Documents relating to the invitations for the Tercentenary Service, Cardiff, 1956

Description

This item consists of two documents relating to the Tercentenary of the re-settlement of the Jewry in Great Britain on 6 January. The first document is an invitation template written by Geo. G. Leigh, the Honorary Secretary of the Cardiff New Synagogue (now known as the Cardiff Reform Synagogue). The second document is a list of the officials that were invited, including the Lord Mayor and members of Cardiff City Council.

The Tercentenary Service marked 300 years since the Jews were invited back to resettle in Great Britain by Oliver Cromwell. Their readmission came 366 years after they were banished in 1290 under Edward I. It was in 1656 that they were finally allowed to return to Britain. The Jewish resettlement in Britain marked the beginning of a new era in Jewish and Christian relations, putting an end to centuries of estrangement.

The Cardiff Reform Synagogue was founded in 1948 as the Cardiff New Synagogue. The following year, it became a constituent member of the Movement for Reform Judaism. Born in reaction against the more restrictive traditions of the Orthodox Judaism of Cardiff Hebrew Congregation, such as the prohibition of driving on the Sabbath and the ban on interfaith marriages, the new Synagogue appealed to the immigrants who had fled the war-torn Europe, where the Reform movement was already well-established. The congregation worships in a converted Methodist Chapel on Moira Terrace they acquired in 1952.

Sources:
'The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales' by Cai Parry-Jones (http://e.bangor.ac.uk/4987);
JCR-UK/JewishGen (https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/card1/index.htm);
'Readmission of Jews to Britain in 1656' by Tara Holmes (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/350.shtml).

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.

• https://cardiffreformsynagogue.uk/new/ (link opens in new window)