Greenbank Drive Synagogue, officially the Liverpool New Hebrew Congregation, is a former

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

that was located on Greenbank Drive, in the

Sefton Park Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name, located roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park. Neighbouring districts include modern-day Toxteth, Aigburth, ...

area of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in the United Kingdom. The congregation, formed through a merger of two congregations that date from 1838, worshiped in the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

rite Rite may refer to: * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite of passage, a ceremonious act associated with social transition Religion * Rite (Christianity), a sacred ritual or liturgical tradition in various Christian denominations * Catho ...

. The former synagogue building was completed in 1937 and was listed as a Grade II* building in 1983. The building has been described as the most important 20th-century synagogue in England in terms of architecture, as well as the finest surviving architectural example of a synagogue from the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

History

Pretext for the foundation of the synagogue can be traced back to a split within the Liverpool Hebrew Congregation in 1838. From this, the separate New Hebrew Congregation established its own synagogue, first on Hanover Street, then on Pilgrim Street, before finally constructing a purpose-built synagogue on Hope Place in 1857. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the number of Jewish congregants living close to the synagogue began to decline as they moved outwards to live in Liverpool's wealthier suburbs. One such area was around

, where Hebrew schools and a substantial Jewish congregation started to take shape. By 1928, the Hope Place Congregation made plans to relocate and build a larger synagogue to accommodate the growing community in Sefton Park. On 15 August 1937, the new synagogue, which had been built in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style, was consecrated and opened to the public by Professor

Henry Cohen, 1st Baron Cohen of Birkenhead Henry Cohen, 1st Baron Cohen of Birkenhead (21 February 1900 – 7 August 1977) was a British physician, doctor and lecturer. He was famous for his Harveian Oration at the Royal College of Physicians in 1970, on the motion of blood in the v ...

, a member of the congregation. In May 1959, a fire was started by a burglar which destroyed the

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

and its scrolls and damaged part of the roof's structure. At a cost of £50,000, the building was repaired and later re-consecrated in 1961. Another fire broke out in 1965, this time on the first two floors, but the damage was confined to the area. On 5 January 2008, the building ceased activity and was closed. Around the same time,

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

upgraded the building's

listed status In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

from Grade II (awarded in 1983) to the higher

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It was subsequently placed on Historic England's "Heritage at Risk" register. In 2017, approval was given for the former synagogue to be renovated into a series of apartments.

References

{{Synagogues in the United Kingdom 1936 establishments in England 2008 disestablishments in England 20th-century synagogues in the United Kingdom Ashkenazi Jewish culture in England Ashkenazi synagogues Former Orthodox synagogues in England Grade II* listed buildings in Liverpool Jewish organizations established in 1936 Religion in Liverpool Synagogues completed in 1937 The Twentieth Century Society Risk List The Twentieth Century Society successful interventions Unused buildings in Liverpool

History

See also

References