Jew's House

The Jew's House is one of the earliest extant town houses in England. It is situated on Steep Hill in Lincoln, immediately below Jew's Court.[1] The house has traditionally been associated with the thriving Jewish community in Medieval Lincoln. Antisemitic hysteria was stoked by a notorious 1255 blood libel alleging the murder that a child, called Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln, was ritually killed by Jews. In 1290, the entire Jewish community was expelled from England, and the Jew's House is said to have been seized from a Jewish owner. The building has remained continuously occupied to the present day. Since about 1973 it has been used as a restaurant; before that it was an antiques shop.

For the building formerly known as Aaron the Jew's House, see Norman House.
Jew's House, Lincoln
Frontage of the Jew's House, Lincoln
LocationAt the junction of Steep Hill and the Strait, between Uphill and Downhilll, Lincoln
Coordinates53.2322°N 0.5388°W / 53.2322; -0.5388
OS grid referenceSK9763371566
BuiltLater 12th Century
Architectural style(s)Romanesque Town House
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated8 October 1953
Reference no.486271
Location in Lincolnshire

Architecture
The Jew’s House, Lincoln by Samuel Hieronymus Grimm about 1784

The Jew’s House is built in the local limestone in the Norman or Romanesque style. Dating from the mid-twelfth century, the building originally consisted of a hall at first floor level, measuring approximately 12 by 6 metres, above service and storage spaces at ground level.

Part of the façade survives; the elaborately carved doorway, the remains of two Romanesque double-arch windows and much of the stonework on the upper storey. A chimney breast rises over the arch above the front door, serving the fireplace on the upper floor. There were once two columns supporting the arch, but these have gone.[2]

See also

References
  1. Historic England. "Monument No. 326716". PastScape. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  2. ”Antram’’ (1989), pg 519

Literature
  • Anon. (1983) Norman Buildings in Lincoln, Lincolnshire Museums Information Sheet, Archaeology Series 26.
  • Antram N (revised), Pevsner N & Harris J, (1989), The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire, Yale University Press. pg 525.
  • M. E. Wood (1974), Revised ed. Norman Domestic Architecture.
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