JEWISH
EAST END OF LONDON PHOTO GALLERY & COMMENTARY
London's East End Synagogues, cemeteries and more......
My personal journey through the Jewish East End of London
Curiosities from a bygone age - Hebrew plaques inside the entrance
vestibule of Christ Church, Spitalfields
Above: Plaque to the German born ex-Jew, Reverend
Henry Aaron Stern - read more about this interesting man at the
bottom of this page
Christ Church in Spitalfields,
opposite Spitalfields market, holds an interesting relic of East
End Jewish history. Until its demolition in 1895, the Jews'
Episcopal Chapel in Palestine Place, Bethnal Green, was a centre
of Christian missionary activity among Jews. Commemorative
plaques to various ministers who operated out of this chapel
were subsequently relocated to the entrance vestibule of Christ
Church, Spitalfields. I had no knowledge of of this until
recently when I wandered into the Church for a look around.
Seeing the Hebrew inscriptions amazed me and I had to take
photographs. If you click on the pictures to enlarge them
you can read the inscriptions on these curiosities from a bygone age.
Double click
photos below to enlarge
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Christ Church, Spitalfields
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Christ Church, Spitalfields
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Entrance vestibule containing plaques
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Entrance vestibule containing plaques
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Plaque in entrance vestibule explaining origin of plaques
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Miss Jane Cook
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Reverend F C Ewald (not a good photo - sorry)
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Reverend Lewis Way
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Reverend H Aaron Stern (a German born ex-Jew) who had an eventful life - see the additional note on his life below these photographs.
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Reverend Alexander McCaul
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Reverend John Christian Reichardt
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George Thomas King
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William Wynne Willson
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Reverend Charles Sleech Hawtrey
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Reverend Henry Aaron Stern -
some facts:
The Jewish Chronicle of 9
January 1914 reported the following about Henry Aaron Stern and his
association with the Falasha Jews of Abyssinia
According to the Jewish
Chronicle report, the Falashas were introduced to English history by
the German born ex Jew Henry Aaron Stern. He went to Abyssinia
in 1859 to convert them to Christianity. King Theodore of Abyssinia
gave him permission to do this but afterwards withdrew his support,
put him in prison and had him tortured. A British military
expedition of 1868, under the command of Lord Napier of Magdala, was
sent to liberate Stern and punish King Theodore. This led to
Theodore's downfall and the release of Reverend Henry Aaron Stern.
A fine example
of Victorian gunboat diplomacy!