Middle Street Synagogue

A Jewish community existed in the Brighton area for nearly a century before Middle Street synagogue was built in 1874. The latter moved from Jew Street (off Bond Street) to West Street in 1808, but there is no record of the nature of the buildings; meetings may in fact have taken place in private houses. Situated on Devonshire Place, the stuccoed building in the Classical style still stands; an inscription on the outside, including the Hebrew calendar year of opening (5598), can still be seen on the entablature, but it is now in commercial use. The Chanukah menorah at the Middle Synagogue was brought from the Brighton Regency Synagogue. Chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler attended the start of…

The synagogue was described as Brighton's second most important historic building, behind the Royal Pavilion. The exterior, executed in pale Sussex brick by the builders George Cheesman and son, is in an eclectic blend of Italian Renaissance and Byzantine Revival styles. The west-facing elevation to Middle Street uses yellow bricks in an English bond pattern, while the other walls are of brown brick. The arched windows are surmounted by contrasting red and blue tiles, and are flanked by red coloured columns. There is a large rose window in the west-facing frontage. The façade consists of five bays, alternately projecting and recessed; on the ground floor the layout of windows (protected…