1634: Sir William Brereton describes the Portuguese Jewish men in London as 'most black,'
"This day, being Saturday, Junii 14, is observed as the Jews Sabbath, who are about three hundred families seated in this town, most Portugals. A street they have called the Jews' street: they have three synagogues here. I was this day at their synagogue, from nine to half twelve, then they concluded; return at three, continue until evening. They have fifteen whom they call their Parnassus :' these are the governors and judges. They have all white mantles of a kind of linen, but short: these they wear over their hats, which they never put off during all their being in church. They have three sorts which perform their Divine Ordinances, their Levi-tical rites and ceremonies: the sons of Aaron, who represented the priests, who carried their Alchoran, the five books of Moses, covered with a cloth of gold, and whereon were divers little bells pendant, placed in the form of a crown, which was fetched out of a little cabinet; this represents their tabernacle: these sons of Aaron are their predicants, and also read the books of Moses; the Levites sing the reading psalms of David in a tune; and the Parnassuses ap-point of the Israelites such to read as they think fit. The sons of Aaron and Levites have longer white robes than the rest. Here in this congregation, no good order, no great zeal and devotion here appearing; much time spent in singing and in talking. We went hence to an Englishman and his wife, lately turned Jew, as is said, merely to enrich themselves: very obstinate and ignorant both. He is a merchant of tobacco. "Tis said his wife, being an handsome woman, was a courtezan in London. They deny all the New Testament. Their men most black, full of hair, and insatiably given unto women: their wives restrained and made prisoners; their widows distinguished from all other women Jews by white veils hanging to their backs. They will not bury amongst the Gentiles, but have purchased unto themselves a peculiar burial-place, a field on the water-side, some three or four English miles from the town, wherein are erected their sepulchres; and when they remove, they remove also their bones thence away with them. Within this twenty years, they buried at Alchmoare; and when they changed their burial-place, their bones all were removed. This burial-place, at large described in the first leaf of the other book,¹ is placed by the side of the channel or water-passage leading from Amsterdam to Utrecht."
Source >>> Travels in Holland, the United Provinces, England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1634-1635 by Brereton, William, Sir, 1604-1661 pg 61
https://archive.org/details/travelsinhollan00hawkgoog/page/n76/mode/2up
Posted May 6, 2026, 9:42 PM UTC