Jew’s House, Lincoln: a story of wealth and persecution

If you wanted to take out a loan in Norman England, you might have struggled. Becoming a money lender was forbidden to Christians – and at the time, the population of England was almost entirely Christian. 

Borrowing, on the other hand, was perfectly acceptable. This created a bit of a gap. So in the 11th century, William the Conqueror actively encouraged non-Christians – in particular Jews, largely from Rouen in Northern France – to come to England, become moneylenders, and vitalise the economy.

And come they did. Jewish communities were established all over the country. One of the most sizeable (second only to London, in fact), was in Lincoln.

So begins the story of one of the oldest domestic houses in the country: Jew’s House, Lincoln.

It’s a story of the often hidden Jewish community in medieval England, one which reflects the deep anti-Semitism of the time, plays a part in one of the most horrific cases from the Middle Ages, and has echoes down into the modern age.

This blog is part of my Building of the Week series, where I explore a different story each week.

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Jew’s House & Jew’s Court – one of England’s oldest houses

Before we get into the story, it’s worth looking at the building in a bit more detail – because Jew’s House is genuinely remarkable.

It’s on one of the steepest hills in Lincoln – called, imaginatively, Steep Hill – leading roughly from the Cathedral down into the centre of town. (Side note – the steepness of the hill and the amount of times I ended up walking up and down made this one of the most physically exerting Building of the Week posts yet…)

It dates from the mid 12th century, built in local limestone, in a handsome Romanesque style. This is one of the many remarkable things about the house – in the 12th century, almost every house was built in wood, not stone. So there was some serious money behind this one. It would have been one of the grandest in the city.

The other remarkable thing about Jew’s House is its door – an elaborately carved stone Norman doorway, slightly off centre, still in use by the modern restaurant now occupying the building.

Attached to Jew’s House is a later building, now known as ‘Jew’s Court’. This building – much of which dates from the 17th century – is thought to be the site of Lincoln’s medieval synagogue. 

Because of the grandness of its door and the fact the Jew’s Court historically didn’t have its own front entrance, some historians have suggested that the synagogue was actually entered through Jew’s House.

A set of photos of Jew’s House & Jew’s Court – including a close-up of the stonework, Jew’s House’s Norman door, and the building from across the street.

Lincoln’s Jewish population – wealthy & persecuted

So why is it known as Jew’s House, anyway?

It’s a name that has passed down the centuries, but much remains a little bit of a mystery. What we do know is that in the 12th century, around the time the house was built, Lincoln’s Jewish population flourished around the area now known as Steep Hill.

At this time Lincoln was one of the largest cities in the country. It was wealthy, largely off of the wool trade, and its huge cathedral (which just over a hundred years later would become the tallest building in the world) made it an important ecclesiastical centre.

In this climate, Lincoln’s Jewish population had plenty of opportunities to make money, either in lending or property ownership.

Some grew very, very wealthy – most notably a man called Aaron of Lincoln. Aaron – whose historic house can also be seen, just a little up the hill from Jew’s House, known as Norman House – was a prolific financier.

King Henry II was one of many in his debt, and Aaron made a business of bankrolling religious buildings all over the country – Peterborough Cathedral, the Abbey of St Albans and Lincoln Minster, to name just a few.

Even from the start, though, Lincoln’s Jewish community were treated with suspicion and frequently persecuted. In the late 12th century, a wave of anti-Jewish pogroms swept England.

Lincoln’s Jews were forced to seek shelter in the castle, where they were protected by a few powerful individuals – notably the Bishop of Lincoln, later known as St Hugh (not to be confused with Little Hugh). 

Elsewhere in the country, mobs turned violent. It was a dark reminder, just a century after they had been invited to stimulate the country’s economy. They weren’t safe here.

The story of Belaset of Wallingford

As in the case of Aaron of Lincoln, even in this climate of suspicion, many Jews flourished. And this was a community where women thrived, too.

We know this because when all property owned by Jews was seized in the late 13th century, the second and third most valuable Jewish-owned properties in the city had been owned by women.

One of those women lived in Jew’s House itself, and is the inhabitant most often associated with the building: Belaset of Wallingford. 

Belaset was daughter of Solomon of Wallingford, a Jewish financier (although other sources suggest she was actually the daughter of the local rabbi). Either way, we know that Belaset owned and lived in the property in the latter half of the 13th century.

Like many of Lincoln’s Jews, Belaset worked and grew wealthy as a money lender. But sadly, as with many medieval women, we don’t know much about her life, or who she was as a person.

There is one interesting detail. We know from the Jewish Encyclopedia (published in 1906, now in the public domain) that she had a daughter, Yehudit, who married in 1275. Astonishingly, the dowry deed survives, including an “elaborate written copy of the Hebrew Scriptures”.

Belaset’s story has a tragic end. She was executed in the late 13th century, accused of the crime of ‘coin-clipping’ – shaving the edges off of silver coins, to collect the precious metal. 

This was a legitimate crime. But given the era Belaset lived in, a period of increasing persecution of Jews, it may well have been little more than an excuse to seize her property.

The death of Little Hugh & the blood libel myth

Sadly, Belaset played her part in another tragedy – that of Little Hugh. It’s the most famous story related to Lincoln’s medieval community.

In 1255 a nine year old boy known as Little Hugh disappeared in Lincoln. His body was later found in a well.

A Jew named Copin was tortured into confessing that Hugh had been ritually murdered by Jews. He and several other ‘conspirators’ were executed.

The story captured the vitriolic zeitgeist. King Henry III himself intervened to ensure Jews were punished. So much did it enter the popular imagination, the story was even mentioned in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. For decades, Little Hugh’s grave became something of a pilgrimage site for Christians, feeding into a wider culture of anti-Semitism. 

The blood libel myth, the false accusation that Jewish people murdered Christian children for ritual purposes, has been used to justify persecution of Jewish communities across Europe for centuries.

Little Hugh’s grave is still in Lincoln Cathedral. Since 2009, a plaque has been placed alongside it, written by a local multi-faith group. It’s worth reading, so I’ve pictured it in full below.

Some historians argue that a reason this myth gained plausibility at the time – as well as the general attitudes of the time – was that a large number of out of town has Jews had come to Lincoln for a wedding – possibly even that of Belaset of Wallingford.

Over the following decades, Jews saw their rights further cut back. They were prohibited from moneylending – one of the key industries they’d worked in. And then, in 1290, King Edward I issued the edict of expulsion. All jews in England had no choice but to leave. 

The ban remained in place for another 366 years. Jew’s House, like all property owned by Jews, was seized and redistributed by the King.

Persecution echoing down the centuries

The Jew’s House is undoubtedly a remarkable and beautiful building, but one deeply tied to historical persecution. I can’t help but reflect that I’m writing this at a moment of intensifying division, and when horrific incidents of antisemitism are rising in the UK.

And online, conspiracy theories – including the blood libel myth that drove medieval persecutions – continue to be spread and used to persecute communities.

The story of Jew’s House is a chapter in an unbroken history. And the pattern it describes echoes further still: communities invited in for what they can offer, then treated with hostility.

Jews were finally readmitted to England in 1656, after 366 years of exclusion. Lincoln has a small Jewish community again today. The Jew’s House still stands as one of the oldest buildings still in everyday use: people eat there almost every night of the week. It’s a visible reminder of a part of our history that has too often been pushed out of view.

Read more building of the Week posts

If you’re visiting Bologna, read my guide to the top things to do in Bologna.

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