Northampton Medieval Synagogue

{{short description|Former synagogue, now remnants, in Northampton, England}}

{{EngvarB|date=September 2018}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}

{{Infobox religious building

| name = Northampton Medieval Synagogue

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| image =

| image_upright =

| alt =

| caption =

| religious_affiliation = Judaism {{small|(former)}}

| tradition =

| sect =

| district =

| prefecture =

| province =

| region =

| deity =

| rite =

| festival =

| organisational_status = Synagogue {{small|(former)}}

| ownership =

| governing_body =

| leadership =

| bhattaraka =

| patron =

| consecration_year =

| functional_status = Closed; remnants only

| religious_features_label =

| religious_features =

| location = Northampton, Northamptonshire, England

| locale =

| municipality =

| cercle =

| state =

| country = United Kingdom

| map_type = United Kingdom Northampton Central

| map_size = 250

| map_alt =

| map_relief = 1

| map_caption = Location of the former synagogue remnants
in central Northampton

| grid_name =

| grid_position =

| sector =

| territory =

| administration =

| coordinates = {{coords|52.2389354|-0.8979419|format=dms|region:GB_type:landmark|display=it}}

| coordinates_footnotes =

| heritage_designation =

| architect =

| architecture_type =

| architecture_style =

| founded_by =

| creator =

| funded_by =

| general_contractor =

| established =

| groundbreaking =

| year_completed = {{circa|1200}}

| construction_cost =

| date_demolished =

| facade_direction =

| capacity =

| length =

| width =

| width_nave =

| interior_area =

| height_max =

| dome_quantity =

| dome_height_outer =

| dome_height_inner =

| dome_dia_outer =

| dome_dia_inner =

| minaret_quantity =

| minaret_height =

| spire_quantity =

| spire_height =

| site_area =

| temple_quantity =

| monument_quantity =

| shrine_quantity =

| inscriptions =

| materials =

| elevation_m =

| elevation_footnotes =

| nrhp =

| designated =

| added =

| refnum =

| delisted1_date =

| website =

| module =

| footnotes = {{cite web |author=Shulman, David |url=http://www.jewishgen.org/JCR-UK/pre-1290/1290communities/midlands1290.htm#northampton1290 |title=Northampton's Medieval Jewish Community: Medieval (Pre-1290) Jewish Communities in the English Midlands |work=Jewish Communities and Records - UK |publisher=JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain |date=14 December 2011 |access-date=12 May 2024 }}

}}

The Northampton Medieval Synagogue is an archaeological site that contains remnants of a medieval Jewish synagogue, located in Sheep Street, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, in the United Kingdom.

The former synagogue site was discovered in 2010 by Marcus Roberts of National Anglo-Jewish Heritage Trail (JTrails) and Caroline Sturdy Colls, a PhD archaeology student at Birmingham University, after researching Northampton's medieval Jewish history. The synagogue appeared to have survived the expulsion of Jews in 1290 and the great fire of Northampton in 1674. Town Clerk records from 1751 described the building as "very substantial; a fair stately hall."{{Cite news |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/northampton-synagogue-discovered-under-kebab-shop-1.15036 |title=Northampton synagogue discovered under kebab shop |last=Dysch |first=Marcus |date=15 April 2010 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |access-date=19 September 2018}}

The remains of the medieval synagogue include stone walls and a stone staircase located {{convert|12|ft|m|order=flip}} below a kebab shop, named the Kebabish takeaway, and a neighbourhood pub, named "The Bear". A wall in the cellar of the pub was part of the medieval synagogue.

Northampton was among the largest medieval Jewish communities in England. In 1992, remnants of a 12th-century Jewish cemetery were discovered by archaeologists.{{cite web |url=http://www.jtrails.org.uk/whats_on/news/c-1084/remains-of-medieval-synagogue-uncovered-under-northampton-kebab-shop/ |title=Remains of medieval synagogue uncovered under Northampton kebab shop |work=Northampton Chronicle and Echo |via=National Anglo-Jewish Heritage Trail |date=9 April 2010 |access-date=12 May 2024 }}