To mark the publication of a revised new edition of Jewish Heritage in Britain and Ireland by Sharman Kadish, Historic England has posted an illustrated list of 10 of England’s most beautiful synagogues.
First published in 2006, the book remains the only comprehensive guide to historic synagogues and sites in the British Isles. The new edition features many new images including, for the first time, of sites in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
The Historic England list of top synagogues includes the following — let us know in the comments if you have more to add!
1. Bevis Marks Synagogue, London.
Britain’s oldest synagogue, opened in 1701. Designed by master builder Joseph Avis, the style was influenced both by Wren City churches and the Portuguese Great Synagogue of Amsterdam, the parent congregation of the English Sephardim.
2. Princes Road Synagogue, Liverpool, designed by George Audsley and opened in 1874, which it calls the “most lavish High Victorian Oriental synagogue in England.”
3. The New West End Synagogue, London, opened in 1879 and also designed by Geroge Audsley
4. Middle Street Synagogue, Brighton, designed by Thomas Lainson and opened in 1875
5. The Montefiore Synagogue and Mausoleum, Ramsgate
6. Manchester Jewish Museum, housed in the red-brick former Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue built in 1874and designed by Edward Salomons
7. Plymouth Synagogue
Built in 1762-63, the oldest Ashkenazi synagogue in Britain and the oldest in the English-speaking world.
8. Exeter Synagogue, opened in 1764
9. Singers Hill Synagogue, Birmingham
“Cathedral-style” synagogue designed in Italian Renaissance style in 1855-6 by leading civic architect Henry Yeoville Thomason,
10. Bradford Synagogue, built in Moorish-oriental style in 1880-81 and designed by local church architects the Healey Brothers
Click to see the list, with pictures