Portsmouth and Southsea Synagogue

Orthodox synagogue in Portsmouth, England

1780 (White's Row/Queens Street)
c. 1910 (Elm Grove: private villa)
1936 (Elm Grove: synagogue)

MaterialsRed brick; stucco^[1]

The Portsmouth and Southsea Synagogue, also known as the Portsmouth and Southsea Hebrew Congregation, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at The Thickett, on Elm Grove, Southsea in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, in the United Kingdom. Formed in c. 1740s, the congregation is one of the oldest Jewish in the United Kingdom. They worship in the Ashkenazi rite.^[1]

The part-time rabbi of the congregation, since 2011, is Reverend Gabriel Burns.

History

During the Napoleonic wars, the commercial activity of Portsmouth as a garrison and naval town attracted a large number of Jews.^{[citation needed]}

In 1780, the congregation built a synagogue on White's Row, expanded and renovated in 1850 and 1876. The congregation moved out of these premises in 1936 into a former private villa in Elm Grove, built in 1910, that was repurposed for use as a synagogue. Many of the fittings from the original 1780 synagogue, including the Ark, were relocated to the current synagogue. The original synagogue building, which until its closure in 1936 was the oldest provincial Synagogue still in use, was destroyed during World War II in an air raid.^[2]

In December 1942, a day of mourning, fasting was held in the synagogue for Jewish victims of Nazi massacres. In 1967, in the light of the good relationship which existed between Portsmouth and the Israeli Navy based in Haifa, the synagogue donated a Kiddush cup to the crew of the submarine INS Dakar for its maiden voyage which ended in tragedy when the submarine sank.^[3]

Notes

^ The actual date of founding is uncertain, with claims that a congregation existed in the 1730s in the vicinity of Oyster Street, although this is disputed. Elsewhere there is reference to a synagogue in Oyster Row by the early 1840s.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Shulman, David (31 March 2024). "Portsmouth and Southsea Hebrew Congregation and Jewish Community". Jewish Communities and Records - UK'. JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
^ Jacobs, J.; Harris, I. "Portsmouth". Jewish Encyclopedia.
^ Kushner, T.; Knox, K. (2001). "Refugees in an Age of Genocide". Routledge. pp. 33–149, 197.