The ''Domus Conversorum'' ('House of the Converts'), later Chapel of the Master of the Rolls, was a building and institution in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

s who had converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. It provided a communal home and low wages. It was needed because, until 1280, all Jews who converted to Christianity forfeited their possessions to the Crown. It was established in 1232 by Henry III. With the expulsion of the Jews by Edward I in 1290, it became the only official way for Jews to remain in the country. At that stage there were about eighty residents. By 1356, the last one of these died. Between 1331 and 1608, 48 converts were admitted. The warden was the

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of ...

.Records of the Master of the Rolls and the Rolls (Chapel) Office
National Archives The building was in

Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street situated in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It has formed the western boundary of the City since 1994, having previously been divided between the City of Westminster and the London Boro ...

. No records exist after 1609, but, in 1891, the post of chaplain was abolished by

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

and the location, by then known as the Rolls Chapel which had been used to store legal archives, became the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was ...

. The site is today home to the

Maughan Library The Maughan Library () is the main university research library of King's College London, forming part of the Strand Campus. A 19th-century neo-Gothic building located on Chancery Lane in the City of London, it was formerly the home to the headq ...

of King's College London. "''Domus Conversorum''" was sometimes used also to describe the living quarters of

lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...

s in

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

References

External links

Jewish Encyclopedia

October 2002]
''Hospitals: Domus conversorum'', A History of the County of London: Volume 1: London within the Bars, Westminster and Southwark (1909), pp. 551-554
{{coord, 51.5149, -0.1111, type:landmark_region:GB-LND, display=title
History of the "Domus Conversorum" from 1290 to 1891

899 __NOTOC__ Year 899 ( DCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – King Arnulf of Carinthia enlists the support of the Magyars, to ...

Michael Adler Michael Adler DSO, SCF (27 July 1868 – 30 September 1944) was an English Orthodox rabbi, an Anglo-Jewish historian and author who was the first Jewish military chaplain to the British Army to serve in time of war, serving with the Briti ...

, at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

DOMUS CONVERSORUM
by

Cecil Roth Cecil Roth (5 March 1899 – 21 June 1970) was a British Jewish historian. He was editor in chief of ''Encyclopaedia Judaica''. Life Roth was born in Dalston, London, on 5 March 1899. His parents were Etty and Joseph Roth, and Cecil was the young ...

. ''

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langu ...

'' article at encyclopedia.com 1253 establishments in England Antisemitism in the United Kingdom Conversion of Jews to Christianity Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Camden Jewish English history Henry III of England

See also

References

External links