Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue

The Lauderdale Road Synagogue stands in Maida Vale, a quiet corner of the City of Westminster. It is the spiritual heart of the S&P Sephardi Community, the oldest and largest Sephardi Jewish group in Britain. The congregation follows the Sephardi rite, tracing its roots to Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 15th century. The building itself was finished in 1896 and still serves worshippers today. Its Grade II listing recognises its architectural and historical importance. The synagogue is set back from the road behind iron railings, a modest entrance leading to grand interiors. The congregation began in 1657 when six Jews petitioned Oliver Cromwell for the right to worship openly. For two centuries the only Sephardi synagogue was Bevis Marks in the City of London. By the 19th century wealthy families had moved west, prompting the building of new synagogues in Wigmore Street and Bryanston Street. The move to Lauderdale Road reflected the community’s shift to North West London. Architects Davis & Emanuel designed the Byzantine Revival building with a large dome and stained glass. Prominent families like the Sassoons, Montefiores and Mocattas shaped its history. Inside, polished wooden floors carry rich tapestry carpets beneath a domed ceiling. The ark is framed by arched recesses filled with stained glass. The building reflects the community’s 19th-century success in global trade. The Sephardi scholar Rabbi Shem Tob Gaugine compiled customs and Jewish law in the multi-volume Keter Shem Tob. During the Second World War the synagogue suffered bomb damage. Later arrivals from Iraq and North Africa broadened the membership. Today the synagogue remains a living centre of Sephardi tradition in London.