A Talmud Torah class at Gorbals Public School.
The Glasgow Hebrew Talmud Torah was one of several organisations which provided religious education to Jewish children in Glasgow and was the only one in the Gorbals which took girls. It was officially opened in a former tailor's workshop in Clyde Place in June 1895. By 1899 this space was becoming overcrowded and classes then moved to Gorbals Public School. This was rented from Glasgow Corporation for 16 guineas (£16.80) a year, but was only available on weekdays after school classes had finished. At weekends and on public holidays Talmud Torah classes had to be held in local synagogues.
In 1916, because of wartime lighting restrictions, the Talmud Torah moved to Abbotsford School. This was a smaller building and class numbers dropped from 450 children to 250. By 1919 the Talmud Torah had returned to the Gorbals Public School and in 1923 a building was purchased in Elgin Street to house the organisation on a permanent basis.
Reference: PHO.T.0001
Reproduced with the permission of the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre
Keywords:
Abbotsford Public School, boys, Buchan Street School, children, Glasgow Hebrew Talmud Torah, Gorbals Public School, Jews, primary schools, pupils, religious education