New London Synagogue

Louis Jacobs was an Orthodox pulpit rabbi at New West End Synagogue when he was offered an appointment as Principal of Jews' College in 1961. The then Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom, Israel Brodie, interdicted the appointment "because of his [Jacobs's] published views". This was a reference to We Have Reason to Believe, a book Jacobs had published in 1954 in which he questioned the doctrine of Torah min hashamayim. The British newspaper, The Jewish Chronicle, took up the issue and turned it into a cause célèbre which was reported in the national press, including The Times. When Jacobs wished to return to his pulpit at the New West End Synagogue, Brodie vetoed his appointment. A number of…

H. H. Collin, the architect of the original building, also designed the Walworth Road Synagogue (1867), the Assembly Rooms in Yarmouth, Norfolk (1867), and the City Liberal Club, London (1875). New London Synagogue makes use of the structural cast-iron ‘railway station’ style, in the supporting columns, spandrels to the arches and gallery fronts; original pendant light fittings and a deep coved cornice. The décor was redesigned in beige and brown by Misha Black, who also retained the classical timber Ark, now misleadingly painted white like stone, under a semi-circular archway. In the courtyard is a bronze Holocaust memorial by Naomi Black. The building was listed Grade II by Historic…