List of British Jews

The first Jews arrived in Britain with the Romans but it wasn't until the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066 that organized Jewish communities first appeared. These existed until 1290 when the Jewish population was expelled by Edward I. (Hence plays such as The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice were written when England was essentially devoid of Jews.) Jews were readmitted in 1656 by Oliver Cromwell, and emancipation took place in 1858. In the late 19th century there was mass Jewish immigration from anti-semitic Russia, and the 1930s saw an influx of refugees from Nazism. The Jewish population peaked at 450,000, but has since declined due to low birth rate, intermarriage and emigration. The current population according to the 2001 Census is around 240,000 (though many experts consider this an underestimate), most of whom live in London. The following is a list of some prominent British Jews.

Artists

Fine arts

• Frank Auerbach, painter
• David Bomberg, painter
• Sir Anthony Caro, sculptor
• Sir Jacob Epstein, sculptor (UK-based)
• Hannah Frank, artist & sculptor
• Lucian Freud, painter
• Mark Gertler, painter
• Sir Ernst Gombrich, art historian
• Anish Kapoor, sculptor (Jewish mother)
• R.B. Kitaj, painter (UK-based)
• Leon Kossoff, painter
• David Sylvester, art critic

Designers and Architects

• Misha Black, industrial designer
• Elizabeth Emanuel, fashion designer
• Nicole Farhi, fashion designer
• John Frieda, hair-stylist; father of actor Jordan Frieda
• Abram Games, poster designer
• Stella McCartney, fashion designer (Jewish mother)
• Janet Reger, lingerie designer
• Vidal Sassoon, hair stylist
• Hans Schleger, graphics designer
• Richard Seifert, architect