Domus Conversorum

The Domus Conversorum was a London institution founded in 1232 by Henry III to house Jewish converts to Christianity. It stood in Chancery Lane and provided modest accommodation and small wages to residents. Until 1280, converts lost their property to the Crown, making the house necessary for survival. After Edward I expelled the Jews in 1290, it became the only legal way for Jews to stay in England. By 1356, the last original resident had died, and only 48 converts entered between 1331 and 1608. The warden of the Domus Conversorum was always the Master of the Rolls, a senior legal official. By the 19th century, the building had become the Rolls Chapel, storing legal archives for the Public Record Office. In 1891, the chaplain’s post was abolished, and the site passed to King’s College London. Today it houses the Maughan Library, where parts of the old chapel survive in the reading rooms. The name once also described living quarters for lay brothers in monasteries. The London building was demolished long ago, but traces remain inside the Maughan Library. Visitors can see medieval fabric in the library’s architecture and sense the site’s layered history. The library occupies a quiet corner near Chancery Lane, blending old and new. Its grand reading rooms stand where legal documents once filled shelves. The connection to the Domus Conversorum is subtle but present for those who look.