Grimsby in Mind

Foundation Chief Executive Michael Mail travelled to Grimsby in order to visit the new exhibition produced by Heritage Lincolnshire, with National Lottery Heritage Fund support, on the Jewish community of Grimsby entitled ‘Dockside Diaspora: Uncovering Grimsby’s Jewish heritage’.  The exhibition has been launched at Grimsby Town Hall as part of the national Heritage Open Days programme. 

The exhibition explains the history of the Grimsby Jewish community, including the fact that Grimsby was the third largest centre of Jewish immigration into the UK after London and Hull.   The exhibition also presents fascinating individual histories of Jewish families who settled in Grimsby, explaining their backgrounds and their lives in the town.

The Foundation assisted Heritage Lincolnshire in the preparation of the exhibition, and the visit was also an opportunity to meet the Heritage Lincolnshire team involved in creating the project – Alice Ullathorne, Hannah Mayhew and Anna Hartley, and discuss their future plans.

Before going to the exhibition, Michael visited the historic grade II listed Montefiore Memorial Synagogue in Grimsby which was founded in 1888.  He was shown the synagogue by member Michael Neuman.  The synagogue has beautiful stained-glass windows, and a disused but striking mikvah at its rear. 

Heritage Lincolnshire has been assisting the Montefiore Synagogue as it has been dealing with various building issues, and there are more ambitious plans that include using the site to permanently present the Jewish story of Grimsby to the wider public.