GENERAL
PDF brochure with synagogues, cemeteries, institutions and other listings for Scotland.
Lengthy article by Dr. Sharman Kadish describing Jewish heritage sites in Scotland.
GLASGOW
Glasgow is home to the largest Jewish community in Scotland, with four still-active historic synagogues. See an interactive Map of sites of Jewish interest in Glasgow
129 Hill Street
Glasgow G3 6UB+44
Tel: (0)141 332 4151
Email: info@garnethill.org.uk
The oldest purpose-built synagogue in Scotland, constructed in 1879 and completely refurbished in 1998. The only purpose-built synagogue in 19th century Scotland, it was designed by local architect John McLeod in a style described as “Romanesque-cum-Byzantine with Moorish touches.” He was assisted by Nathan Solomon Joseph, who worked on synagogues in London and Liverpool. The building is a Victorian A Listed structure. It has a tall, barrel-vaulted sanctuary, with a women’s gallery and large, ornate Ark, like a small temple.
Tours can be arranged through the synagogue office. The building is used for religious services and also houses the Scottish Jewish Archives Center — a repository of documents, artifacts, files and other material about Jewish communities and history all over Scotland.
147 Ayr Road
Newton Mearns, Glasgow G77 6RE
Tel: +44 (0) 141 639 4083
Email: shul@grs.org.uk
The only Reform synagogue in Scotland
Jewish Cemeteries
There are nine (or 10, depending on how you count them) Jewish cemeteries in Glasgow, with a total of 11,000 graves.
List of Jewish Cemeteries in Glasgow (IAJGS Cemetery project)
Glasgow Hebrew Burial Society web site
History, information, and lInks, including to interactive searchable database of burials.
Jewish Enclosure at the Necropolis (historic site)
The Necropolis is the vast, historic Victorian cemetery that sprawls over a hill near the Cathedral. The first person buried there, in 1832, was a Jewish jeweler, Joseph Levy, who died of cholera. His grave is in the tiny Jewish Enclosure at the foot of the hill, which operated from 1832-55 and includes 57 graves. There is a decorative gate and pillar.
Download a book about the Necropolis from 1857 with detailed description of the Jewish Enclosure
Read our JHE July 2017 post and photo essay about the Garnet Hill synagogue and the Necropolis
Oral history project on refugees fleeing the Nazis who found sanctuary in Scotland.