Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue

Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue stands in Whitechapel, part of London’s East End. Built in 1899, it served an Orthodox Ashkenazi congregation until 2009. The brick building once housed a shop, caretaker’s flat and committee room at the front. Behind its iron gates were two separate entrances for men and women. Inside, a long hall held 280 men below and 240 women in a three-sided gallery. The synagogue was created by the Federation of Synagogues, which united three smaller congregations. Samuel Montagu donated at least £200 and became honorary president. Nathaniel Charles Rothschild opened the building in 1899. William Whiddington designed it in traditional Ashkenazi style. After war damage in the 1940s, repairs kept the Corinthian columns and central bimah. A 1959–60 refurbishment added Star of David windows and a Royal Family prayer tablet. Today the former synagogue is part of the East London Mosque. The small brick building sits within the larger mosque complex. Its original features remain behind a new shopfront for charity work. The last Whitechapel synagogue closed in 2009 after attendance fell. The building now serves a different community while preserving traces of its past.