The Severn Street 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 60 Severn Street,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
,
West Midlands,
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 founded in 1809 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 merged into the
Singers Hill Synagogue congregation in 1856.
The former synagogue building was completed in 1813 and was used until the Singers Hill Synagogue building was completed. The Severn Street property was sold to the
Freemasons in 1856 and subsequently used as the Athol
Masonic Hall. The building was
listed as a Grade II building in 2006.
History
The first recorded Jewish congregation in Birmingham dates from when a synagogue was established in an area then known as ''The Froggery''. A replacement synagogue was built in Hurst Street in 1791. The Severn Street congregation was newly carved out of the former Gooch Estate when the new congregation was founded in 1809.
[
The synagogue building was completed in 1813, and that year was badly damaged in a riot directed at non-]Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
s that also severely damaged the Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
Church in Belmont Row, Quaker Meetinghouse near Lady Well, and the Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
Chapel in Bond Street.
During 1825 to 1827, the synagogue was rebuilt by architect Richard Tutin in the Greek Revival style. The Torah Ark was retained by the Freemasons with only slight modifications. Its handsome, fluted Doric columns and classical entablature remain.[ The Master's Chair is placed in the former Torah Ark niche. The adjacent banqueting hall, decorated with Stars of David, was added for the Freemasons by architect Henry Naden in 1871–2.]
Following completion of the Singers Hill Synagogue, the building was purchased by the local Freemasons in 1856.
See also
* History of the Jews in England
* List of former synagogues in the United Kingdom
References
1809 establishments in England
1856 disestablishments in England
19th-century synagogues in the United Kingdom
Ashkenazi Jewish culture in England
Ashkenazi synagogues in the United Kingdom
Former Orthodox synagogues in England
Grade II listed buildings in Birmingham
Grade II listed religious buildings and structures
Greek Revival architecture in the United Kingdom
Greek Revival synagogues
Jewish organizations established in 1809
Masonic buildings completed in 1856
Masonic buildings in the United Kingdom
Religious buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands
Synagogues completed in 1813
Synagogues completed in 1827
{{UK-synagogue-stub