West London Synagogue

The West London Synagogue stands near Marble Arch in the City of Westminster. It is a Reform Jewish congregation housed in a Grade II-listed building at 34 Upper Berkeley Street. The present structure was dedicated in 1870 and replaced earlier premises in Burton Street and Margaret Street. The congregation was founded in 1840 by families including the Mocattas and Goldsmids who sought a more British style of worship. Their first permanent building opened in Burton Street Chapel in 1842. By 1848 the congregation had outgrown this space and moved to Margaret Street. The synagogue is notable for its bibliocentric approach in the 19th century under Reverend David Woolf Marks. His successor Rabbi Morris Joseph brought the congregation closer to mainstream Reform Judaism. In 1929 Rabbi Harold F. Reinhart introduced mixed seating and joined the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Senior rabbis such as Werner van der Zyl, Hugo Gryn and Julia Neuberger have led the community over the decades. The archives from 1841 to 1942 are held at the University of Southampton. Inside, the main sanctuary follows Neo-Byzantine design with a choir and organ behind a screen. Men cover their heads with kippot while women may do so if they wish. The bimah and Torah ark date from 1869–70 and the organ, restored in 2008, has 55 stops. Offices, a library and community rooms extend into Seymour Place. The building remains a centre for Reform Jewish worship and communal life in central London.