The site of a large, ornate synagogue in London that was torn down in the 1950s is begin marked with a commemorative plaque by the Islington district council.
The North London Synagogue stood in John Street (now Lofting Road), Barnsbury. It was built in 1868, when Islington had one of England’s largest Jewish communities.
It was torn down in 1958.
The building was designed in Italian style and richly decorated with marble, plaster moulded into the shape of plants, coffered ceilings and stained glass. […]
In the souvenir booklet produced for a commemorative service to mark the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the residing Rabbi, Nathan Bergerman, finished his address by desiring ‘that the Synagogue may celebrate its 100th anniversary unimpaired’.
But by the mid-1950s many of the synagogue’s members had moved on, and in 1958, with low attendances and the building in poor condition the synagogue was closed and then demolished. The town hall later constructed flats on the site.
The Gazette quotes Cllr Janet Burgess, Islington Council’s executive member for health and wellbeing, as saying: “We are delighted to be unveiling an Islington People’s Plaque to commemorate the borough’s rich Jewish heritage.”
Chabad of Islington, which runs a Jewish Islington web site, spearheaded efforts to get the site marked, with the award granted through an online voting contest.
Read the full article in the Islington Gazette