Historic synagogues in the UK are generally “less at risk” today than they were five years ago, with the biggest threats to these buildings “poor maintenance and redundancy due to of falling membership” in the congregations that use them. The situation in London has shown particular progress, but there are serious challenges to historic synagogues outside the capital.
So states the report Synagogues at Risk? 2015, made public September 1 by Jewish Heritage UK. “The attraction of a well-appointed building is undoubtedly a factor in improving levels of usage,” the report, authored by Jewish Heritage UK director Sharman Kadish, notes.
The report details the second five-year survey of historic synagogues carried out by Jewish Heritage, following on from the first Synagogues At Risk survey and report that was commissioned by English Heritage and published in 2010. Some 45 historic synagogues were invited to come under the 2015 survey, but some declined to be included and the survey ended up covering 38 buildings, most of them listed as historic sites that were in use for worship. The results were compared to those from 2010.
Key Findings of the Survey Include:
Evidence of Progress
In London all but one building in the participating sample (14 buildings) are now rated as in Good or Fair condition in terms of both indicators: Condition and Usage. More than half of those buildings have shown significant improvement since 2010. This may be attributed to the completion of repair projects access to sources of funding, both private and public (especially from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)) and healthy levels of usage by congregations. In London, major repair projects have been carried out at Sandys Row on the edge of the city and at Golders Green, thanks in large part to the HLF.
The disparity between the situation of synagogues in the capital and nationwide has persisted since 2010. However it has not widened. Indeed 4 buildings out of 24, one sixth of the regional sample, have shown significant improvement. A further 13 have achieved stability having attained a rating of ‘Fair’.
Britain’s oldest ‘cathedral synagogue’, Singers Hill in Birmingham, which for years fought closure, is enjoying a renaissance In the center of a regenerated city quarter. It has undergone renovation largely funded privately by members and has acquired a dynamic rabbinical couple.
Leicester’s Orthodox congregation have opted to sell off their 1950s hall across the road and to hang on to their distinctive late Victorian synagogue, shown on the cover of the Report. Their foresight has paid off: since 2012 they have landed no fewer than three publicly-funded Heritage grants, totaling almost £145,000, for repairs to the building, development of educational resources on site, as well as for a documentation project of the turn-of-the-20th-century Jewish Section at the city’s Gilroes Cemetery, which was opened soon after the synagogue (in 1902).
The recently announced capital development grant for the Manchester Jewish Museum, housed in the city’s Victorian Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is set to bring the amount of public funding contributed to historic synagogues to nearly £5 million.
Despite the challenges, many regional historic synagogues are managing to keep going despite the small size of their congregations. Some are very active in hosting school and civic groups, and achieve impressive visitor numbers on Heritage Open Days and similar events.
Progress may be attributed to the commitment and enthusiasm of individuals and the ability to access funding. Outside guidance and encouragement from Jewish Heritage plays a crucial support role here. Nationally, the message of the importance of instituting a Maintenance Regime, to ensure that gains made do not go into reverse, has not yet got across to all synagogues. More work by Jewish Heritage is needed in training and mentoring in good practice for custodians of historic synagogues.
Challenges, Threats and Concern
Almost half of historic synagogues in 2015 may be classified as currently a matter for concern or likely to become so in the not too distant future. ‘At Risk’ synagogues are most likely to date from the early 20th century and to be located in the North of England. Sunderland, Blackpool and Liverpool’s Greenbank have all now closed and are seeking appropriate new users.
Other cases for concern include a group of highly graded Victorian buildings in different parts of the country: Liverpool (Princes Road) Grade I, Bradford Grade II* and Brighton (Middle Street) Grade II* all need urgent work to arrest further deterioration. This is especially true in the case of Bradford, where a Repair Grant has been awarded for the first time but not yet implemented.
When one adds in the six synagogues in the regions that declined to participate in the survey, either because they are currently closed or have not yet found a new use, or because their future has been cast into doubt, the number of At Risk buildings increases substantially.
The overall proportion of historic synagogues potentially or currently At Risk has increased from about 33% to 37%, that is, to over one-third since 2010.
Download a pdf of the full Synagogues at Risk? 2015 Report