Rothschild Buildings: Life in an East-End Tenement Block 1887 - 1920 (Pimlico

by Jerry White

Winner of the Jewish Chronicle Harold H. Wingate Literary Award.Rothschild Buildings were typical of the 'model dwellings for the working classes' which were such an important part of the response to late-Victorian London's housing problem. They were built for poor but respectable Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, and the community which put down roots there was to be characteristic of the East End Jewish working class in its formative years. By talking to people who grew up in the Buildings in the 1890s and after, and using untapped documentary evidence from a wide range of public and private sources, the author re-creates the richly detailed life of that community and its relations with the economy and culture around it. The book shows how cramped and austere housing was made into homes; how the mechanism of class domination, of which the Buildings were part, was both accepted and fought against; how a close community was riven with constantly shifting tensions; and how that community co-existed in surprising ways with the East End casual poor of 'outcast London'. It provides unique and fascinating insights into immigrant and working-class life at the turn of the last century.

Genres: London, Nonfiction, History, Research

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

This is the disambiguation profile for otherwise undifferentiated authors publishing as Jerry White

See also:
Jerry White, historian
Jerry E. White, author of The Joseph Road: Choices That Determine Your Destiny
Jerry P. White, author of Aboriginal Education: Current Crisis and Future Alternatives
Jerry M. White, author of Until Today: Stories and Poems on Life as I Know It
Jerry A. White, author of U.S. Army Infantry
Jerry White, author of The 5 Keys to the Great Life
Jerry C. White, author of Let There Be No Doubt! What the Bible Says..
Jerry S. White, author of Turnaround: The Canadian Guide t Rescuing Your Company From Creditors, Predators And Competitors

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Absolutely fascinating. This is basically an oral history, covering the lives of the mostly Jewish inhabitants of a model housing block in the late 19th and early 20th century. It's got relationships, childhood, all sorts of stuff about jobs and trades and entertainments, appalling stuff about the grinding poverty of so many, the cruelty and exploitation of Victorian/Edwardian capitalism, and an evocation of a sense of community that was almost painful when you think of what we've lost. (Which isn't to say it's nostalgic; there's no nonsense about the good old days here.)

If you're into London history, especially of Jewish/working class people, this is a must-read. Well written, and the voices are vivid and ring off the page.

[Vivienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

My great-grandparents lived in these Rothschild Buildings when they arrived here from Russia in the 1880s so for me this book shone a real light on to their lives both at home and at work. I found it fascinating from beginning to end and would recommend it to anyone interested in the wider social history of the East End.

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Along with White's subsequent The Worst Steet in North London this social history of a East End tenement building is an inspiring piece of history. The Rothschilde Buildings no longer exist but were in an area of Spitalfields more known for the activities of Jack the Ripper than anything else, occupying as they did one side of Fashion St and abutting Commercial St. White marvellously humanises an area popularly seen as the low end of despicable. In doing so he takes us inside the lives of the East End's working class Jewish population, painting a rich picture of house, home, work, and leisure, and the lives of men, women and children through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. along with The Worst Street, this book is years out of print, which is a shame: it's value is enormous.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciated this fantastic book. This gives a great history of working class Jewish people and a new insight for me into the East end. While a lot of Jewish history books are appropriately focused on the Holocaust and the second World War it was interesting to read a book which explored Jewish British history separate from that. The way the author recorded many oral histories and contextualized them into what was happening in London, the Jewish community and the wider world kept me engaged throughout.

[Jwalth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so good. A straightforward account of life in the buildings, a wonderful piece of London Jewish and East End history.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandmother left Ukraine and arrived in London (in 1906) where she met and married my grandfather. They lived in the Rothschild Buildings from 1908 until 1914. My mother Ann was born in 1909 and her brother was born in 1912. I am currently writing a family history about this time period and am delighted to have found this book. A hardback version is a better option for viewing photos because the paper is better quality. My mother and uncle have passed away, but they wrote up their memories in letters. It turns out they lived in apartment 138 on the fourth floor and had no toilet. I wish I knew more about their living conditions. How did they do grocery shopping? I am only 30% into the book, so maybe I will find out. I am thrilled that this book exists. Thank you Jerry White for this major contribution to social history on the East End!