Oldest synagogues in the United Kingdom

Bevis Marks Synagogue in London, built in 1701

The designation oldest synagogue in the United Kingdom requires careful definition. A number of synagogues that predate the expulsion of the Jews from England have been discovered by archaeologists or by historians in buildings that have been in use for other purposes for many centuries. A second set of synagogues post-dates the legal return of Jews to England in the seventeenth century. Some synagogues have been destroyed or demolished and rebuilt on the same site, so that, while the site or congregation may be very old, the building may be modern. Still other old synagogue buildings exist, but were sold by the congregation and are now used for other purposes, some as churches or mosques, others for everything from residences to school recital halls. And some very old synagogues have been in continuous use as synagogues for many centuries.

England

Garnethill Synagogue in Glasgow, Scotland

Frontage of Jew's Court, Lincoln

• Jew's Court, Lincoln, built between 1150 and 1180 and the oldest synagogue currently in use as such (following a centuries-long hiatus).
• Guildford Synagogue, built around 1180.
• Bevis Marks Synagogue in London, built in 1701 is the oldest synagogue building in the United Kingdom in continuous use.
• The Plymouth Synagogue, built in 1762, is the oldest Ashkenazi synagogue building in the English-speaking world.
• The Exeter Synagogue, built in 1763 originally for a Sephardic Congregation.
• The Falmouth Synagogue, built in 1806, now inactive
• Chatham Memorial Synagogue, built in 1867
• West London Synagogue, built in 1870
• New West End Synagogue, built in 1877–1879

Scotland

• Garnethill Synagogue, built 1879–1881

Wales

The Merthyr Synagogue (1872) in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, is thought to be the oldest purpose-built synagogue still standing in Wales.^[1]

See also

• Oldest synagogues in the world
• Oldest synagogues in Canada
• Oldest synagogues in the United States

References