The first rosh yeshiva and menahel (principal) were respectively Rabbi Nachman Landinski and Rabbi Eliezer Kahan, both alumni of the famed Novardok yeshiva network and both of whom had escaped Communist Russia religious persecution by escaping across the border from Russia to Poland.

Originally, Rabbi Avraham Sacharov was designated as first rosh yeshiva, but Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz asked William Joynson Hicks, the Home Secretary, to block Sacharov's immigration in an attempt to prevent the establishment of a yeshiva outside his jurisdiction.

By 1948,[9] an official American fundraising (including registration as a domestic not-for-profit corporation) was established.

After escaping White Russia he was appointed Rosh Yeshiva of Vishkava, a suburb of Warsaw, Poland.

Reb Nachman Dovid invested all his talent into securing students and funds for the fledgling yeshiva,[18] and thus established a place of Torah in the English "wasteland".

[20] The Rosh Yeshiva's son Yankel Landinski was diagnosed with hemophilia, and the students set up a blood bank for him.

The primary focal point of Novardok hashkafa is extreme reliance on Divine providence and commitment to achieving spiritual goals without feeling encumbered by physical and material constraints.

In 1961 a new building was erected at 88 Windermere Street to house a new beth hamedresh (the hall used for study and prayer), with the dining room on the floor below and the kitchens in the basement.

In addition, these extensions created a courtyard leading on from the back alley, from Rydal Street.