Historic Sandys Row Synagogue awarded £185k of grants to help secure its future
Financial support will enable ceiling repairs, survey and statement of heritage significance at one of the East End's only two remaining functioning synagogues
Sandys Row, London’s oldest functioning Ashkenazi synagogue, is receiving grants of £145,092 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and £40,000 from the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust to help safeguard its future.
Opened in 1854, the Spitalfields shul now faces urgent risks; ceiling collapse has made a historic meeting room unusable, while damp, cracking and other defects require specialist assessment.
Working with the Foundation for Jewish Heritage, the shul will use the funds to commission urgent ceiling repairs, a comprehensive Condition Survey, and a Statement of Heritage Significance. Supporters will also review how to improve opening Sandy’s Row to the public to present the story of the Jewish East End and continue to build on hosting educational and cultural events.
Used continuously for more than 250 years, the Grade II listed synagogue is housed in a former Georgian Huguenot church adapted by Dutch Ashkenazi migrants and retains its historic bimah, ark, Ladies Gallery and Georgian fabric, standing as a rare witness to the East End’s intertwined histories of migration, faith and trade.
Chair of Sandys Row Synagogue, Harvey Rifkind said the site “has a very special history and we have many members who trace their ancestry back to the founders.”
He welcomed the two grants which “will enable us to work with the Foundation for Jewish Heritage to help ensure the future sustainability of this beloved building, and ensure its continuing role engaging the wider community of the area.”
The Chief Executive of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage, Michael Mail, described Sandys Row Synagogue as “one of only two synagogues that still survive in the East End that was once a flourishing centre of Jewish life”. He said the foundation remains “eager to work with the synagogue community to help preserve the site and also explore how it might become a centre for presenting the legacy of the Jewish East End.”
Stuart McLeod, director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Historic places of worship play an important role in connecting communities with their shared history, culture and identity. This project will help safeguard this remarkable synagogue and enable more people to discover and engage with its unique heritage for generations to come.”