The Secret Jewish World of Soho and Fitzrovia

Guest blog post by Vera Litvin

I had always thought that the East End was where Jews in London had historically lived. What I hadn’t realised was that a vibrant Jewish community had also thrived in the West End areas of Soho and Fitzrovia. This all changed when I accompanied tour guide Stephen Burstin and a group of 20 LJCC students on a walk to discover the Jewish past of these places.  

"View" by Holocaust Survivor Naomi Blake in Fitzroy Square Gardens

We began at Fitzroy Square – it had at various times been home to British authors George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf, but it also has clear Jewish connections: the West Central Jewish Lads' Club was established here in 1898. It provided evening recreation for Jewish teenage boys who lived or worked in the district. The Fitzroy Square Garden also holds a statue by Naomi Blake, who survived Auschwitz as a child. 

The Montagu Centre

Our next stop was the Montagu Centre. Today, this is the home of Liberal Judaism in London, named after the Honourable Lily Montagu, C.B.E. In 1893 Lily Montagu , the daughter of a wealthy Jewish banker and MP, founded the West Central Jewish Girls' Club in Dean Street, Soho. It provided the young tailoresses who joined the club with more than fifty classes including physical training, art, drama and music. The club was a deliberate attempt to combat the effects of the seedy area in which the girls lived.

The popular Fitzroy Tavern run by Judah Kleinfeld

An activity I had never associated Jews with was pub-keeping, but it turns out that the most popular pub in the area – the Fitzroy Tavern was run by a Russian Jewish Refugee Judah Morris Kleinfeld. His daughter Annie worked behind the bar and did all the book-keeping as Judah could not write English. It was “pop” Kleinfeld’s larger than life personality which attracted writers, artists and composers to what became the foremost bohemian pub in the area. The pub was closed on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and was heavily involved in charity work with its innovative “pennies from heaven” scheme, in which people threw darts at the ceiling with little bags of money attached with them. The money was then collected and given to charity. Another famous pub with a Jewish publican was the Pillars of Hercules, run by Harris Rothstein to support his six daughters.   

The Pillars of Hercules run by Harris Rothstein. (Photo Credit: David Ruback)

Round a little alleyway, we discovered perhaps the most obvious sign that a Jewish community once flourished here: the Westminster Jews Free School building.

Building of the Westminster Jews Free School. (Photo Credit: David Ruback)

These are only some of the stories we uncovered:  among others were former synagogues with charismatic rabbis, handsome Jewish butchers, restaurants which attracted a clientele of stars and many more. Stephen Burstin showed us that Soho and Fitzrovia teem with signs of a Jewish past, if you only know where to look! He guided us expertly through all the stories and memories of the area, bringing them vividly to life.

For some members of our group the trip held the additional significance in that their families came from the area. Do you have a West End story or memory? We’d love to hear it. Please email it in to vera@ljcc.org.uk

Many thanks to participant David Ruback for permission to use his photographs and to Stephen Burstin for leading the walk

Stephen Burstin’s next walk for the LJCC will be to Spitalfields and Aldgate on Monday 23 April. Full info available here or by calling 020 8457 5000