New app guides through York's Jewish history and heritage
Posted on 16 March 2012
It is estimated around 150 Jews died in the massacre at Clifford’s Tower in the city after they had fled there for protection from a mob believed to be incited by the coronation of crusader King Richard I.
York's Jewish past is a really important part of the history of the city but at the moment there is nothing available to help you understand it
Professor Helen Weinstein
The web app will include detailed information about what happened in 1190, but most importantly, is designed to introduce the public to the longer story of Jewish settlement in the city from the 12th to the 21st century.
It will feature a map that will alert visitors to nearby points of interest in the city and provide audio commentary, photographs and other information.
It has been created by York Museums Trust working in partnership with Professor Helen Weinstein, Director of the Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP), at the University of York. The web app will be available today from www.historyofyork.org.uk.
Professor Weinstein sees this type of project as an important part of her work as a Professor of Public History, and decided to create the app to educate residents and visitors to the fact that there is more to York's Jewish past than tragedy.
She said: "I wanted to reclaim the city where Jews lived and worshipped and look at what trace is left of that community. It will allow people to engage with the archaeological and historical evidence of the Jewish community, and put the terrible events of 1190 in a much wider context.
“The process of creating this app has been a very important new venture for IPUP. The research was conducted by our IPUP intern postgraduate students who worked under the direction of IPUP using the expertise of the City Archaeologist, John Oxley, who is the narrator on the new app. We then worked with two organisations to develop the app, SUMO on the technology and design, and HISTORYWORKS to create and record the scripts and produce the sound and photographic illustrations.”
In total seven sites will be highlighted.
Professor Weinstein said: “The locations have been chosen for a purpose showing that Jews in York were not ghettoised as others were in medieval Europe, but in fact lived at Jubbergate, Spen Lane, and Coney Street; and were buried at Jewbury just outside the city walls in a large garden plot.
“One of the myths I wanted to overturn in the new app is that Jews never again settled in the city after the 1190 massacre. In fact, there is firm evidence from property documents showing that Jewbury Cemetery was extended to a larger plot forty years after 1190, firmly scotching the rumour of a Jewish Cherem ruling that Jews were not allowed to live in York after the Massacre. This is just not the case, and those following the sites on the app will have a much fuller picture of Jewish settlement in the city, especially filling in the gap in public knowledge about the Jewish community in the 20th and 21st centuries.
"York's Jewish past is a really important part of the history of the city but at the moment there is nothing available to help you understand it. When I arrived in York, I was shocked, as a Jew, that there was nothing to tell this story."
At the moment the app is in its pilot stage and can not be downloaded. Instead it can be found by visiting www.historyofyork.org.uk and following the link. York Museums Trust welcomes any comments on how to improve it further. This is the first of many themed trails planned for the History of York mobile app, offering information and highlighting points of interest throughout the city.
To launch the new app, Professor Weinstein is leading a free 90-minute walking tour for the York Jewish History Trail. The walk will set off at 2pm today (Friday, 16 March), from the steps of the Yorkshire Museum, and finish at the site of the massacre within Clifford's Tower – thanks to English Heritage, who are opening up the site for those conducting the walk. All are welcome. No bookings or tickets are necessary and participants are welcome to bring their mobile device to test out the new app.
Notes to editors:
- The Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past researches how narratives of the past function in our society and how identites are constructed in the present using the past. Founded to promote partnerships and consultancies between museums, galleries, heritage and the media, the Institute draws together researchers, practitioners and audiences. For more information visit www.york.ac.uk/ipup/
Contact details
Keep up to date
Subscribe to news feeds
