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NEWS
Exeter Celebrates First Wedding in 60 Years

By S. Fried

The old, 80-seat beis knesses in Exeter was packed when the city in the southwest of England held its first Orthodox wedding in 60 years.

The beis knesses was renovated in 1980 and serves the city's rejuvenating kehilloh, although it is not (yet) active on a day-to-day basis. The beis knesses serves more as a museum and its archive is a major source of information on local Jewish history. The 60-member congregation sometimes draws Jews from other parts of Devon as well as neighboring counties Cornwall and Somerset.

According to available information Exeter's Jewish community was formed in the 12th century, probably by merchants. The first mention of a Jew in local documents was in 1181, when the city had a small congregation with a beis knesses and a cemetery, but there was no Jewish presence for 400 years following antisemitic persecution and the English expulsion in 1290.

In 1724 Yaakov Monis, who presented himself as a teacher of Hebrew, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, arrived in Exeter from Padua, Italy. Later Jews began to arrive from Hanover, Germany and then land was purchased for a cemetery in Bull Meadow.

The cemetery grounds were bought in 1763 and the beis knesses was dedicated on August 10, 1764, making it the second beis knesses in all of England. Thirty Jewish families resided in Exeter in 1842 along with another 175 non- Jews.

Subsequently their numbers began to decline due to out- migration until in 1878 fewer than 10 Jewish families remained in the city, but in 1889 the kehilloh revived thanks to the efforts of Charles Samuels, who opened a picture-framing shop. Though Samuels passed away in 1944 the store continued to operate until 1990. During this 100-year period the beis knesses was renovated several times, including after the heavy damages it suffered during World War II. Most recently it underwent a renovation project in 1998 at a cost of 150,000 pounds, provided by the British Heritage Foundation.

 

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