The Brighton Regency Synagogue, also called the Devonshire Place Synagogue, is a former

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located at 38–39 Devonshire Place, Kemptown,

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

, in

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, in the United Kingdom. The congregation, established in 1824, worshiped in the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

rite Rite may refer to: Religion * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite (Christianity), sacred rituals in the Christian religion * Ritual family, Christian liturgical traditions; often also called ''liturgical rites'' * Catholic particular ch ...

. The

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

building was completed in 1825 as a synagogue and ceased operation as a synagogue in 1874. The former synagogue building was listed as a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1971. The site now comprises an

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

building.

History

The synagogue was built in 1824–25. It was enlarged in 1836–38 to designs by

David Mocatta David Alfred Mocatta (1806–1882) was a British architect and a member of the Anglo-Jewish Mocatta family. Early career David Alfred Mocatta was born to a Sephardic Jewish family in 1806, the son of the licensed bullion broker Moses Mocatta ...

, England's first Jewish architect. The building's chaste, pilastered

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

, symmetry, and central doorway are typical of the Regency style. A faded inscription reading (1838) was faintly visible under the pediment in 2006. Inside, the original ceiling lantern, a typical Regency feature, is still in place. The building was replaced by the

Middle Street Synagogue The Middle Street Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 66 Middle Street, in the centre of Brighton, in the city of Brighton and Hove, Sussex, England, in the United Kingdom. The congregation was formed in as t ...

in 1875, and sold. By 2007 it had been converted into apartments, with the façade sensitively restored and an historic plaque mentioning the architect.

References

{{Authority control 1824 establishments in England 1874 disestablishments in England 19th-century synagogues in the United Kingdom Ashkenazi Jewish culture in London Ashkenazi synagogues in the United Kingdom David Mocatta buildings Former religious buildings and structures in Brighton and Hove Former Orthodox synagogues in England Grade II listed buildings in Brighton and Hove Jewish organizations established in 1824 Regency architecture in England Regency and Biedermeier synagogues Synagogues completed in 1838 Synagogues in Brighton and Hove

History

See also

References