the former

Harrow District Synagogue

Harrow, Middx.

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and congregations throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.

Congregation Data

Name:

Harrow District Synagogue⁽ⁱⁱ⁾

Earlier Names:

Harrow and District Hebrew Congregation (until 1933)⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾

Harrow, Kenton and District Hebrew Congregation (from 1933 until 1949)^(iv)

Harrow and Kenton District Synagogue (from 1949 until about 1960)^(v)

Formation:

The congregation was established in 1918.^(vi)

Addresses:

Gayton Rooms, Station Road, Harrow, Middx. (from at least 1932 until 1935)^(ix)

Sheepcote Road, Harrow, Middx. (from 1935 until about 1946)^(x)

This had been a house, the ground floor of which was converted into a synagogue and meeting room, while the upper floor was used as offices and living accommodation for a caretaker.^(xi) It was also used as classes for the congregation's cheder.^(xii) The building was demolished to make way for the 1990s development of central Harrow.^(xiii)

3 Vaughan Road, Harrow, Middx. (from about 1946)^(xiv)

The move to these premises, being more than two miles further away from Kenton than the previous premises, was the catalyst for the Kenton members of the congregation to establish their own synagogue (see below).^(xv)

Final Status::

Closed in 1972^(xviii)

Ritual:

Ashkenazi Orthodox

Affiliation:

Joined the United Synagogue as an affiliated synagogue in 1933, becoming a district synagogue in 1949.^(xix)

Breakway Congregation:

In 1949, following the congregation's move to the Vaughan Road premises, members of the congregation living in the Kenton area (whose homes were now even further away from the congregation's synagogue) broke away to form the Kenton Affiliated Synagogue. These Kenton residents had previously held a separate overflow service (in Wealdstone) for Yom Kippur 1947 and their overflow services for the 1948 High Holy Days had taken place in Kenton.^(xx)

Ministers:
(To view a short profile of a minister - hold the cursor over his name.)

Rev. Isaac Cohen - minister from 1935 until 1939.^(xxiii)

Rev. Solomon Hooker - minister from 1939 until 1942 (then on leave of absence for military chaplaincy deployment until his death in 1946).^(xxiv)

Rev. Solomon Rapoport - temporary minister from 1942 until 1945 and then full minister until 1950.^(xxv)

Rev. Myer Levenstein - part-time reader and teacher from about 1950 and until about 1951.^(xxvi)

Rev. Simon Hermon - minister from about 1951 and until about 1959.^(xxix)

Rev. Raymond Bloom, MA - minister from about 1960 and until about 1962.^(xxx)

Rev. Harry Landy - minister from about 1969 and until about 1972.^(xxxi)

Lay Officers:

All data on lay officers has been extracted from listings in Jewish Year Books.^(xxxiv)

Wardens

1937-1949 - G.B. Lewis & M. Fish^(xxxv)

1949-1950 - G.B. Lewis & M. Fishman

1950-1953 - S. Fisher & M. Corney

1953-1954 - S. Fisher & C. Berger

1954-1955 - C. Berger & G.B. Lewis

1954-1955 - A. Green & S. Palace

from 1956 - no data

Treasurers

1932-1934 - K. Lazarus

1934-1935 - M. Phillips

1935-1936 - R. Collett

1936-1940 - N.L. Mendenson

1940-1948 - no data

1948-1950 - J. Marks

1950-1951 - H.G. Wilks

Financial Representatives

1951-1954 - L. Birnbaum

1954-1955 - L. Landon

1955-1956 - H. Wilks

from 1956 - no data

Hon. President

1934-1941 - Sir Isadore Salmon^(xxxvi)

Hon. Vice Presidents

1934-1936 - Joseph M. Jacobs

1936-1939 - Joseph M. Jacobs & Isaac Wolfsons

Presidents

1932-1934 - Maurice Phillips

1934-1956 - N.L. Mandelson

Chairman

1934-1937 - G.B. Lewis

Secretaries & Hon Secretaries

1932-1934 - A. Brown

1934-1936 - C.C. Smith

1936-1948 - The Minister

1948-1951 - M.P. Kingsley^(xxxvii)

1951-1956 - S. Goldberg

1956-1960 - H. Fromberg

1960-1963 - S.N. Luben

1963-1972 - M. Vogel

Membership Data:

United Synagogue (male seat-holders)^(xl)

1946

1950

1960

1970

80

275

227

85

Local Government Districts:

The suburb of Harrow, in northwest London, is in the London Borough of Harrow, an Outer London Borough created on 1 April 1965 (within the administrative area of Greater London).

Prior thereto, it was in the former Municipal Borough of Harrow from 1954 and the former Urban District of Harrow from 1934 until 1954 (both coextensive with the London borough), within the former County of Middlesex.

Registration District (BMD):

Harrow from 1 October 1947^(xli) - Link to Register Office website

Cemetery
Information:

For United Synagogue cemeteries, see Cemeteries of the United Synagogue.

Notable Local Jewish Residents
or Members of the Former Congregation

Sir Isadore Salmon (1876-1941) was Conservative Member of Parliament Harrow (1924-1941) and was the hon. president of the congregation from at least 1934 until his death in 1941.

Other Organisations & Institutions
connected to this congregation

Educational

Hebrew & Religious Classes - formed by 1934.^(l)

Other Institutions

Ladies Guild - established by 1936.^(li)
Jewish Social Circle - founded by 1932.^(lii)
Harrow & District Ladies Zionist Society - founded by 1937.^(liii)
Young Judeans Club - founded in 1937.^(liv)

Notes & Sources
(↵ returns to text above)

(i) Reserved.
(ii) This was the name under which the congregation was listed in Jewish Year Books from 1961. ↵
(iii) This was the name under which the congregation was listed in Jewish Year Books until 1934, reflecting the period before the congregation became affiliated to the United Synagogue. ↵
(iv) The congregation was listed under this name, or "Harrow (Kenton and District) Hebrew Congregation", in Jewish Year Books 1935 through 1949 reflecting the period during which the congregation was an affiliated synagogue of the United Synagogue. ↵
(v) The congregation was listed under this name in Jewish Year Books 1950 through 1960, despite the fact that the Kenton United Synagogue congregation had already been formed by 1949. ↵
(vi) Note in Jewish Year Books from 1947. ↵
(vii) and (viii) Reserved.
(ix) Address listed in Jewish Year Books from 1933 (first listing of congregation) through 1936. ↵
(x) According to British History Online, the premises on Sheepcote Road were officially registered for Jewish worship in 1935 under the name Harrow and Kenton Synagogue. Address listed in Jewish Year Books from 1937 through 1946. ↵
(xi) A Kenton Jubilee - Fifty Years of Kenton Jewish Community and Synagogue 1948-1998, edited by Joyce King, 1998 ("A Kenton Jubilee"), p.21. ↵
(xii) A Family Business by Catherine Blyth, 2020, p.54. ↵
(xiii) A Kenton Jubilee, p. 21. ↵
(xiv) Address listed in Jewish Year Books from 1947 through 1972 (last listing of congregation). ↵
(xv) A Kenton Jubilee, pp. 21/22. ↵
(xvi) and (xvii) Reserved.
(xviii) Last listed in the Jewish Year Book 1972. ↵
(xix) The United Synagogue 1870-1970 by Aubrey Newman (1977), pages 221/2 ↵
(xx) A Kenton Jubilee, pp. 21/22. ↵
(xxi) to (xxii) Reserved.
(xxiii) Rev. (later Rabbi) I. Cohen's obituary dated 25 January 2008. He was listed as minister of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1937 through 1939 ↵
(xxiv) Pinner United Synagogue World War II Memorial Archive. Rev. S. Hooker was listed as minister of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1940 and 1945/6 (publication was suspended between these two dates) ↵
(xxv) Online research. Rev. S. Rapoport was listed as temporary minister of the congregation in the Jewish Year Book 1945/6 and as minister in the editions 1947 through 1950. ↵
(xxvi) Online research. Rev. Levenstein was not listed as a minister of this congregation in Jewish Year Books. ↵
(xxvii) and (xxviii) Reserved.
(xxix) Rev. S. Hermon was listed as minister of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1952 through 1959. ↵
(xxx) Rev. R. Bloom, MA was listed as minister of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1961 and 1962. ↵
(xxxi) Rev. H. Landy was listed as minister of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1970 through 1972. ↵
(xxxii) and (xxxiii) Reserved.
(xxxiv) Where a person is first listed in a year book as holding a particular office, it has been assumed that his term of office commenced in the year of publication of the relevant year book (which was generally towards the end of the year prior to the year appearing in the title of the year book) and that he continued in office until the commencement of office of his successor, unless the office was vacant (e.g. if he is listed in Jewish Year Books 1951 through 1955, it is assumed that he commenced office in 1950 and continued in office until 1955). However, it should be noted that this is only an assumption and accordingly his actual years of office may differ slightly from those shown here. Publication of Jewish Year Books was suspended during WWII subsequent to 1940, until 1945/6. There were no Jewish Year Book listings of officers (other than secretary) subsequent to 1956. ↵
(xxxi) As G.B.Lewis and M. Fish were listed as wardens in Jewish Year Books both prior to (from 1938) and subsequent to (until 1949) the WWII suspension of publication, it is assumed that they also during the intervening. ↵
(xxxvi) Sir Isadore Salmon, MP was listed as Hon. President in Jewish Year Books from 1935 through 1940, there being no publication in 1941 and 1942. However, he died in September 1941, it is assumed that he continued to hold the office until his death. ↵
(xxxvii) During this period (1948-1951), M.P. Kingsley served as hon. secretary and Miss S. Adler served as secretary. ↵
(xxxviii) and (xxxix) Reserved.
(xl) The United Synagogue 1870-1970 by Aubrey Newman (1977), pages 218/9. ↵
(xli) The former Registration District was Hendon, from 1 July 1837 until 1 October 1947. All registers would now be held by the current register office. ↵
(xlii) to (xlix) Reserved.
(l) First listed in the Jewish Year Book 1935. ↵
(lu) First listed in the Jewish Year Book 1937. ↵
(lii) First listed in the Jewish Year Book 1933. ↵
(liii) First listed in the Jewish Year Book 1938. ↵
(liv) First listed in the Jewish Year Book 1938. ↵

List of United Synagogue Congregations

Jewish Congregations in the London Borough of Harrow

Jewish Congregations in Greater London

Greater London home page

Page created: 31 October 2006
Data significantly expanded and notes first added: 20 September 2024
Page most recently amended: 25 September 2026

Research and formatting by David Shulman

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