The Jew's House is one of the earliest extant
town houses in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, estimated to have been built around 1170. It is situated on
Steep Hill in
Lincoln, immediately below
Jew's Court. The house has traditionally been associated with the thriving
Jewish
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""The ...
community in Medieval Lincoln.
Antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
hysteria was stoked by a notorious 1255
blood libel
Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...
alleging that the mysterious death of a Christian child, known as
Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln
Hugh of Lincoln (1246 – 27 August 1255) was an English boy whose death in Lincoln was falsely attributed to Jews. He is sometimes known as Little Saint Hugh or Little Sir Hugh to distinguish him from the adult saint, Hugh of Lincoln (died 12 ...
, was the result of him being kidnapped and ritually killed by Jews. In 1290, the entire Jewish community was expelled from England by
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
, and the Jew's House is said to have been seized from a Jewish owner. The building has remained continuously occupied to the present day. Since about 1973 it has been used as a
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
; prior to that it had been an antiques shop for many years.
Architecture
The Jew's House is built in the local limestone in the
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
or
Romanesque style. Dating from the mid-twelfth century, the building originally consisted of a hall at the first floor level, measuring approximately 12 by 6 metres, above service and storage spaces at the ground level.
Part of the original façade survives; the elaborately carved doorway, the remains of two
Romanesque double-arch windows and much of the stonework on the upper storey. A
chimney
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
breast rises over the arch above the front door, serving the fireplace on the upper floor. There were once two columns supporting the arch, but these have gone.
[”Antram’’ (1989), pg 519]
See also
*
Norman House
Norman House on Steep Hill, Lincoln, England is an historic building and an example of Norman domestic architecture.
The building is at 46–47 Steep Hill and 7 Christ's Hospital Terrace. The architectural evidence suggests a date between 117 ...
*
Whitefriars, 333 High Street, Lincoln
*
John of Gaunt's Palace, Lincoln
John of Gaunt's Palace was a late 14th-century merchant's house which stood in the lower part of Lincoln High Street, opposite the St Mary Guildhall. It was progressively demolished from the late 18th century until the 1960s. The very fine oriel ...
*
St. Mary's Guildhall, Lincoln
St Mary's Guildhall is a major domestic complex, indicating the highest social status, built in the part of the medieval city of Lincoln, England, known as Wigford. The Guildhall faces directly onto Lincoln High Street and stands to the north of ...
References
Literature
*Anon. (1983) ''Norman Buildings in Lincoln'', Lincolnshire Museums Information Sheet, Archaeology Series 26.
*Antram N (revised), Pevsner N & Harris J, (1989), ''The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire'', Yale University Press. pg 525.
* M. E. Wood (1974), Revised ed. ''Norman Domestic Architecture''.
External links
*{{commons category-inline, Jew's House, Lincoln
British Listed Buildings
* http://www.jewshouserestaurant.co.uk/
Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century
Houses in Lincolnshire
Buildings and structures in Lincoln, England
Norman architecture in England
Jews and Judaism in England
Grade I listed buildings in Lincolnshire
Grade I listed houses