Jewish Heritage UK

JEWISH "CAPITAL OF CULTURE" 2008

February 2008

Liverpool Princes Road Synagogue

Princes Road Synagogue
(© English Heritage Photo: Peter Williams)

Liverpool's Princes Road Synagogue is now Grade I Listed.

The announcement by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport follows hard on the heels of the upgrade of the city's Art Deco Greenbank Drive Synagogue to Grade II*. The public recognition of Princes Road as 'one of Europe's finest cathedral synagogues' is most fitting in the year in which the City of Liverpool is designated 'European Capital of Culture'.

Princes Road is only the third British synagogue to achieve Grade I status. It has been brought into line with its younger 'sister', the New West End Synagogue in London, which became Grade I last summer, joining Britain's oldest synagogue, Bevis Marks. Liverpool is the first city outside London to have a Grade I Listed Synagogue.

EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE’S DECO SYNAGOGUE GAINS A STAR

February 2008

Greenbank Drive Synagogue
(© English Heritage Photo: Peter Williams)

The New Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Liverpool’s Greenbank Drive has been upgraded to Grade II* by the Department of Media, Culture and Sport on the initiative of the Twentieth Century Society.

This enhanced Listed status is recognition of Greenbank Drive’s national significance as one of England’s overlooked interwar buildings. The synagogue, which officially closed in January, is amongst only a handful built in the 1920s and 30s which have remained largely unaltered, making it one of the best examples of the period in the country. Architect Alfred Shennan figures prominently in the civic history of Liverpool, especially for his work towards the construction of the Mersey Tunnel. This was his only synagogue and it is especially gratifying that its importance is being recognised in the year in which Liverpool celebrates as “European Capital of Culture”.

Jewish Heritage’s Director Dr Sharman Kadish welcomed this public acknowledgement of the special qualities of the building. She expressed the hope that the upgrade would advance the search for sustainable new uses that will preserve the integrity of its outstanding interior. “This hidden gem of Liverpool Jewry,” she said, “deserves our redoubled efforts to secure its future. Any scheme which retains the synagogue substantially intact is to be preferred over conversion for residential or other purposes, which would inevitably entail loss of historic fabric and character”.

Jewish Heritage is actively working with the Congregation, their architects, and other interested parties, to secure a fitting future for this exceptional building.

NEW WEST END SYNAGOGUE (LONDON) NOW LISTED GRADE I

August 2007

New West End Synagogue
(© English Heritage Photo: Nigel Corrie)

London's New West End Synagogue has been reclassified by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as a Grade I Listed building. For details, see the report in the August 8th issue of the Independent [PDF file 420KB] and the August 10th issue of the Jewish Chronicle [PDF file 1.4MB].

GIBRALTAR JEWISH HERITAGE GUIDEBOOK LAUNCHED

Whilst JEWISH HERITAGE IN ENGLAND sells out

May 2007

Sharman Kadish
(Copyright © Insight Magazine Gibraltar Photo: Elena Scialtiel)

The Regency elegance of Gibraltar’s Garrison Library formed the backdrop to the launch of the first-ever authoritative guidebook to Jewish Heritage in Gibraltar. The event, hosted jointly by Jewish Heritage UK and the Gibraltar Heritage Trust, was presided over by Gibraltar's Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Hassid, and attended by the Hon. & Mrs. Fabian Vinet, Minister for Heritage. It was reported on the front page of the Gibraltar Chronicle [PDF file 1MB] and featured on Gibraltar TV News.

The guidebook is written by Jewish Heritage Director, Dr Sharman Kadish, author of the best-selling Jewish Heritage in England, which sold out within three months of publication last November and has been reprinted by publishers English Heritage.

Jewish Heritage in Gibraltar, published by Spire Books, follows a similar format, featuring full-colour photographs (taken by Nigel Corrie of English Heritage), drawings and maps (by architect Barbara Bowman) and an architectural heritage trail.

The new guidebook has been sponsored by the Government of Gibraltar, Gibraltar Heritage Trust and several local businesses on the Rock. Publication in the UK has been made possible by The Arts & Humanities Research Council through the University of Manchester where the author is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Jewish Studies.

Jewish Heritage in Gibraltar is available from all good bookshops at the published price of £9.95 or direct from Jewish Heritage UK (see New Publications).

See also the Gibraltar page of the website.