| Great Synagogue of London | |
| Image Upright: | 1.4 |
| Rite: | Nusach Ashkenaz |
| Festivals: | --> |
| Organizational Status: | --> |
| Functional Status: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Dukes Place, City of London, England EC3 |
| Map Type: | United Kingdom London City of London |
| Map Size: | 250 |
| Map Relief: | 1 |
| Architecture Type: | Synagogue architecture |
| Founded By: | Benjamin Levy |
| Date Destroyed: | 11 May 1941 |
| Date Destroyed: | --> |
| Elevation Ft: | --> |
The Great Synagogue of London was a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the City of London, England, in the United Kingdom. The synagogue was, for centuries, the centre of Ashkenazi life in London. Built north of Aldgate in the 17th century, it was destroyed during World War II, in the Blitz.
The earliest Ashkenazi synagogue constructed in London, after the return of Jews to England in the 17th century, was built about 1690 at Duke's Place, north of Aldgate, in the City of London. In 1696–7, the synagogue also acquired a burial ground, at Alderney Road.[1]
The congregation grew, and in 1722 a new building was erected with the cost of £2,000 being borne by businessman and philanthropist Moses Hart. The building was consecrated on Rosh Hashana (September 18, 1722).[2] An enlarged building, designed by George Dance the Elder, was consecrated on August 29, 1766. The order of prayers for the inauguration was the first printed publication of the synagogue, and also the first publication to name it explicitly as 'The Great Synagogue'.[3]
Between 1788 and 1790, the third synagogue was built on the site. Unusually for the time, the principal donor was a woman, Judith Levy, a daughter of Moses Hart, who subscribed £4,000 .[4] The architect was James Spiller. The building was in the classical style identified with John Adam. It was redecorated and repaired in 1832 and 1852 by John Walen, and restored again with small renovations in 1899 and 1930.[5]
The Royal Dukes of Cambridge, Cumberland, and Sussex, sons of George III, visited the Great Synagogue of London in 1809. There they were seated on elegant Egyptian revival chairs as they watched the religious service.[6] The synagogue was also visited around this period, during his schooldays, by the writer Leigh Hunt, who wrote 'I took pleasure in witnessing the semi-Catholic pomp of their service and in hearing their fine singing, not without something of a constant astonishment at their wearing their hats'.[7]
The synagogue was destroyed during the night of 10-11 May 1941, during one of the last major attacks of the Blitz.[8] A plaque commemorating the synagogue is placed on Duke's Place.[9]
The following individuals have served as rabbi of the Great Synagogue:[10]
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | Time in office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judah Loeb Cohen | 1696 | 1700 | years | |||
| Aaron the Scribe of Dublin | 1700 | years | Acting rabbi | |||
| 1756 | years | |||||
| 1758 | 1764 | years | ||||
| 1765 | 1792 | years | ||||
| Moses Myers | 1792 | 1802 | years | Acting rabbi | ||
| 1802 | 1842 | years | ||||
| 1845 | 1890 | years | ||||
| 1891 | 1911 | years | ||||
| 1913 | 1946 | years |
Myer Lyon was hazzan at the Synagogue from 1767. For some time he also doubled as an opera singer at Covent Garden Theatre under the name 'Michael Leoni'. His rendering of prayers attracted many gentile visitors to the synagogue; amongst them was the Methodist minister Thomas Olivers, who adapted Leoni's rendition of the prayer Yigdal to create the English hymn, The God of Abram Praise; its melody still bears the title Leoni in Hymns Ancient and Modern.[11]
From his arrival in England until his death in 1880 the Anglo-Jewish composer of synagogue music Julius Mombach was associated with the Great Synagogue. He arrived in 1827 as meshorrer (choirboy) and eventually became the Synagogue's choir master.
In 1819 an aquatint of the interior was drawn by Augustus Charles Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson, and originally published in the popular illustrated magazine of the period, Ackermann's Repository of Arts. Pugin drew a handsome representation of the Ionic columns supporting the balconies and the classical decoration of the building. Rowlandson drew caricatures of the congregants, with the hunched shoulders and exaggerated noses traditionally attributed to Jews.[12]
. Roth, Cecil . Cecil Roth . 1950 . The Great Synagogue London 1690–1940 . London .