Manchester Jewish Museum
| Manchester Jewish Museum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Rite | Sephardi |
| Status | Museum |
| Location | |
| Location | Manchester, England |
  Location within Manchester | |
| Geographic coordinates | 53°29′45″N 2°14′18″W / 53.495833°N 2.238333°WCoordinates: 53°29′45″N 2°14′18″W / 53.495833°N 2.238333°W |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Synagogue |
| Completed | 1874 |
| Website | |
| www | |
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]
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.
The museum reopened on 2 July 2021 following a £6 million pound redevelopment and extension. The new museum includes a new gallery, vegetarian café, shop and learning studio and kitchen as well as complete restoration of the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue.|title=Manchester Jewish Museum reopens after £6m refurb.[2]
The museum holds over 31,000 items in its collection, documenting the story of Jewish migration and settlement in Manchester. The collection is considered by historians to be of national and international significance and our synagogue has been described by Historic England as “one of the highlights of Victorian Gothic architecture in the country”. It includes Over 530 oral history testimonies, over 20,000 photographs, 138 recorded interviews with Holocaust Survivors and refugees and a wide-ranging collection of objects, documents and ephemera.[3]
Moorish revival building[]
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".[4] 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.[5]
See also[]
References[]
Footnotes
- ^ "Manchester Jewish Museum". Visit Manchester. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- ^ "Manchester Jewish Museum reopens after £6m refurb". BBC News. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Manchester Jewish Museum — Collection". Manchester Jewish Museum. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ H.A. Meek, The Synagogue, Phaidon, London, 1995, p.199
- ^ 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.
External links[]
- Official website
- Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue on Jewish Communities and Records - UK (hosted by jewishgen.org).
| show Buildings and structures in Manchester, England |
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| show Authority control  |
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- Grade II* listed buildings in Manchester
- Grade II* listed religious buildings and structures
- Jewish museums in the United Kingdom
- Jews and Judaism in Manchester
- Moorish Revival synagogues
- Museums in Manchester
- Synagogues completed in 1874
- Synagogues in Manchester
- Synagogues preserved as museums
- Judaism in England
- Religious museums in England
- Moorish Revival architecture in the United Kingdom
- Sephardi synagogues
- Sephardi Jewish culture in the United Kingdom
- Spanish and Portuguese Jews