Bradford Reform Synagogue

German-born Jews played an important role in the development of the local woollen trade and Jewish merchants from central Europe took advantage of the climate of economic and political freedom in Bradford. The Bradford Synagogue is the third Reform synagogue established in the United Kingdom, and is the second oldest surviving Reform synagogue in the United Kingdom. Its establishment predated the building of an Orthodox synagogue in the town. The foundation stone was laid in 1880 and the community was founded by one of the first Reform rabbis in Britain, Rabbi Dr Joseph Strauss. Construction was completed in 1881. Subsequent to this meeting funding was secured that enabled the community to…

The synagogue building was listed as a Grade II* building in 1989. Architecturally, Bradford is a very rare and well-preserved, small-scale, provincial synagogue built in "Oriental" style. It is perhaps the most notable example in British synagogue architecture of the 19th-century fashion for "Orientalism" – both inside and out.