Alie Street Synagogue

Latest Name:

Alie Street Synagogue

Former Name:

Great Alie Street Synagogue (see also Little Alie Street Synagogue)

Alternative Name:

From time to time, the congregation was also referred to as the Kalischer (or Kalisher) Synagogue, after one of its predecessor congregations (see below).

Address:

41 Alie Street (formerly known as 40/41 Great Alie Street), Aldgate, London E1.

The synagogue was opened on 26 May 1895 by Sir Samuel Montagu MP, president of the Federation of Synagogues, and Dr. Herman Adler, the Chief Rabbi (The Jewish Chronicle, 31 May 1895, p. 14).

In September 1903, the Synagogue was reopened and re-consecrated following repairs and structural changes (The Jewish Chronicle, 18 September 1903, p. 30).

The building no longer exists, having been replaced by an office block.

(Location: Alie Street extends east-west on both sides of Leman Street, in London's East End. The western section (600 feet, extending to Mansell Street) was known as Great Alie Street and the eastern section (400 feet) was known as Little Alie Street. It is situated about 300 feet south of the junction of Whitechapel High Street and Commercial Road.)

Date Founded:

Formed in 1895, as a result of the merger of Kalischer Synagogue and Windsor Street Chevra ("Service and Scandal: the life and times of an immigrant Jewish Clergyman" by Daniel Appleby, p.90. 2013).

Even after the merger, it would appear that the congregation at times continued to be known as the Kalischer Synagogue, as evidenced by an obituary for Rabbi Israel Dainow, that appeared in the Jewish Chronicle of 17 March 1922. This states that Rabbi Dainow arrived in London in 1877, and after duties as a maggid, he was appointed Rav. of the Kalischer Synagogue, "which position he held for 35 years". Also, according to Ron Altshul, a great-grandson of Rabbi Dainow, the ketubah of Rabbi Dainow's daughter, Raysa, on her marriage to Rav. Morris Altshul, states that the marriage was performed at the Kalischer Synagogue in 1898 (that is, three years after the Merger).

Current Status:

Closed, 1969. Amalgamated with Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue

Ritual:

Orthodox - Ashkenazi

Affiliation:

An affiliated synagogue of Federation of Synagogues, probably from the congregation's formation in 1895. (it was already shown as such in the Jewish Year Book 1896-1897.)

Membership Data:

1896  -   120 members (source)

Source: Jewish Year Book 1896-97

1905  -   114 members (source)

Source: Jewish Year Book 1906

1915  -   110 members (source)

Source: Jewish Year Book 1916

Local Government Districts:

Alie Street is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, created on 1 April 1965, within the administrative area of Greater London.

Previously, Alie Street (both Great and Little) was in the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney (established 1900) in the County of London (established 1889), both of which entities were abolished in 1965.

The street was also within the civil parish of Whitechapel (which was in the former County of Middlesex until 1889) and which, from 1856 to 1900, was a constituent of the Whitechapel District.

The civil parish of Whitechapel was abolished in 1927, being absorbed into Stepney Borough parish, which itself was abolished in 1965.

Registration Districts:

From 1 July 1837 - Whitechapel
From 1 January 1926 - Stepney
Since 1 January 1983 - Tower Hamlets (which now holds the registers)