Manchester Reform Synagogue, a member of the

Movement for Reform Judaism Reform Judaism (formally the Movement for Reform Judaism and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005) is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively ...

, is one of the oldest Reform Jewish communities in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1857 with congregation president Horatio Michollis and Rabbi

Solomon Marcus Schiller-Szinessy Solomon Marcus Schiller-Szinessy, sometimes Solomon Mayer Schiller-Szinessy (23 December 1820, Budapest, Hungary - 11 March 1890, Cambridge) was a Hungarian rabbi and academic. He became the first Jewish Reader in Talmudic and Rabbinic Literature a ...

under the name Manchester Congregation of British Jews by a group consisting mainly of

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

immigrants, Rubinstein, William D; Jolles, Michael A; Rubinstein, Hilary L (2011) ''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'', p. 638.

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...

, . the synagogue is located in central Manchester at Jackson's Row. The congregation bought that site in 1949. The current building was financed by money from the

War Damage Commission The War Damage Commission was a body set up by the British Government under the War Damage Act 1941 to pay compensation for war damage to land and buildings and " 'Fixed' plant and machinery", throughout the United Kingdom. It was not responsible ...

, after the previous synagogue building on Park Place was destroyed on 1 June 1941 in the

Manchester Blitz The Manchester Blitz (also known as the Christmas Blitz) was the heavy bombing of the city of Manchester and its surrounding areas in North West England during the Second World War by the German ''Luftwaffe''. It was one of three major raids on ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Albert Isaacs, Alexander Levy, and Frederick Lister laid the

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

on 18 May 1952. After completion the synagogue was inaugurated on 28 November 1953. The building was designed by Peter Cummings and Eric Levy. John Bradshaw designed the stained glass windows, which were manufactured by the stained glass company Charles Lightfoot. The building contains a large synagogue, banqueting hall and classrooms. The building is to be demolished to make way for the St Michael's redevelopment project. Plans were announced in 2014, and in 2021 the sale of the synagogue was agreed. The building is to close in late 2022. The synagogue building at Jackson's Row was used as a filming location for the 2021 BBC TV series '' Ridley Road''.

References

External links

*
Manchester Reform Synagogue
o
''Jewish Communities and Records – UK''
(hosted by

JewishGen JewishGen is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 as an international electronic resource for Jewish genealogy. In 2003, JewishGen became an affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York Ci ...

) {{UK-synagogue-stub Synagogues completed in 1953 1857 establishments in England German-Jewish culture in the United Kingdom Reform synagogues in the United Kingdom Religious organizations established in 1857 Synagogues in Manchester The Twentieth Century Society Risk List

See also

References

External links