Congregation Data |
Name: |
Ilford Synagogue
(formerly known as Ilford District Synagogue
until about 1976)(iii) |
Address: |
22
Beehive Lane, Ilford, IG1 3RT.(iv)
|
Formation: |
The congregation was established in 1936.(v) |
Status: |
Merged on 21 May
2019 with Redbridge United Synagogue to form
Cranbrook United Synagogue.(vi)
The newly merged congregation continued to use the Beehive Lane synagogue and facility, which underwent refurbishing in 2018/19.
|
Ritual: |
Ashkenazi Orthodox |
Affiliation: |
Joined the
United Synagogue
as an affiliated synagogue in 1936, becoming a district synagogue
in 1937.(vii)
In about 1976, it became a constituent synagogue, when the district synagogue category was discontinued. |
Ministers:
(To view a short profile of a minister
or cantor whose name appears in blue - hold the cursor over his name.) |
Rev. Morris Bernard Smeditsky
- minister from 1939 until 1948.(xi)
Rev. Dr. Harry Rabinowicz
- minister from 1949 until 1951.(xii)
Rev. Sidney Black, BA
- minister from 1952 until 1980,(xiii)
and thereafter emeritus minister
Rev. Vivian C. Silverman, BA
- associate minister from 1970 until about 1978.(xiv)
Rabbi Simon S. Silas
- minister from about 1980 until about 1983.(xv)
Rabbi Z. Unsdorfer
- associate minister from about 1979 until about 1983.(xviii)
Rabbi Irvin Broder
- minister from about 1963 until 1996.(xix)
Rabbi Chaim Rapoport
- minister from about 1997 until 2005.(xx)
Rabbi Israel Geoffrey Hyman
- last minister, from 2006 until 2019.(xxi)
|
Cantors / Readers: |
Rev. Berel Braunstein
- reader from about 1946 until 1948.(xxiv)
Rev. Joseph Skaletzy
- reader from 1952 until 1974.(xxv)
Rev. Aubrey Levin
- reader from 1975 until 2005.(xxvi)
Cantor David Rome
- reader from about 2004 until 2012.(xxvii)
|
Lay Officers: |
All data on lay officers has been extracted from listings in
Jewish Year Books.(xxx) |
Wardens
1938-1940 - A. Goldberg & A. Gabriel
1940-1945 - no data
1945-1947 - S. Diamond & M.A. Rosenbaum
1947-1948 - D. Harman & A.I. Gabriel
1948-1949 - D. Harman & S. Diamond
1949-1952 - D. Harman & M. Lewis
1952-1956 - M. Lewis & R.L. Games
from 1956 - no data
Financial Representatives
1938-1939 - A. Lebetkin
1939-1940 - A. Lemberger
1940-1946 - no data
1946-1951 - P. Kaye, ALAA
1951-1953 - M.J. Marks
1953-1956 - J. Piatkus, BA
from 1956 - no data
|
Secretaries & Hon Secretaries
1939-1940 - J.N. Jackson
1940-1945 - no data
1945-1946 - Rev. M.B. Smeditsky
1946-1947 - R. Goldberg
1947-1949 - Michael Bass
1949-1960 - G. Freundlich
1960-1977 - H. Simon
1977-1980 - S. Gordon
1980-1991 - M. Howard
Administrators
1991-2004 - Mrs. H.R. Michaels
2004-2013 - A. Miller
|
Membership Data: |
United Synagogue(xxxi)
(male seat-holders)
1936 |
1940 |
1950 |
1960 |
1970 |
70 |
192 |
683 |
1,092 |
1,937 |
National Reports & Surveys(xxxii)
1977 - 2,057 male (or household) members and
625 female members
1983 - 1,872 male (or household) members and
663 female members
1990 - 2,210 members (comprising
2,104 households, 43 individual male and 63 individual female members)
1996 - 1,350 members (comprising
1,224 households, 47 individual male and 79 individual female members)
2010 - listed as having 1,000 to 1,499 members (by household)
2016 - listed as having 500 to 749 members (by household)
|
Charitable Status: |
As a constituent of the United Synagogue, the
congregation operated within that organisation's registered charity
status (registered charity no. 242552).
|
Local Government Districts: |
Ilford,
a neighbourhood with a significant Jewish population, in northeast London, is in the London Borough of Redbridge.(xxxiii)
Prior to 1965, Ilford was in the former Municipal Borough of Ilford (which was an urban district until 1926) in the
county of Essex.
|
Registration District (BMD): |
Redbridge
from 1 April 1965(xxxiv)
-
Link to Register Office website |
Worship Registration:
|
The synagogue in
Beehive Lane was registered as a Place of Worship -
Worship Register Number 68749 - under the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855,
and the Children's synagogue at Beehive Lane was
separately registered under Number 58167.(xxxv)
|
Cemetery
Information: |
For
United Synagogue cemeteries, see Cemeteries of the United Synagogue. |
List of United Synagogue Congregations
Jewish Congregations in the London Borough of Redbridge
Jewish Congregations in Greater London
Greater London home page
Page created: 16 November 2006
Data significantly expanded and notes first added: 12 August 2025
Page most recently amended: 19 August 2025
Research and formatting by David Shulman
Explanation of Terms |
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Contact JCR-UK Webmaster:
jcr-ukwebmaster@jgsgb.org.uk
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