Bayswater Synagogue was an

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 in Chichester Place,

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

, in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 worshipped 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 ...

. Built in 1863, as a branch synagogue jointly of the Great Synagogue and the New Synagogue, it was one of the original five synagogues that formed the

United Synagogue The United Synagogue (US) is the largest umbrella body for Orthodox Judaism in Britain. It is structured as a charity which serves the United Kingdom, British Jewish community in the broadest possible way. One of the largest charities in the B ...

in 1870. The building was demolished in 1965 for construction of the Westway overpass and the Warwick Estate redevelopment.

History

From about 1820, many Jewish families had joined the westward expansion of London, placing them at an inconvenient distance from established synagogues whose wardens ("the Jewish City Fathers") required them to attend, even to the exclusion of private worship. Agitation commenced for a new synagogue, and "endless negative negotiations ensued between those who had moved into the Bayswater area and the authorities of the City synagogues." Support was gained from

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

Nathan Marcus Adler Nathan Marcus HaKohen Adler (13 January 1803 – 21 January 1890) (Hebrew name: Natan ben Mordechai ha-Kohen) was the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire from 1845 until his death. Life A kohen, Adler was born in Hanover in present-day Germany. H ...

and, after orderly formal proceedings, the Chichester Road site was selected and the foundation stone laid on 10 July 1862. On 21 February 1863 ''The Illustrated London News'' published an article on the new synagogue and, on 30 July 1863, the building was consecrated by the Chief Rabbi.Phillips, Olga Somech; Simons, Hyman A. The Bayswater Synagogue 1863–1963, London 1963 Notable seat holders included the banker

Samuel Montagu Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling (21 December 1832 – 12 January 1911), was a British banker who founded the bank of Samuel Montagu & Co. He was a philanthropist and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1900, a ...

, later Lord Swaythling (1832- 1911), and members of the Rothschild family.

WWII bombing

During

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the board-room was destroyed by

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

bombing, with the loss of a portrait gallery of 19th-century communal leaders. On the same night (10 May 1941), both London's Great Synagogue and the 1870 Central Synagogue were also destroyed.

Demolition

The synagogue was closed and demolished in 1965 as part of the construction of the Westway elevated road. The congregation moved to the Lauderdale Road synagogue in

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...

Notable rabbis

* Dr

Hermann Adler Hermann Adler HaKohen CVO (30 May 1839 – 18 July 1911; Hebrew: נפתלי צבי הירש הכהן אדלר) was the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire from 1891 to 1911. The son (and successor as Chief Rabbi) of Nathan Marcus Adler, the 1911 ...

, from 1864 to 1891; later served as

of the UK * Raymond Apple , from 1960 until its closure in 1965 * Sir Hermann Gollancz, from 1892 to 1922

References

External links

Bayswater Synagogue
at

AIM25 AIM25 is a non-profit making collaborative archive project; a single point of networked access to collection level descriptions of the archives of over one hundred higher education institutions, learned societies and specialist archives within t ...