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.
