Great Synagogue of London facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Great Synagogue of London |
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The Great Synagogue in 1809
(from Ackerman's Microcosm of London) |
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism (former) |
| Rite | Nusach Ashkenaz |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue (1790–1941) |
| Status | Destroyed (during WWII) |
| Location | |
| Location | Dukes Place, City of London, England EC3 |
 Location in City of London
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| Architecture | |
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| Architectural type | Synagogue architecture |
| Founder | Benjamin Levy |
| Funded by |
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| Date established | c. 1690 |
| Completed | 1722; 1790; and 1852 |
| Destroyed | 11 May 1941 |
The Great Synagogue of London was a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the City of London, England, in the United Kingdom. The synagogue was, for centuries, the centre of Ashkenazi life in London. Built north of Aldgate in the 17th century, it was destroyed during World War II, in the Blitz.
History
The earliest Ashkenazi synagogue constructed in London, after the return of Jews to England in the 17th century, was built about 1690 at Duke's Place, north of Aldgate, in the City of London. In 1696–7, the synagogue also acquired a burial ground, at Alderney Road.
The congregation grew, and in 1722 a new building was erected with the cost of £2,000 (equivalent to £270,000 in 2021) being borne by businessman and philanthropist Moses Hart. The building was consecrated on Rosh Hashana (September 18, 1722). An enlarged building, designed by George Dance the Elder, was consecrated on August 29, 1766. The order of prayers for the inauguration was the first printed publication of the synagogue, and also the first publication to name it explicitly as 'The Great Synagogue'.
Between 1788 and 1790, the third synagogue was built on the site. Unusually for the time, the principal donor was a woman, Judith Levy, a daughter of Moses Hart, who subscribed £4,000 (equivalent to £400,000 in 2021). The architect was James Spiller. The building was in the classical style identified with John Adam. It was redecorated and repaired in 1832 and 1852 by John Walen, and restored again with small renovations in 1899 and 1930.
The Royal Dukes of Cambridge, Cumberland, and Sussex, sons of George III, visited the Great Synagogue of London in 1809. There they were seated on elegant Egyptian revival chairs as they watched the religious service. The synagogue was also visited around this period, during his schooldays, by the writer Leigh Hunt, who wrote 'I took pleasure in witnessing the semi-Catholic pomp of their service and in hearing their fine singing, not without something of a constant astonishment at their wearing their hats'.
The synagogue was destroyed during the night of 10-11 May 1941, during one of the last major attacks of the Blitz. A plaque commemorating the synagogue is placed on Duke's Place.
Leadership
Rabbis
The following individuals have served as rabbi of the Great Synagogue:
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Ordinal Officeholder Term start Term end Time in office Notes 1 Judah Loeb Cohen 1696 1700 3–4 years - Aaron the Scribe of Dublin 1700 c. 1704 3–4 years Acting rabbi 2 Aaron Hart c. 1704 1756 51–52 years 3 Hart Lyon 1758 1764 5–6 years 4 David Tevele Schiff 1765 1792 26–27 years - Moses Myers 1792 1802 9–10 years Acting rabbi 5 Solomon Hirschell 1802 1842 39–40 years 6 Nathan Marcus Adler 1845 1890 44–45 years 7 Hermann Adler 1891 1911 19–20 years 8 Joseph Hertz 1913 1946 32–33 years
Cantors
Myer Lyon was hazzan at the Synagogue from 1767. For some time he also doubled as an opera singer at Covent Garden Theatre under the name 'Michael Leoni'. His rendering of prayers attracted many gentile visitors to the synagogue; amongst them was the Methodist minister Thomas Olivers, who adapted Leoni's rendition of the prayer Yigdal to create the English hymn, The God of Abram Praise; its melody still bears the title Leoni in Hymns Ancient and Modern.
From his arrival in England until his death in 1880 the Anglo-Jewish composer of synagogue music Julius Mombach was associated with the Great Synagogue. He arrived in 1827 as meshorrer (choirboy) and eventually became the Synagogue's choir master.
In art
In 1819 an aquatint of the interior was drawn by Augustus Charles Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson, and originally published in the popular illustrated magazine of the period, Ackermann's Repository of Arts. Pugin drew a handsome representation of the Ionic columns supporting the balconies and the classical decoration of the building. Rowlandson drew caricatures of the congregants, with the hunched shoulders and exaggerated noses traditionally attributed to Jews.
See also
In Spanish: Gran Sinagoga de Londres para niños
- History of the Jews in England
- List of former synagogues in the United Kingdom
- List of demolished buildings and structures in London
