Passersby urinating on an alleyway wall of the historic synagogue in Plymouth, England is damaging the outer structure of the building — to the point where the Plymouth Hebrew Congregation has applied for planning permission to erect a gate that would close off the alley.
The Plymouth Herald reports that the outer wall of the synagogue — a Grade II listed building that celebrated its 250th anniversary last year and is the oldest functioning Ashkenazi synagogue in the English-speaking world — “is finished in a lime based mortar render and it has been found that the urine ‘reacts with the mortar and physically damages the historic building.'”
The problem is apparently a long-standing one, according to a letter from the congregation backing their application to close off the alley and quoted by the Plymouth Herald, and it includes both “urination and defecation.”
“The people causing this are largely those experiencing the under capacity of toilet facilities at nearby bars, attendees of large scale events on the Barbican and nearby areas when the public toilets are not open (such as fireworks events etc) and finally, rough sleepers who use the pathways at the back of the Synagogue building as a toilet near to where they sleep.
“Surprisingly, not only does this problem exist aster dark but people have during daytime – weekdays and weekends – fouled the alley and the paths round the Synagogue as well as the back door area to the neighbouring building.”
The statement also notes how the live-in custodian and his family have suffered indecent exposure from both men and women, and people have urinated against the entrance doors with the urine leaking into the building itself.
Read full story in the Plymouth Herald