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JCR-UK is a genealogical and historical website covering all Jewish communities and
congregations throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.
NOTE: We are not the official website of this organisation, the address of which is shown below.
United Synagogue
© United Synagogue
The United Synagogue is a union of British Orthodox synagogues
and is the largest synagogue body in Europe. Its members fall into a category
described by the Board of Deputies as Central Orthodox, which also
includes the
Federation of Synagogues and many congregations of similar ilk
throughout the United Kingdom. Membership of Central Orthodox
congregations in 2016 numbered 41,990, constituted some 52.8% of synagogue membership in the United Kingdom.
However, such numbers had decreased by 24,211 members (a decline of 37%) over the preceding
six years.(1)
Approximatel 37.4% of British synagogues adhere to Central
Orthodoxy.(2)
The spiritual leader of the
United Synagogue is "the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the
Commonwealth" (see list below).
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Basic Data |
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Name: |
The United
Synagogue |
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Head Office: |
305 Ballards Lane, North
Finchley, London N12 8GB
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Date Formed: |
1870 |
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Ritual: |
Ashkanazi Orthodox |
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Website: |
http://www.theus.org.uk |
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Burial Society:
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United
Synagogue Burial Society
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Kashrut Authority:
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Kashrut
Division of the London Beth Din (KLBD)
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Reg. Charity No:
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242552
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The United Synagogues Act 1870
History
The United Synagogue was created by a special Act of Parliament dated 14 July
1870 (the United Synagogues Act 1870), granting formal recognition to the union of
the three City of London Ashkanazi synagogues (the
Great Synagogue, the
Hambro' Synagogue and the
New Synagogue) as well as
their two West End branch synagogues (the
Central Synagogue
and the Bayswater Synagogue).
The union was forged by Chief Rabbi Dr. Nathan Marcus Adler.
The following is the definition of the objects of the United Synagogue,
as stated in the Schedule to the Act:
"The objects of the Institution to be called the United Synagogue
shall be the maintaining, erecting, founding, and carrying on in
London and its neighbourhood, places of worship for persons of the
Jewish religion, who conform to the Polish or German ritual, the
providing of means of burial of persons of the Jewish religion, the
relief of poor persons of the Jewish religion, the contribution with
other Jewish bodies to maintenance of a Chief Rabbi and other
ecclesiastical persons, and to the communal duties devolving upon
metropolitan congregations and other charitable purposes in
conection with the Jewish religion."
Congregations
Over the years the number of congregations have grown from the
initial five to more than sixty member or affiliated congregations
today. For most of its history the union consisted almost
exclusively of congregations in London and the home counties.
However, recently, provincial congregations have joined the union,
beginning with the Sheffield congregation
in 2015.
Synagogues within the United Synagogue network currently may
generally be described either as member
synagogues (previously called constituent synagogues) or
affiliated synagogues. Previous categories included district
synagogues (a half-way stage between affiliated and constituent, all of
which became member synagogues in about 1976) and associated synagogues (a scheme that existed between 1902 and 1948).
The Western Marble Arch Synagogue has a special status described
as an associate synagogue.
In addition, in light of
needs during the World War II, due primarily to the evacuation of many of
the inhabitants of London to outlying regions, the United Synagogue
established over twenty new congregations, known as Membership Groups,
primarily in the home counties and southern England. A number of these
progressed to become full members of the United Synagogue.
Past and present congregations of the United Synagogue are listed
below. Currently active congregations are marked with an asterisk.
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Member or Constituent - active:
Member or Constituent - defunct or no longer independently active:
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Associate:
Affiliated - Active:
Related Institution:
Affiliated, District or Associated - defunct:
Former Associate
- seceded
from United Synagogue
Former Affilated
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for short period (c.1948-c.1952)
United Synagogue Membership
Groups (WWII):
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Status indicated above refers to highest status achieved within the
United Synagogue.
*
A congregation that is still active.
Φ A congregation previously affiliated to the
Federation of Synagogues, or into which a congregation previously affiliated to
the Federation has been merged.
± One of the Provincial congregations
to have joined the United Synagogue since 2015.
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Bibliography, On-line Articles
and Other Material
relating to the United Synagogue
on JCR-UK
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History
of the Great Synagogue
by Cecil Roth. Available on JCR-UK as part of the
Susser Archive.
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Chief Rabbinate
by Prof. Aubrey Newman
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Chief Rabbi's Questionnaire of 1845 - London Synagogues
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Selected Bibliography:
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A Century of Anglo-Jewish Life 1870-1970. Salmond S. Levin
(editor), 1970
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The
United Synagogue 1870-1970. Aubrey Newman, 1977
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The Synagogues of London.
Paul Lindsay, 1993 (Valentine Mitchell,
London)
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The Lost Synagogues of London.
Peter Renton, 2000 (Tymsder
Publishing)
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British Chief Rabbis 1664-2006. Derek Taylor, 2007 (Vallentine Mitchell)
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"The United Synagogue - The First Hundred Years" - an article from "Kehilos in Focus" series by Rabbi David Katanka included
in a selection of his writing entitled Kol Dodi (2015), pp. 133-144.
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Publications relating to the Great,
Hambro' and New Synagogues
on Third Party websites
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Cemeteries of the United Synagogue
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#Alderney Road Cemetery
(disused), Stepney, London E1
The first Ashkanazi cemetery in
Britain following the Resettlement. Opened by the Great
Synagogue in 1896, extended in 1749 and closed in 1852.
The cemetery is a Grade II Listed Building (number 1117012),
designated on 30 May 1974.
See Historic England Listing & Description.
(Also for additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project - Alderney Road).
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Hoxton Cemetery
(no
longer exists), Hoxton Street, London N1
Opened by the Hambro' Synagogue in 1707 and closed in 1878
(although burials had ceased some years earlier). Comprised about quater
of an acre. In the mid 1960s, the human remains were transferred to West Ham Cemetery
and the site redeveloped. (For
additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project - Hoxton).
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#Brady Street Cemetery
(disused), Whitechapel, London E1
Opened by the New Synagogue in 1761 and subsequently also used
by Great Synagogues.
Closed in 1858. (For additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project - Brady Street).
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#Hackney Cemetery,
Lauriston Road
(disused), London E9 7HJ
Opened by the Hambro' Synagogue in 1788
and closed in 1866.
The cemetery's lodge, gates and piers facing Lauriston Road
and portion of the walling to the south of the graveyard are
Grade II Listed Buildings, listed on 16 March 2021 (number 1472497)
- see Historic England Listing
& Description.
(Also, for additional information, see
also
IAJGS Cemetery Project - Hackney).
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#West Ham Cemetery
(closed), Buckingham Road, Forest Lane, London E15 1SP
Opened in 1856 by the New Synagogue and subsequently transferred to the
Great Synagogue. Closed in 2002 "due to health and safety".
(For additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project
- West Ham).
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#Willesden Cemetery
(generally full, unless plot reserved), London NW10 2JE
Opened in 1873. Comprises 23 acres.
The cemetery is a Grade II Registered Park and Garden and several of
its structures and monuments are Grade ii listed Buildings. For details
see
Willesden Cemetery on JCR-UK's Jewish Listed Heritage Sites page.
(Also, for additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project - Willesden United).
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#Plashet Cemetery (closed), 361 Manor Park, High Street North, London E12
6PQ
Opened in 1896 and now generally
closed (but with occasional burials).
(For additional information, see IAJGS Cemetery Project - Plashet).
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#East Ham Cemetery
(disused), Marlow Road, High Street South, London E6 3QG
Opened in 1919 and now
full. Comprises about 25 acres. (For additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project
- East Ham).
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#Waltham Abbey Cemetery (active), Upshire Hall, Skillet Hill (Honey Lane), Waltham Abbey, Essex
EN9 3QT
Opened 1960.
(For additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project
- Waltham Abbey).
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#Bushey Cemetery
(active), Little Bushey Lane, Bushey, Hertfordshire WD2
3TP
Opened 1967. In May 2017, an extensive
additional section was added, referred to as the Bushey New Cemetery. (For additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project - Bushey).
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Sheffield - Ecclesfield Jewish Cemetery
(active), 85 Colley Rd, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S5 9GU
The oldest section of cemetery was acquired in 1872.
The cemetery became a United Synagogue Cemetery when the Sheffield Jewish
Congregation joined the United Synagogue in 2016. (For additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project
- Sheffield).
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Southport Cemetery, Jewish Sections, Duke Street and
Cemetery Road, Southport PR8.
The Old Section was in use feom 1894 until 1938 and the New Section i
sstill in use.
The cemetery became a United Synagogue Cemetery when the Southport
Hebrew
Congregation joined the United Synagogue in 2020. (For additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project - Southport.
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#Eretz
Hachaim Cemetery, near Beit Shemesh, Israel (active)
The United Synagogue has an arrangement whereby members may be buried in
Israel through the purchase of a plot in the United Synagogue section of
this cemetery.(For additional information, see
IAJGS Cemetery Project
- Beit Shemesh, Israel).
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As regards these cemeteries (marked with the hash sign),
the United Synagogue "Find a
Grave" search facility at
https://www.theus.org.uk/gravesearch enables one to
search for a grave. The search result will generally include
the date of burial, the position of the grave and a photograph of
the gravestone, if available. The search facility also
includes the non-United Synagogue cemeteries of
Aldershot,
Bancroft Road and
Dover.
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Plaque on consecration of the Court of the Chief
Rabbi
at Adler House, Tavistock Square, London, 1959,
removed to Willesden Cemetery
(courtesy
Steven Jaffe, 2024)
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Chief Rabbis of the United Kingdom(3)
(To view a short profile of a chief rabbi - hold the curser over his name.)
* Rabbis of
the Great Synagogue, who effectively performed the function of Chief
Rabbis, although not formally appointed as Chief Rabbis.
** Appointed
as Chief Rabbi by the Hambro' and New Synagogues, but stood down in 1780
confirming the primacy of Rabbi Schiff.
*** Rabbi of the New Synagogue, who acted as Chief Rabbi during the
interregnum between the death of Rabbi Schiff and the
appointment of Rabbi Herschell.
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Synagogal Organisation in the United Kingdom
London Jewish
Community home page
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Notes & Sources
(↵ returns to main text)
Page created: 27 June 2017
Page most recently amended: 1 August 2025
Research and formatting by David Shulman
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