pupils are permitted to write to their Parents or Guardians once a week, and letters are NOT examined'.110 Another devotee of Brighton was the late Cecil Roth (1899-1970), as his wife has recorded in Cecil Roth, Historian without Tears. One of his family who lived permanently in Brighton was Cecil's great-uncle Maurice Jacobs (1864 193 7)&gt; wno was ?nry one Year older than his niece, the mother of Cecil Roth.111 Originally from Sheffield, he was the first Jew to enter St Paul's School, then in the City of London, and a favourite pupil of the High Master. He won a scholarship to Wadham College, Oxford, and took his MA. For ten years he was tutor to the sons of Leopold de Rothschild, and also to Herbert Samuel and Leslie Hore-Belisha. His school, 'Ascot House', was in Sussex Square, and among its patrons were the Chief Rabbi and the headmaster of Harrow. Jacobs was appointed French Consul for Sussex (excluding Newhaven) and in 1931 was made a Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur. He was given permission to wear the order by his old pupil and friend, the then Home Secretary, Sir Herbert Samuel. Families or individuals who have worshipped at Middle Street have 115</page><page sequence="26">David Spector participated in major developments as varied as emancipation, or the Balfour Declaration. The early minutes record pleas for help and assistance from the poor Jews in Safed and Hebron and the poignant appeal for Damascus Jewry in 1840 from Sir Moses Monteflore. The Balfour Declaration is recorded in full, as is correspondence with Lord Balfour. Chaim Weizmann visited the local Zionist Society in 1918, but in 1922 the Honorary Officers refused to associate with, or to sponsor, a visit to the town by Jabotinsky and Colonel Patterson. The most intimate connection with the Mandate is through Lady Rosebery (Hannah Rothschild), wife of the subsequent Prime Minister, to whose memory two windows are dedicated at the Middle Street Synagogue.112 Her daughter, Lady Margaret Primrose (1881-1967), was the second wife of the Marquis of Crewe, and through Mrs Charles Rothschild became interested in Zionism.113 The Marquis of Crewe was a member of the Asquith Cabinet, and was one of those whom Weizmann could approach.114 Neil Primrose, one of the younger Lady Crewe's two brothers, had been Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and had held other important posts. He became interested in the Jewish National Movement and used his influence to align the British Government with the Jewish desire for the restoration of Palestine. He left the Government in 1917, and associated himself with the scheme for a Jewish infantry unit for service in Palestine. He went to Palestine with his Yeomanry Regiment and was killed near Jaffa on 17 November 1917.115 His cousin, Major Anthony de Rothschild, died the same day from wounds received on 13 November 1917 m the famous cavalry charge at El Mughar, south of Gaza.116 James de Rothschild, son of Ha Nadiv, was a regular worshipper at Middle Street and his seat at the eastern wall was occupied for a number of years by the distinguished Emeritus Rabbi Isaac Fabricant. The family has not lost its interest in Brighton, and in 1986 Mrs James de Rothschild made a substantial donation to the local Jewish Book Week. The number of resident members did not reflect the rapid growth of the area, but after 1881 there was an increase in the number of Jewish street traders and shopkeepers of Eastern European origin. Jewish beach vendors were for a period paid by the congregation to deposit their trays at the back of the synagogue during the Sabbath. The area of activity was bounded by Trafalgar Street in the north and Kings Road in the south, with numerous establishments in Gardner Street, Sydney Street and Bond Street. The synagogue maintained a small team of boys to run out to this area to provide a minyan. The boys were to be given six pence a week for their services, and did not hesitate to strike if they were not paid. The better areas of residence were originally Sillwood Road, then West Hove and now the Shirley Drive and Upper Dyke Road area. The main period of expansion was after the Second World War. The latest addition to the unusually large number of roads associated with Jews in the area was Lyon Close in 1984 (for a list of such names, see the Appendix).117 The fact that Brighton and Hove were popular with all classes of Jews did not escape the notice of journalists, 116</page><page sequence="27">Brighton Jewry reconsidered novelists and cartoonists, but overt anti-Semitism was experienced only during periods of right-wing extremist activity, and in the campaign for the establish? ment of the State of Israel.118 In the First World War 125 men of the congregation served in the forces and 33 were killed. Casualties in the Second World War were 30 killed; one member fell in Korea. In recent years the Ajex contingent has been the largest at the local Annual Remembrance Parade. Hospitals in this area which have benefited from Jewish philanthropy are the Royal Sussex (Sir John Howard), Hove Women's (Bernhard Baron), St Dun stan's (Otto Kahn) and Midhurst (Sir Ernest Cassel). In the early part of the nineteenth century, when three Brighton Jewish elders were Chief Constable, Newspaper Editor and Commissioner respectively, Jews in Italy were confined to ghettos, the Inquisition was not abolished until 1834, Russian Jews were confined to the Pale of Settlement and persecutions took place in many countries. One possible explanation for this favourable situation lies in the political life of the town. The visit of the Prince Regent in 1783, the Regency period, the development of the town and the presence of the Court, all greatly influenced local politics. The Prince Regent initially supported the Whigs and the town adopted his politics. It remained Whig even after he transferred his allegiance to the Tories. There was a strong base of dissenters in Sussex, and the Brighton Vestry were declared supporters of the Chartists. In spite of this militant radical background there was affection and support for the monarchy, which explains both the outburst against Cohen in 1830 and the continued support for his newspaper the Brighton Guardian. This paper was established to support the cause of local-government reform, and its goodwill was vital to candidates in the first elections after the passing of the Reform Act in 1832. The Brighton electorate in 1832 numbered only 1600 out of a population of 40,000.119 One of the successful candidates of 1832 was Henry Faithful, a lawyer and dissenting preacher, who angered Cohen by his lack of support for Jewish emancipation, by voting for his opponents in the debate in the House of Commons on Cohen's imprisonment, and for failing to give him public thanks for his support in the 1832 election. Faithful lost the next election, in 1835, and turned to the Brighton Patriot, a vehicle of the Chartists, but this paper failed in 1839, leaving the Brighton Guardian the only publication for liberals and the growing radical working class.120 Cohen's influence increased and this assisted him in the battle for the incorporation of Brighton as a municipality. The selection of Henry Solomon for numerous posts, cul? minating in his appointment as the first Chief Constable of Brighton in 1838, reflects the tolerance of the Brighton Vestry and his efficiency as a servant of the Commissioners (see Plate 13). The inscription on his tombstone reads: 'Sacred to the memory of Henry Solomon, 15 years Chief Officer of Police of the town of Brighton, who was brutally murdered while in the public discharge of the duties of his office, on the 14th day of March 1844 in the fiftieth year of his age. The 117</page><page sequence="28">David Spector Plate 13 (left) Henry Solomon, first Chief Constable of Brighton, 1838, in an early pen-and-ink sketch by B. Worth. Plate 14 (right) Henry Cohen, transported to Australia in 1833, later a successful businessman. His daughter Sophia married Abraham Cohen, born in Brighton, 1812. His son Edward was later Lord Mayor of Melbourne. Grandchildren included a Lady Mayoress of Melbourne and a High Court Judge. town of Brighton in testimony of his services honored his memory by a public funeral and by the munificent gift of five hundred pounds in aid of the subscription raised for his widow and children.' Hyam Lewis, as one can deduce from the Richard Dighton sketch, had considerable financial influence, and his involvement in public affairs was inevitable. In the early part of the nineteenth century the authorities were apprehensive about the working population, but Anglo-Jewry was not looked on as a revolutionary body, but as a group concerned mainly with improving its well-being, with integrating itself with the population, and grateful for its protection from overt persecution. The Emanuel Hyam Cohen family is worthy of further study. An ancestor of the family was Don Menachem ben Chajim Ha-Cohen (1650-1723), who is said to have come from Spain to Holland and then to Niederweren, a small 118</page><page sequence="29">Brighton Jewry reconsidered village outside Schweinfurt, in northern Bavaria. He is buried in the cemetery at Eurebach, not far from Niederweren.121 As a result of legislation enforcing adoption of surnames, some branches of the family adopted the name Kohnstam, others dropped the prefix 'Ha' and became known as Cohen. Menache or Manie was born in Nieder wer en in about 1762 and can be identified as the subsequent Emanuel Hyam Cohen of Brighton.122 His son, Abraham, who had migrated to New South Wales, married in Sydney, on 2 7 July 1836, Sophia, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Cohen.123 Henry Cohen, a London dealer, had been sentenced at the Old Bailey in November 1832 to fourteen years' transportation for receiving stolen provincial banknotes (see Plate 14).124 Cohen's evidence was in writing and twenty-one people testified to his good character. He was then aged forty-three and had a wife and ten children, one of whom was married. He was assigned to a prison settlement at Port Macquarie, subsequently granted 'emancipation', and prospered.125 In 1833 his wife, children and son-in-law joined him in New South Wales. His son-in-law Joseph Simmons later became a well-known actor and President of the Sydney Synagogue.126 Abraham's daughter was Lady Francis Benjamin of Melbourne, and a son, the Honourable Henry Emanuel Cohen, a distinguished judge and politician. A grand-daughter, Ida Cohen of Tamworth, who was awarded the MBE while in her nineties for Red Cross work, died in 1970 at the age of 102. There are still descendants using the name Cohen residing in Australia. The Cohen family also produced a Grand Master of the Orange Order of British North America and a future Lord Cohen of Brighton. It is almost certain that there is more material available at the East Sussex Record Office and the Brighton Reference Library: the challenge is to the younger generation of Brightonians to continue the search. They may also wish to look into an unsolved mystery?the case of the missing statues.127 The five statues were eight feet high and stood in niches on 25 (later renumbered 45) Park Lane, the house built for Barney Barnato, who died before it was complete, whereupon it was purchased by Sir Edward Sassoon. Sir Edward, whose taste did not extend to allegorical figures of Night, Morning, Truth, Fidelity and Welcome, presented them to the Corporation of Brighton, and they were erected in the Victoria Gardens close to the Steyne in 1898. All the statues disappeared in 1922, and in spite of a thorough search in all the Corporation depots and records no one knows where they went. It has been suggested that the statues were really creditors who had been asked by Barney Barnato to wait on the roof for their money and had frozen during the prolonged wait. Meanwhile the search goes on. 119</page><page sequence="30">David Spector NOTES 1 Trans JHSE XXII (1970) 42-52. 2 L.A. Vidier, A New History of Rye (Hove 1934)81. 3 Sussex Weekly Advertiser (Lewes) 5 Oct. 1789. Victorian Ordnance Survey Maps, 73 (David &amp; Charles Ltd, Newton Abbot 1988) 'Jews Gut'. Ordnance Survey Sheet, 184 (i960) indicated as 'Jury Gap'. 4 John H. Farrant, 'The evolution of New haven Harbour', Sussex Archaeological Collec? tions no (Lewes 1972) 55. 5 The Jewish Chronicle 1841-1941: A Cen? tury of Newspaper History (London 1949) 82. 6 Evening Argus (Brighton) 18 Nov. 1968. Public Record Office ASSI 35/174/8 RC/445 5. 7 Sussex Weekly Advertiser (Lewes) 17 Aug. 1789. 8 'Historical Notes', Sussex Archaeological Collections 123 (Lewes 1985) 272-3. 9 Correspondence between the present writer and Geoffrey Green, for whom see Trans JHSE XXIX (1988) 97-134. 10 Sue Farrant, The Growth of Brighton and Hove (Falmer 1981) 10. 11 Police Review (London) 18 Apr. 1986. Brighton Museum, Case 2, Exhibit 15. 12 East Sussex Record Office X1431/4/5/6. 13 Frederick Harrison and James Sharp North, Old Brighton, Old Preston, Old Hove (Has? socks 1974) 5. 14 Harrison and North (see n. 13) 3. 15 Frederick Harrison, The Story of Brighton, Hove and Neighbourhood (Brighton 1931) 78. Cecil Roth, The Rise of Provincial Jewry (London 1950) footnote 36; J.H. Cohen's observations are not correct; no buildings were erected in Bond Street until 1788. 16 Brighton Reference Library Map No. 5. 17 Harrison and North (see n. 13)63. 18 N. Caplan, 'Sussex Religious Dissent c. 1830', in Sussex Archaeological Collections 120 (Lewes 1982) 193-203. 19 British Library British Parliamentary Papers (Lords) 1811 (48) xlvi, 17. 20 East Sussex Record Office QCR/i/n E.i and W.i. 21 Sir I.L. Goldsmid's papers, Vol.i, Letter 320, University College Library. 22 Roman Catholics: Brighton and Hove Herald 10 June 19 71. Methodists: J.A. Erredge, History of Brighthelmstone (Brighton 1862) 376. 23 Roth (seen. 15) 36-9. 24 Dennis Rose, Life, Times and Recorded Works of Robert Dighton (1732-1814), Actor, Artist and Printseiler and Three of his Artist Sons (Lewes 1981) 44. 2 5 Letter from Antony Dale to the writer, 13 July 1984. 26 Lewis's Buildings were two small tene? ments, 35-6 Ship Street, Brighton, originally 32 Ship Street, home of Hyam Lewis, and 29 Duke Street. Two marriages were performed at these premises (entries 12 and 15, Brighton Hebrew Congregation Marriage Register). It appeared on Ordnance Survey and Town Maps up to 1890. 27 Antony Dale, Brighton Town and Brighton People (Chichester 1976) deals extensively with the development of local government in Brigh? ton, and Hyam Lewis in particular. East Sussex Record Office DB/B58/5. Minutes of Com? missioners, includes Hyam Lewis's name in a list of persons appointed to 'guard and watch and keep order and preserve the peace of the Town', on 17 Jan. 1816. Later, on 6 March 1816, they authorized a payment to him of ?3 for 'swords for the Night Patrol'. Hyam Lewis's standing can be judged from the April 1827 Election for Commissioners: he was one of the thirty elected and received 126 votes (highest vote 158, lowest 16). Sydney and Beatrice Webb, History of English Local Government IV (London 1906-29), discuss the formation and work of 'Improvement' and other 'Com? missioners'. 28 Inspector Gerald W. Baines, History of the Brighton Police 1838-1967 (Brighton 1968) 2. 29 John M. Shaftesley (ed.) Remember the Days: Essays on Anglo-Jewish History Presented to Cecil Roth (London 1966), essay by Alfred Ru? bens, 'The Jews of the Parish of St James, Duke's Place, in the City of London', 182-4. 30 Alfred Rubens, 'Portrait of Anglo-Jewry 1656-1836', Trans JHSE XIX (i960) 2on. 31 Brighton Hebrew Congregation Marriage Register, Entry 12, 30 Aug. 1854. 32 Evening Argus (Brighton) 16 July 1986. 33 Erredge (see n. 22) 182. 34 Letter from Reggie Coleman-Cohen to the writer, 18 March 1969. 35 Letter from the Director of the News? paper Society to the writer, 16 April 1968. 36 The Looking Glass, published 1 Oct. 1830, London, Vol.i, No. 10. 37 Brighton Guardian, obituary of Levi Emanuel Cohen, 28 Nov. i860, gives extensive I20</page><page sequence="31">Brighton Jewry reconsidered details of his life and career. The Jewish Chronicle, 23 Nov. i860, 28 June 1861, 5 and 12 July 1861, 13 Feb. 1863 and 24 Dec. 1909, are additional sources of information. F. David Roberts, Victorian Periodical Newsletter 20 (Am? tierst 1973) 33-41, lists 479 early-Victorian newspaper editors; Levi Emanuel Cohen is the only Jewish name. 38 Edward W. Gilbert, Brighton, Old Ocean's Bauble (London 1954) 132-52. 39 Brighton Reference Library, Smith's Unclassified Cuttings, 'Incorporation' volume. 40 Brighton Gazette &amp; Hove Post, Special Illustrated Edition commemorative of Brighton's fifty years of municipal government, 30 June 1904. 41 Ibid. 42 Brighton Herald, obituary 31 Dec. 1873. 43 The Jewish Chronicle, 13 Feb. 1863. 44 Correspondence between Henry C. Co? hen, New South Wales, Australia (direct de? scendant of Abraham Cohen), and Theodore Marx of Wembley Park, Middx., in 1987. 45 Ibid. 46 Bill Williams, The Making of Manchester Jewry 1740-1875 (Manchester paperback re? print 1985) 58-61. 47 Report of Lewes Group, East Sussex Record Office, Evening Argus (Brighton) 14 Mar. 1985. 48 Paul Emden, Jews of Britain (London !943) 198. M.D. Brown, David Salomons House (Edinburgh 1968) 18. 49 Joseph Jacobs and Lucien Wolf, Catalogue of Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition 1887, Royal Albert Hall (London 1888). 50 Phillips, Silver &amp; Plate Collectors Items Catalogue, 4 Dec. 1987 (London 1987). 51 Anglo-Jewish Archives, Presentation Certificate No. 156. 52 Roth (seen. 15) 38. 53 The silver medal, if inches in dia? meter, has George Benjamin's name and the date inscribed on the face, and on the reverse a commemoration of the Battle of the Boyne, 1690. 54 Anthony D. Buckley, 'The Chosen Few', Folk Life Twenty-Four (Leeds 1986) 6: 'The Orange Order whose membership is only open to professing Protestants... The Order professes loyalty to the Crown and Protestant faith.' 55 Dictionary of Canadian Biography IX (1861-70) 44-6. The Intelligencer, 18 Dec. 1984, 150th Anniversary issue, 4, is not cor? rect when it states that Benjamin's parents were believed to have died when he was about five years old. His father died in 1823. Benjamin's great-great-grand-daughter, Mrs N. Cooper, corresponded with and visited the writer in 1987 and provided photostats of the prayer book and medal and a photograph of the por? trait of George Benjamin. 56 Leslie H. Saunders, Orangeism in Canada 1830-1860 (Ontario reprint i960). Hereward Senior, The Genesis of Canadian Orangeism, On? tario Historical Society Vol.15 N0.2. June 1986. Hereward Senior described George Benjamin as a hard-working and imaginative politician in local affairs. He was, in fact, a moderate Con? servative whose interest in Orangeism was poli? tical and more concerned with the admini? strative aspects of parliamentary life. 5 7 Letter to the writer from Mrs N. Cooper, 17 Feb. 1987. 58 George Benjamin to his brother Abra? ham in Australia, 6 May 1864. 59 Benjamin G. Sack, History of Jews in Canada 1 (Montreal 1945) 200. 60 Benjamin Cohen to his brother Abraham in Australia, 26 Aug. 1862. 61 Naturalization Certificate No. 289, Phila? delphia City, 5 June 1833. 62 Roth (seen. 15) 39. 63 East Sussex Record Office, Register of Aliens 1798-1803, under Act of 33, George III, C4 1793, found by Record Office in folder from private collector dealing with shipwrecks off Seaford. 64 J.V. Button and J. Baxter, Brighton and Lewes Guide, 1805. 65 Brighton Hebrew Congregation Marriage Register, Entry 9, 9 June 1852. 66 Frank Berncastle has provided the writer with copies of correspondence, details of the family, and an account of his visit to the Karl Marx Museum, Trier. 67 Fritz J. Raddatz, Karl Marx, a Political Biography (London 1979) 6. 68 Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem 1972) V, cols 1597-8. 69 Ibid. 70 Cecil Roth, 'The Reconversion of Simon Deutz', Journal of Jewish Sociology 17, 401-5. 71 J. Lucas-Dubreton, The Restoration and the July Monarchy (London 1929) 227-8. Major John Hill, England and the Orleans Monarchy, 197. 72 Diana Deutz's daughter left the property in Leamington Spa to the father of Frank Berncastel. Portraits of the mother of Solomon 121</page><page sequence="32">David Spector Nathan Berncastle and Simon and Diana Deutz, thought to have been lost in the bombing of London in World War II, have been located in the West of England. 73 East Sussex Record Office, HOW 2 5-6. 74 J.S. Levi and G.F.J. Bergman, Australian Genesis (London 1974) 286. 75 Sir Thomas Colyer-Fergusson, Bart., Genealogical Papers, Mocatta Library. Gentle? man's Magazine, Jan. 1812. For perplexities of this task see Index to Trans JHSE I-XXV, 156-7. For Hannanel (1739-1810), see Neville Laski, The Laws and Charities of the Spanish and Portu? guese Jews' Congregation in London (London 1952)177 76 St Peter's College Handbook (Adelaide, 4th edn 1987) 66. 77 Gedalia Yogev, Diamonds and Coral (Leicester 1978), has extensive references to their activities. 78 In 1841, legacies were left to Benjamin and Louisa by Esther Mendes da Costa, and in 1845 by Moses Mendes da Costa. 79 Emden (see n. 48) 154-5. 80 F.H. Schubert, Setting up a School (Ade? laide 1947) 104-5. 81 Dr Grenfell Price, The Collegiate School of St Peter 1847-1947 (Adelaide 1947) 3-4. 82 Ibid. 21-2. 83 Ibid. 33 84 Ibid. 34. 85 M.S.J. Hood, History of St Peter's College (Adelaide, 4th edn 1987) 66-7, also provides useful information on Benjamin Mendes da Costa and the estate. Dr Shinkfield, the head? master, visited the writer in 1988 and informed him that the successor charity, apart from securities of ?2,500,000 and the site and buil? dings of the school, had actual real estate of ?30,000,000 and developments of a similar ultimate value. Over the last decade, it had subsidized projects in the educational field of the value of ?5,000,000 and planned a similar expenditure over the next decade. All religions, from Catholics to Jews, had endeavoured to obtain access to its funds. 86 Evening Argus (Brighton) 5 Dec. 1976. 87 John M. Harris, Map Showing the Various Independent Tribes between Sierra Leone and Liberia (London 1883). 88 John M. Harris, Annexations to Sierra Leone and their Influence on British Trade with West Africa (London 1883). 89 Who Was Who, V (London 1961) 94. 90 Sir Harry Johnson, Liberia I (London 1906) 242-9, 268-9, 276-7. A major source of information is Christopher Fyffe, A History of Sierra Leone (Oxford 1962). Fyffe also published A Short History of Sierra Leone (London, 3rd imp. 1965) 106-8. The writer had numerous inter? views with Ben Harris who kindly provided him with copies of correspondence with Christopher Fyffe, disputing his interpretation of the actions of his grandfather. 91 Ya'acov Friedler, 'Metulla at your finger tip', Jerusalem Post 23 Oct. 1981. 92 Myriam Harry, A Springtime in Palestine (London 1924) 42-4. Trans JHSE XXIX (1982 6) 230, note 107, refers to 'Yesud Hama'la: the immigration of eleven farmers from Russia in 1883'. 93 R. Sicklemore, History of Brighton (Brigh? ton, 3rd edn 1824) 82. 'Rabbi Levi' could be either Isaac Levi or Levi Emanuel Cohen. 94 Spector (see n. 1) 47. 95 Brighton Herald 5 Jan. 1840. 96 The Jewish Chronicle 13 Mar. 1908? obituary of Lewis Lewis, grandson of Hyam Lewis. 97 Department of the Environment List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, County Borough of Brighton, ninth list as at 20 Aug. 1971?28,95. 98 Michael Ray, The Evolution of Brunswick Town 1830-1881 (Falmer 1986) 220-1. 99 Ibid. 117. 100 Evening Argus (Brighton) 21 and 28 Jan. 1972. 101 Ray (seen. 98) 220-1. 102 John H. Farrant, 'The Drainage of Brighton', Sussex Archaeological Collections 124 (Lewes 1986) 218. 103 Ray (see n. 98) 338-9, Wealth Table B4. Also see W.D. Rubenstein, 'The Victorian Middle Classes?Wealth, Occupa? tion and Geography', Economic History Re? view (1977). 104 Ray (see n. 98) 204. 105 Public Record Office LBR1/26. 106 C. Hamilton Ellis, London Brighton &amp; South Coast Railway (London i960) 150,153. 107 The Jewish Chronicle 1 Sept. 1882. 108 Emden (see n. 48) 512-3. Trans JHSE XXV (1977) 166. Dictionary of National Bio? graphy IV (London 1885)119 7-9. 109 Harold C. Schonberg, The Great Conduc? tors (London 1968) 148. 110 The Jewish Chronicle (see n. 5) 39. in Irene Roth, Cecil Roth, Historian With? out Tears (New York 1982) 89. Horace Cox, 122</page><page sequence="33">Brighton Jewry reconsidered Who's Who in Kent, Surrey and Sussex (London 1911)384. 112 Chaim Bermant, The Cousinhood (New York 1972) 126,149,154-63. 113 Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage (Kingston upon Thames 1965) 306. Simon Schama, Two Rothschilds and the Land of Israel (London 1978) 198-9. Chaim Weizmann, Trial and Error, the Autobiography of Chaim Weizmann (London 1949) 196, 205-6. Who Was Who IV (London 1952) 265-6. 114 Weizmann (see n. 113) 193, 205. 115 The Jewish Chronicle 23 and 30 Nov. 1917. 116 Ibid. 117 Information given to the writer by Michael Ray, Planning Officer, Borough of Hove. 118 F.E. Sawyer, Sussex Place Names and Local Proverbs (Brighton 1883). Typical exam? ple of 19th-century jibe: 'BRIGHTON N0.20, "Jerusalem the Golden?The Grand Hotel, Brighton, so nicknamed by the wealthy Jews who frequent the town 'Whereth Motheth? Oh gone to Jerusalem the Golden'".' 119 Gilbert (see n. 38) 207. 120 Thomas Milton Kemnitz, The Origins of Editorial Policy in Early-Victorian Newspapers: The Case of the 'Brighton Patriot' (Toronto 1974). 121 Theodore Marx (see n. 44), whose wife is a Kohnstam, corresponded with and met the writer and exchanged information. The late W.S. Jessop of Sarasota, USA, was also of considerable help and the writer is indebted to Dr A.P. Joseph. 122 Roth (see n. 15) 37-8?however, Niederweren is not near Munich. David J. Ben? jamin, 'Henry Emanuel Cohen', Australian Jew? ish Historical Society Vol.11, Part X (Sydney 1948) 524. 123 Ibid. 124 Sidney Schultz, 'Early Jewish Settlers in Port Macquarie', Australian Jewish Historical Society Vol.III, Part VIII (Sydney 1953) 341- Old Bailey Sessions Papers, November 1832-3, 524-8. 125 Levi and Bergman (see n. 74) 157, 167-8, 216, 242. Australian Jewish Historical Society Newsletter (Sydney 9 Sept. 1987) 8 and Appendix. 126 Levi and Bergman (see n. 74) 119, 158, 166-8,170,172, 213-4, 239, 242-3, 245. 127 Harmsworth Magazine Vol.11, April 1899. Brighton Reference Library, 'Victoria Gardens... Allegorical Statues, newspaper cut? tings and notes'. Brighton Herald 8 Apr. 1922. East Sussex County Library Local History Series, Brighton in Retrospect (Brighton 1974) 21, gives information about the plinths of the five statues. Two were left in the gardens, one went to Preston Park, and one to Moulsecomb Wild Park. The fate of the fifth plinth, and of all the statues, is unknown. 123</page><page sequence="34">David Spector APPENDIX Brighton and Hove?street names with Jewish associations Coleman Avenue Reginald Coleman-Cohen, brother of Lord Cohen, lived in this area. Jew Street Site of the first synagogue 1789. Lewis's Buildings Passageway opposite Post Office, Ship Street. Named after Hyam Lewis, who lived at premises at the corner of passageway and Ship Street. Tamworth Road Nathan Cohen, grandson of Emanuel Hyam Cohen who came to Brighton in 1782, one of the founders of the town of Tamworth, New South Wales, and for many years mayor. Streets associated with Baron de Goldsmid e da Palmeira and his family DavigdorRoad Rachel, fifth daughter of Sir Isaac, married Count Solomon Henry d'Avigdor. Goldsmid Mews ditto. Goldsmid Road ditto. Holland Mews Lord Holland was a close friend of the baron and was a devoted advocate of Jewish emancipation. The title of baronet was conferred on Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid by Lord Melbourne at the special wish of Lord Holland. The mews and road were built on land forming part of the Wick Estate purchased by Sir Isaac in 1830. Holland Road ditto. Julian Road Sir Julian Goldsmid, grandson of Baron Goldsmid. Lyon Close Second personal name of Baron de Goldsmid. The new street was named and came into operation in 1984. Montefiore Road A daughter of Baron Goldsmid married a Montefiore in 18 5o. Nizell's Avenue A farm in the vicinity of Somerhill, called Nizell's. Osmond Gardens Sir Osmond Elim d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, great-grandson of Baron Goldsmid. Osmond Road ditto. Palmeira Avenue The Portuguese title was also associated with the grant of land to Baron de Goldsmid in the north of the country. Palmeira Mansions ditto. Palmeira Place ditto. Palmeira Square ditto. Somerhill Avenue Somerhill, a Jacobeanmansion inKent, was acquired by Baron deGoldsmid in 1849. Somerhill Road ditto. 124</page></plain_text>