Western Marble Arch Synagogue

(Incorporating the Western Synagogue and the Marble Arch Synagogue)

London W.1.

Updated 18 November 2007

Congregation Data

Official Name:

The Western Marble Arch Synagogue

Address:

32 Great Cumberland Place, London W1H 7TN

Formation:

Formed in 1991 by the merger of:

The Western Synagogue of:

The Marble Arch Synagogue

Crawford Street, Marylebone, London W1 (1957-1991)
Carton Hall (the former "Royal Chapel of the French Exile"), Carton Street, George Street, Marylebone, London W1 (1947-1957)
Max Rosin Hall (the adjoining "shop" to Grotarian Hall), Wigmore Street, London W1 (1943-1947)
Grotarian Hall, Wigmore Street, London W1 (1943, destroyed by German incendiary raid)
Alfred Place, Bedford Square, London WC1 (1915-1941), destroyed in a German bombing raid, which killed 27 victims sheltering in the basement of the adjoining Girls' Club (also used as the synagogue building of the West Central Liberal Synagogue), including members of the synagogue and their families)
40 Whitfield Street, Tottenham Court Road, London W1 (1914-1915 - temporary)
St. Alban's Place, Haymarket, London SW1 (1826-1914)
The former Sans Souci Theatre ("Charles Dibdin's" Theatre), Denmark Court, Strand, London WC2 (1774-1826)
Bedford Row, Denmark Court, Strand, London WC2 (1774-1826)
Back Alley, Denmark Court, Strand, London WC2 (1765-1774)
Great Pulteney Street, London W1 (approximately 1761-1765) - home of Wolf Liepman

of 32 Great Cumberland Place, London W1
(consecrated 1961)

Initial name: Hebra Kaddisha shel Gemillith
Hassadim, Westminster or Holy Congregation of the Assembly of Israel of Westminster (or the Westminster Congregation) until 1832

Founded 1761

Founded 1954

Current Status:

Active

Local Authority:

London Borough of the City of Westminster - (Congregations in the locality)

Ritual:

Ashkenazi Orthodox

Affiliation:

An associate synagogue of the United Synagogue since the 1991 merger (the only synagogue with such status).
Prior to the merger, Marble Arch Synagogue had been an affiliated synagogue of the United Synagogue from 1954 and a constituent synagogue from 1961. The Western Synagogue had been independent from its inception until the merger.

Secessionist Congregation:

In 1810, a secessionist movement established a rival congregation initially in Dean Street (known in Hebrew as the Amudae Yesharim Congregation) and was later re-established in Maiden Lane. Re-union took place in 1907, with the closure of the Maiden Lane Synagogue.

Website:

http://www.wma-synagogue.org

Membership Data:

Number of male seat holders of Marble Arch Synagogue (United Synagogue 1870-1970)

1954	1960	1970
58	341	467

Other Information

Congregation History & Records
Newspaper Articles:
- Myer Harris, Warden of the Western, newspaper cuttings from 1903
Photographs and Personal Encounters
Bibliography:
- History of the Western Synagogue. Levy, M, 1897
- Records of the Western Synagogue 1761-1932. Roth, C. 1932 (Edward Goldston)
- The Western Synagogue through Two Centuries (1761-1961). Barnett, A., 1961 (Valentine Mitchell, London)
- The Synagogues of London. Lindsay, P., 1993 (Valentine Mitchell, London) pp. 66-70
- The Lost Synagogues of London. Renton, P., 2000 (Tymsder Publications, London) pp. 48/57
- other City of Westminster Sources
- other London Sources
Cemetery Information:
- Cemeteries of the Western Synagogue
- Cemeteries of the United Synagogue

Greater London Community

Explanation of Terms Used

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