A Tenement Flat in 1913
Curated with the help of participants from Jewish community groups
Funded by the Shoresh Trust
The Rothschild Buildings were among dozens of tenement blocks built in the late 1800s in an effort to clear inner London of its most notorious slums and raise the standard of living for working-class Londoners. By the 1980s these blocks had in turn become symbols of east London’s poverty, and the Rothschild Buildings were among many that were demolished.
Background
Pogroms
Jewish communities were persecuted throughout the Russian empire in the wake of the assassination of Tsar Alexander II. Outbreaks of antisemitic violence called pogroms, starting initially in Ukraine, forced thousands to emigrate to Britain and America.
Wartime in the East End
The First World War had wide-ranging repercussions in the East End. Some Jewish migrants found themselves targets of anti-German attacks regardless of which country they had come from. The Jewish community also had to come to terms with Britain being allies with the antisemitic Tsarist regime in Russia.
Modern conveniences
The first decades of the 1900s saw a rapid shift from Victorian-era technologies towards the modern age. By the 1910s, even poorer homes like those in the Rothschild Buildings started to replace coal fires with gas, and middle-class homes became electrified for the first time, with electric lighting soon becoming the norm.
Yiddish
A fusion mainly of German and Hebrew, the Yiddish language united a Jewish community that had migrated to the East End from many different countries. Newspapers, books, and plays in Yiddish catered to this growing population, and many Yiddish words and phrases are now commonly used in English.
Personal stories
Mick M
"Jewish life was centred around the Friday evening meal, whether you’re religious or not...Many of them [Jewish families] went to shul on the Friday and the Saturday morning...The coming home from synagogue symbolised the strength and the essence of being Jewish."
Mrs K
"Sometimes, when people had trouble over rent, we had to make a collection to get their rent. If not, they’d be thrown out...We always saved them. We always generally saved each other."
The stories and research for this display were supported by Jerry White and his book Rothschild Buildings: Life in an East-End Tenement Block 1887–1920. Pimlico (2003).
What's happening
On Friday nights the Delinsky family welcome in Shabbos (the Sabbath) marking the Jewish day of rest, which begins at sundown in a few hours’ time.
Ray’s famous lokshen soup is simmering on the stove as she prepares the chicken to be roasted in the oven. Ray’s daughter Bessie has spent most of the day tirelessly cleaning the flat and has just sent her brother Nathan to Brick Lane to fetch some last-minute supplies. Their father Israel has finished a long week of work and has gone to the local synagogue to pray, before returning home to begin dinner with a blessing.
Things to look out for
Religious Silverware
About 1900-1910
Silverware would have been an enormous expense for a family like the Delinskys, but it was important to be able to mark religious occasions with high quality items. The silver kiddish cups and salt and pepper set would have been used every Friday, with the drinking of wine and the eating of challah bread and salt signalling the start of Shabbos dinner.
The Economical Jewish Cook
May Henry and Edith B. Cohen, 1897
Most families in the Rothschild Buildings relied on credit from shopkeepers to be able to buy enough food for their families. Children would be sent to Brick Lane with their own containers, and only buy the exact weight they could afford. Books like this one, aimed at young girls, tailored the recipes to the limited means of most East Enders.
Toilet
The flats in the Rothschild Buildings were each fitted with an internal toilet, a rarity in East End homes well into the 1900s. In the notorious Booth Street buildings in Stepney, six hundred tenants had to share just thirty toilets. For those who couldn’t afford toilet paper, yesterday’s newspaper provided a free alternative.
Looking for more?
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