About document 21

This document is a petition from Manasseh ben Israel and others to Oliver Cromwell, asking for the Jews to have the right to practise their religion in their own houses, dated 1656.

(Catalogue reference: SP18/125 folio 173)

Manasseh ben Israel, a Dutch rabbi, came to England in 1655 hoping to persuade Cromwell to accept the Jews right to worship. Interestingly, although there is no record of any formal reply, it was in 1657 that a Synagogue within a house in Creechurch Lane, London was established.

Please note:

• The document is written in a clear cursive hand.