The Leazes Park Synagogue is a former Orthodox

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 12 Leazes Park Road,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

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 was formed in 1880 and 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 ...

until the congregation was dissolved in 1978. The former synagogue building was completed in 1880, designed by

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

John Johnstone in the North Italian style, and featured an elaborate two-storey

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

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 ...

. The building was listed as a Grade II building in 1987. Since its use as a synagogue, the building has been variously used as a shopping arcade and as student accommodation.

History

The ''Newcastle Old Hebrew Congregation'' traces its roots from 1838 and the founding of Temple Street Synagogue, which merged with the Charlotte Square Synagogue to form the ''Newcastle United Hebrew Congregation''. The amalgamated congregation moved into the new synagogue on Leazes Park Road, which was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

on 25 August 1880. There were further mergers in 1924 and 1973, but the Leazes Park Synagogue continued to serve as one of the synagogues of the united congregation until its final closure service on 3 May 1978. The Culzean Park Synagogue in

Gosforth Gosforth is an area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, situated north of the Newcastle City Centre, City Centre. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district of Northumberland from 1895 until 1974 before of ...

is now Newcastle's only active Orthodox synagogue. Designed by John Johnstone, who was also responsible for the design of Newcastle's old town hall, the synagogue building was extended in the 1920s. The building had a basement schoolroom and a Jewish sports club was formed there in 1934. The Leazes Park Synagogue building was put to use as a shopping arcade until a fire destroyed the interior in 1989. Restoration was completed by 1996 and it is now used for student accommodation.

References

{{Synagogues in the United Kingdom 1880 establishments in England 1978 disestablishments in England 19th-century synagogues in the United Kingdom Ashkenazi Jewish culture in England Ashkenazi synagogues Buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne Former Orthodox synagogues in England Grade II listed buildings in Tyne and Wear Grade II listed religious buildings and structures Jewish organizations established in 1880 Religion in Tyne and Wear Synagogues completed in 1880

History

See also

References