Richmond Synagogue

Richmond Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish community in Richmond, London. The congregation, whose synagogue building is in Lichfield Gardens, has 250 members and is a member community of the United Synagogue.

History

A Jewish community is known to have existed in Richmond in the late 17th century. King William III dined with Solomon de Medina, a Jewish businessman, at his country house in Richmond in November 1699.

Until 1916, Richmond's Jewish religious community was known as the Richmond Hebrew Congregation. From 1916 to 1938, as Richmond Associate Synagogue, it met at Central Hall, Parkshot, Richmond, a building opened on 28 June 1916 by Leopold de Rothschild, the then-President of the United Synagogue. From 1938, the renamed Richmond District Synagogue met at a converted chapel at 8 Sheen Road, which was compulsorily purchased by Richmond upon Thames Council to make way for a Waitrose supermarket and multi-storey car park.

Designed by Stern Thom Fehler Architects, a new purpose-built synagogue building at Lichfield Gardens was opened on 8 March 1987 by Chief Rabbi Sir Immanuel Jakobovits and Rabbi Moshe Barron. A rabbi's house was later built on part of the synagogue's car park.

People

Richmond Synagogue's rabbi, since June 2016, is Meir Shindler, who was previously at Chigwell and Hainault Synagogue. Previous rabbis have included Maurice Ginsberg (1922–61), Yitzchak Schochet (1991–93), Jonathan Hughes (2013–15) and Yossi Ives (2003–12). Notable congregants have included Eldred Tabachnik and Lord Woolf.

Activities

Services are held on Friday evenings at 7:00 pm and on Saturday mornings at 9:30 am. The synagogue operates a day centre for Jewish people over 60.

See also

• List of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom
• List of synagogues in the United Kingdom

References

Further reading

• Greenstreet, Anthony (1998). "Sir Solomon de Medina of Richmond". Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society. 19: 32–35.
• Howitt, Arthur (1930). Richmond and its Jewish Connections. R W Simpson, 27pp and 12 illustrated plates
• History of the Richmond Synagogue. Richmond Synagogue, 1976
• Renton, Peter (2000). The Lost Synagogues of London. London: Tymsder Publications, pp. 145–6, ISBN 978-0953-11047-6

External links

• Official website
• JCR-UK entry on Richmond Synagogue