Princes Road Synagogue, Liverpool

Princes Road Synagogue came into existence when the Jewish community in Liverpool in the late 1860s decided to build a new synagogue, reflecting the status and wealth of the community. The Toxteth area was rapidly expanding as Liverpool's magnates built opulent mansions. The synagogue stands in a cluster of houses of worship designed to advertise the wealth and status of the local captains of industry, a group that was remarkably ethnically diverse by the standards of Victorian England; immediately adjacent to the synagogue on Princes Road are the Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas, the Church of England's parish of St Margaret of Antioch, and the Welsh Presbyterian Church. Construction…

The synagogue is of brick construction, with bright terracotta bricks being used extensively for decoration. The façade reveals the plan of the building, a basilica with nave and aisles. The central section juts forward from the aisles. It has a large Moorish portal divided by a central column, above which is a large wheel window in the Romanesque style, both deeply recessed in arches. The synagogue has a central nave with aisles on either side, separated by an arcade carried on slender octagonal columns, which also support galleries over the aisles. The nave has a barrel vault lit by clerestory windows. The interior is notable for its lavish decoration, including gilding and unstinting use…