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The Sunderland Synagogue is a former synagogue building in
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
, England. The synagogue, on Ryhope Road, was designed by architect
Marcus Kenneth Glass Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...
, constructed by Joseph Huntley & Son, and completed in 1928. It is the last surviving synagogue to be designed by Glass. The synagogue was listed as a Grade II historic structure in 1999.
Sharman Kadish Sharman Kadish (born 1959) is a contemporary scholar, author, historian and preservationist. Biography Kadish was born in London, England, of Russian Jewish descent. Her father was the artist Norman Maurice Kadish. She was educated at Unive ...
, ''r Jewish Heritage in England : An Architectural Guide,'' (English Heritage, 2006, pp. 182-185.
The congregation ceased meeting in 2006. The building is owned by a Jewish charitable trust which offered the building for sale or lease in 2009. Businessman George Fraser bought the synagogue in 2010. Fraser intends to convert the building into 12 luxury apartments whilst retaining the exterior but this has not yet been approved. Councillor Mel Spedding said that the planned conversion was considered to be inappropriate, and a planning application for it had not been received. Spedding stated that he would be happy to discuss the building's future with the owner. As of May 2021 the building remained empty. Architectural historian
Sharman Kadish Sharman Kadish (born 1959) is a contemporary scholar, author, historian and preservationist. Biography Kadish was born in London, England, of Russian Jewish descent. Her father was the artist Norman Maurice Kadish. She was educated at Unive ...
describes the synagogue's colorful design as a blend of
Byzantine revival Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Orthod ...
and "cinematic art deco style." The exterior is an
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
interpretation of Byzantine style, with an oversized, arched entrance, paired arched doorways, polychrome brickwork and basket capitals.
Kadish describes the interior as "spanned by a deep barrel vault over the central aisle, which was originally painted to imitate a star-spangled sky. The gallery runs around three sides carried on slender iron columns with palmette capitals. The plasterwork Ark canopy is highly decorative, painted and gilded. It is classical in form but features decoration of Islamic and Byzantine origin, especially the cushion capitals to the columns and the chevron patterns on the shafts ..." The synagogue replaced the original Adath Yeshurun on Moor Street in the East End, which was open from 1862 to 1928. It became Sunderland's main place of Jewish worship once the former Sunderland Beth Hamedresh, on the corner of Mowbray Road and The Oaks West, closed in 1984.


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Sunderland Hebrew Congregation
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''Jewish Communities and Records – UK''
(hosted by ''jewishgen.org''). Art Deco synagogues Byzantine Revival synagogues Tourist attractions in the City of Sunderland Grade II listed buildings in Tyne and Wear Grade II listed religious buildings and structures Buildings and structures in the City of Sunderland Former synagogues in England 1862 establishments in England Sunderland