Bognor Regis & District Hebrew Congregation

and Jewish Community

Bognor Regis, West Sussex

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Bognor Regis (Arun) Jewish Community

Bognor Regis & District

The seaside town of Bognor Regis is on the English South Coast and has a population of about 22,000. It was an urban district until 1974, when its administration was merged with the urban district Littlehampton and other adjoining areas to form the local government District of Arun, within the county of West Sussex. The town was formerly known just as Bognor, having added the word "Regis" following a visit by King George V in 1929. Felpham, a village to the east is now part of the urban area of Bognor Regis, and Middleton-on-Sea and Littlehampton, lying slightly further to the east, are also within the District of Arun. The city of Chichester, which city status, is some 7 miles to the northwest of Bognor Regis.

The Bognor Regis Jewish Community

The current Jewish congregation in Bognor Regis, the Bognor Regis and District Hebrew Congregation, dates from the 1960s - see congregation details below.

In addition, briefly during the 1940s, services were held in a number of locations in the area (see below).

Congregation Data⁽ⁱ⁾
Name:	Bognor Regis and District Hebrew Congregation
Address:	Elm Lodge, Sylvan Way, Bognor Regis PQ21 2RS⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ For a few years in the 1970s, the congregation had a dedicated synagogue in a vacated Council Library in London Road, Bognor Regis.
Current Status:	Active
Date Founded:	About 1962
Ritual:	Traditional
Affiliation:	None known
Website:	The congregation does not appear to have its own website.
JSCN Link:	Click on Bognor Regis Hebrew Congregation (a member community), on the Jewish Small Communities Network website.
Membership Data:	The congregation covers an area extending beyond Bogna Regis and includes Chichester and other close-by towns. During the 1970s, membership was approximately 40 to 50. The congregation does not have a formal membership. As of April 2018, there was probably a core potential membership of about 16 (with some 24 on the mailing list). National Reports & Surveys⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾ 1977 & 1983 - 12 male (or household) members and 7 individual female members 1990 - 16 members (comprising 12 households, 2 individual male and 2 individual female members) 1996 - 10 members (comprising 6 households, 2 individual male and 2 individual female members) 2010 and 2016 - listed as having under 50 members (by household)
World War II Congregations:	During the early 1940s, there were a number of short-lived Jewish congregations in the area, presumably formed primarily by wartime evacuees from London: A congregation that met in rooms near the pier in central Bognor Regis, of which Rev. Michael Ehrnthal appears to have been appointed minister in 1940.^(iv) A congregation that held regular services in Littlehampton.^(v) The Felpham & Middleton Hebrew Congregation.^(v)
Charitable Status:	The congregation is a registered charity (no.257718), registered on 14 January 1969.^(vi) The governing document is the congregation's Constitution as amended 7 January 1969.
Cemetery Information:	There is a small consecrated Jewish section in the municipal Bognor Regis Cemetery, Town Cross Avenue, Bognor Regis, established in about 1970. (For additional information, if any, see IAJGS Cemetery Project - Bognor Regis.)
Notes & Sources (↵ returns to text above) (i) Unless otherwise stated, the data in this table is based upon information provide by Congregation's Chairman on 25 April 2018. ↵ (ii) This has been the address given for the congregation in Jewish Year Books since 1973. There had previously a number of different addresses since the congregation's first listing in Jewish Year Book 1964, which appear to be the addresses of the then secreataries of the congregation. ↵ (iii) Reports on synagogue membership in the United Kingdom, published by or on behalf of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and which can be viewed on the website of the Institute of Jewish Policy Research. Click HERE for links to the various reports. ↵ (iv) Jewish Chronicle reports of 17 May 1940 and 29 November 1940. ↵ (v) Listed in Jewish Year Book 1940. ↵ (vi) Charities Commissioners website (in beta trial stage) and Open Charities website, both accessed 27 April 2018. ↵

Community Records
Registration District (BMD):	West Sussex (since 1 April 2010). Previous Registration Districts Westhampnett - from 1 July 1837 to 1 April 1935; and Chichester - 1 April 1935 to 1 April 2010. Any registers would now be held by current register office, which is situated in Chichester. Link to Register Office website

Bognor Regis Jewish Population Data
1965	40	Jewish Year Book 1966
1974	20 families	Jewish Year Book 1975
1981	15 families	Jewish Year Book 1982
1985	20 to 40	Jewish Year Books 1986 through 2009

Jewish Congregations in West Sussex

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Page created: 23 November 2005
Latest revision or update: 26 June 2025

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