In the past, visitors to the Archive Service were often surprised to learn that very little archival material relating to the Swansea Hebrew Congregation had been deposited with the local archive service. This situation changed in November 2009, when the West Glamorgan Archive Service took delivery of a large deposit of records from the Ffynone synagogue.
Since the Swansea Hebrew Congregation is by far the oldest Jewish community in Wales, the arrival of these records was a cause of great excitement at the West Glamorgan Archive Service. Once staff at the Record Office began to catalogue the records it soon became clear that this was one of the finest collections of provincial Jewish records in the country.
Among the records contained in this collection are minute books, marriage registers, membership lists, correspondence files, burial records, photographs and ephemera. Documenting every aspect of Jewish life in south Wales, this collection is a must for anybody interested in Anglo-Jewish history or Jewish genealogy.
With this exciting addition to our collections, the West Glamorgan Archives is now proud to be the home of one of the oldest and most complete collections of provincial Jewish archives in the UK.