Museums

Part of a tombstone from the Jewish cemetery at Northampton dating to 1200 CE. Inscribed in Hebrew, it is memory of Solomon, a Rabbi and scholar. It is probably the only surviving medieval Jewish tombstone in England.

Part of a tombstone from the Jewish cemetery at Northampton dating to 1200 CE.

Jews first came to Northampton in the 12th century. Since then, there have been two distinctive historical Jewish communities - the medieval community and the modern community. Jewish people have lived and worked in the town for a total of 400 years during the last millennium. However, many people are not aware of this rich but often hidden history and heritage. Recent research has shown for example, that one of the two founders of the modern boot and shoe industry in Northampton was Jewish.

This tombstone is the only surviving example of a medieval Jewish Tombstone in England and one of only two surviving medieval Jewish inscriptions in this country. It was originally dug up in the 19th Century. In 1992 Marcus Roberts was able to identify the item as a unique 13th Century medieval Jewish tombstone, from the (then) lost Northampton Jewish cemetery, in the style of Jewish tombstones from the Rhineland. Later that year the cemetery site was relocated at Temple Bar off the Barrack Road. The inscription is incomplete, but appears to be to a Northampton Jewish scholar and rabbi. It probably reads,

‘This is the tombstone to the devout and learned Rabbi Solomon (?), Son of Moses (?)'.

The tombstone provides evidence for the existence of a Jewish academy, as well as German-Jewish influence in Northampton.