Manchester Jewish Museum

Manchester Jewish Museum occupies the former Spanish and Portuguese synagogue on Cheetham Hill Road in Manchester, England. It is a grade II* listed building.[1]

Manchester Jewish Museum
Religion
AffiliationOrthodox Judaism
RiteSephardi
StatusMuseum
Location
LocationManchester, England
Location within Manchester
Manchester Jewish Museum (Greater Manchester)
Geographic coordinates53.495833°N 2.238333°W / 53.495833; -2.238333
Architecture
TypeSynagogue
Completed1874
Website
www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com

The synagogue was completed in 1874 but the building became redundant through the migration of the Jewish population away from the Cheetham area further north to Prestwich and Whitefield. It re-opened as a museum in March 1984 telling the story of the history of Jewish settlement in Manchester and its community over the last 200 years.

As of 2020 the museum is closed because of the Covid-19 restrictions; a new museum building is in course of construction, which is planned to open in 2021.[2]

Moorish revival building
Entrance detail

The synagogue was built in the Moorish Revival style by the noted Manchester architect Edward Salomons in 1874. Although it is far from being the largest or most magnificent of the world's many Moorish revival synagogues, which include the opulent Princes Road Synagogue in Liverpool, it is considered by architectural historian H.A. Meeks to be a "jewel".[3] The style, a homage to the architecture of Moorish Spain, perhaps seemed particularly fitting for the home of a Sephardic congregation. The two tiers of horseshoe windows on the facade are emblematic of the style, and the recessed doorway and arcade of five windows on the floor above the entrance are particularly decorative. Inside, a horseshoe arch frames the heichal and polychrome columns support the galleries. The mashrabiyya latticework on the front doors is particularly fine.[4]

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. "Manchester Jewish Museum". Visit Manchester. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  2. #wanderingmuseum Manchester Jewish Museum
  3. H.A. Meek, The Synagogue, Phaidon, London, 1995, p.199
  4. H.A. Meek, The Synagogue, Phaidon, London, 1995, p.199, 202

Bibliography

  • Williams, Bill (1976). The Making of Manchester Jewry 1740-1875. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0 7190 0631 7.
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