Jews had been coming to London since 1656, when they were officially readmitted by Oliver Cromwell, following their earlier expulsion, by King Edward I, in 1290. The first to arrive were rich Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal who settled in the city, setting up financial houses. They were followed in the 1690s by Ashkenazi Jews from Germany, Poland and Eastern Europe, who were mostly merchants, businessmen and financiers. The heart of the community was the Bevis Marks Synagogue, built in East London in 1701. This beautiful synagogue, the oldest in England, still holds services today.

In the late 18th century, Daniel Mendoza, a Sephardic Jew from Aldgate, won national fame with his bare-knuckle boxing victories. Though only 5ft 7in tall, he beat much larger and stronger opponents thanks to speed and skilful defensive tactics. ''Mendoza the Jew", as he proudly billed himself, was Champion of England from 1791 until 1795. He finally lost his title to "Gentleman" John Jackson, who beat him by gripping his long hair with one hand while pounding him in the face with the other.

By the time of Mendoza's death, in 1836, there were around 17,000 Jews living in London.

Find out more about Daniel Mendoza here

Fleeing the pogroms

The late 19th century saw a massive increase in Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe, the result of deliberate government policies of persecution. In 1881, there was a great wave of violence against Jews throughout the Russian Empire, when they were targeted as scapegoats for the assassination of Tsar Alexander II. Attacks on Jewish communities were called ''pogroms'' (the word for devastation in Russian).

Between 1881 and 1914, more than two million Jews fled from their homes in Eastern Europe, many passing through London to Liverpool, to set off again for New York. Some 150,000 Jewish immigrants stayed in London, mostly settling in the East End close to the docks, around Spitalfields and Whitechapel. Unlike the earlier Jewish immigrants, these newcomers were mostly poor and uneducated. They made their living as market traders, tailors, leather workers, cabinet makers, furriers, bootmakers and cigarette makers. They spoke Yiddish, a language based on medieval German, with many Polish, Russian and Hebrew words, and written using Hebrew characters.

Many East Enders viewed these Jews with suspicion and hostility. They accused them of taking their work and blamed them for pushing up rents, through their willingness to accept overcrowded conditions. The journalist and author, Arthur Morrison, wrote with disgust of ''German-Hebrew provision shops (displaying) food of horrible aspect; greasy yellow sausages, unclean lumps of batter fried in grease; and gruesome polonies and other nondescript preparations repellent to look on.''

In 1888, when the serial killer nicknamed Jack the Ripper brutally murdered at least five East End prostitutes, many assumed that a Jew must be to blame. In September 1888, the East London Observer reported anti-Jewish demonstrations in Whitechapel, where "it was frequently asserted that no Englishman could have perpetrated such a horrible crime... and that it must have been done by a Jew".

Yiddish theatre

Among the first Jewish immigrants was a group of Russian actors who, in 1883, formed the first Yiddish theatre company in London, performing plays in hired halls around the East End. In 1886, they opened the first purpose built Yiddish theatre, the Hebrew Dramatic Club in Princes Street, off Brick Lane.

Yiddish theatre reached a height of popularity in the early decades of the 20th century. Its main home was the Pavilion Theatre, Whitechapel, which was as grand as any West End establishment. Here, Yiddish companies staged melodramas, romantic musical comedies, sentimental plays, and even Yiddish translations of Shakespeare. There was a different show every night, performed to packed, noisy and appreciative audiences. According to Cyril Sharp, who often went to the Pavilion, "The more dramatic and hammy the performance, the more rapturous the applause that followed. The audience liked to be reminded of life in Eastern Europe, and nostalgia and sadness were the dominant themes."

Yiddish theatre went into decline from the late 1920s, as a second generation of immigrants grew up whose first language was English. Theatre was also hit by the growing popularity of cinema, and the Pavilion Theatre was forced to close in 1935.

The Jewish East End today

As the Jews became more wealthy, they moved out of East London to Golders Green, Hendon and other suburbs. Of the 150 synagogues which once stood in the East End, only four survive today. The office of the Jewish Daily News in Whitechapel, still recognisable from the Star of David on the wall, is now a men's clothing shop. In Brune Street, a building with an elaborate sandstone façade and sign saying 'Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor' has been converted into expensive flats. In Brick Lane itself, little of the Jewish past remains except for the two famous bagel shops at numbers 155 and 159. Here you can sample delicious bagels with salt beef or smoked salmon and cream cheese, 24 hours a day.

The Jewish East End Celebration Society has published details of two walks you can follow, to explore the area's rich Jewish history. Find them here

If you can't get to London, visit the online Jewish East End photo gallery here