Kosher in the Countryside?

“An agreeable party at Worth (Mrs. Montefiore’s), the most luxurious of modern houses, where a bit of the Law in a little bottle is screwed upon the door of every bedroom.”
Augustus Hare

 

The owners of country houses lived in places where being Anglican was expected. Sometimes Jews like James Mendes of Mitcham found that possession of their house came with a reserved pew in the local church.

Far from synagogues and kosher butchers, Jews struggled to remain religiously observant in the countryside.

Some families only kept kosher in London. Others had both a “Jew Cook” and a “French Cook”, so they could cater for both family and non-Jewish guests with expectations of fine dining. Guests
of the Montefiores at Worth Park in Crawley were taken aback to find a mezuzah by their bedroom door.

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Mezuzah, 2019, Waddesdon Manor
(Rothschild Foundation). A mezuzah is
traditionally affixed at the entrance of a
Jewish home, and each interior room. It
contains two passages from the Torah. The
mezuzah distinguishes a Jewish home, and
is a visible sign of Jewish identity.
Photo: Waddesdon Image Library.

 

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The Jewish Manual (1846) was the first Jewish
cookbook in English. It was compiled by Lady
Judith Montefiore with help from her social
circle. She wanted to show that a kosher
home, where the household observed Jewish
food laws and other rituals, could also be
refined, respectable – and English.
Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special
Collections Division

 

 

ramsgate synagogue complex crop

 

In 1833, Moses Montefiore built a private synagogue near his home outside Ramsgate.

He later added a mausoleum and a rabbinical college (above), where Jewish scholars could live, study and pray together. Photo: courtesy of the Salomons Museum

 

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Few families built private synagogues, but private prayer rooms were more common.

The Rothschilds celebrated New Year and the Day of Atonement at Gunnersbury Park, because they could be less observant here than in London.

 

(Left) Marriage Ceremonial of the Baron Alphonse de Rothschild and Miss Leonora Rothschild: the Bridegroom Breaking the Wine Cup.Their wedding at Gunnersbury Park in 1857 was the social event of the season.

Lowcountry Digital Library, College of Charleston Libraries, 1857.

 

 Exhibition continues: "Hybrid Identities"