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Exeter Synagogue
Exeter Synagogue, an image of an 1881 painting by John White of the synagogue's interior
Religion
Affiliation	Judaism
Rite	Nusach Ashkenaz
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Leadership	Lay-led
Status	Active
Location
Location	Mary Arches Street, Exeter, Devon, England
Country	United Kingdom
Location of the synagogue in Devon
Geographic coordinates	50°43′21″N 3°32′02″W / 50.7226°N 3.5340°W / 50.7226; -3.5340
Architecture
Architect(s)	Stephen Emanuel
Type	Synagogue architecture
Date established	1720s (as a congregation)
Completed	1763
Direction of façade	East
Website
exetersynagogue.org.uk
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Synagogue, Mary Arches Street
Type	Listed building
Designated	29 January 1953
Reference no.	1273591

The Exeter Synagogue is a Jewish synagogue, located in Synagogue Place, Mary Arches Street, in the old city of Exeter, Devon, England, in the United Kingdom. Established in the 1720s as the Exeter Hebrew Congregation, an Orthodox congregation that worshiped in the Ashkenazi rite, the congregation has been led by laity since c. 1990s, and caters to all shades of Judaism including Reform, Liberal, Masorti and other Jewish denominations.

Designed by Stephen Emanuel and completed in 1763, the synagogue building is the third oldest synagogues in the United Kingdom. The synagogue was originally built as a Sephardi synagogue for Dutch Jews trading in Exeter.

History

The Jews in Exeter have a long history, though there is currently little evidence to support the existence of a Jewish community in Roman Exeter. The first Jew in Exeter was mentioned in 1181, and the community is believed to have owned its own burial ground and synagogue before antisemitic rulings of Exeter's Synod in 1287, which aided the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290.

The first Jew known to have settled in Exeter in modern times was a Mr. Jacob Monis from Padua, who advertised his services in 1724 as a Hebrew and Italian teacher. He was joined by his nephew Joseph Ottolenghi, who was employed as the community's shochet. A scandal between these two, when Joseph subsequently converted to Christianity, is the subject of many useful documents which have shed light on Exeter's Jewish history.

With the accession of the Hanoverians to the throne of England, Jews of German origin settled in Exeter; and by 1757 the community had taken lease of a burial ground at Bull Meadow, just outside the city walls. On 5 November 1763, Abraham Ezekiel and Kitty Jacobs leased land in Mary Arches—via a local non-Jew, to avoid the restrictions on Jewish ownership of land—on which the present Exeter Synagogue was consecrated on 10 August 1764. A letter found in the Devon Record Office describes the consecration, in which the Torah was carried seven times around the bimah and the national anthem was sung.

The Ezekiel family continued to lead and support the local community for 75 years, and special services were held in the synagogue for events such as the coronation of George IV and the death of Prince Albert. The community dwindled throughout the nineteenth century: in 1842 there were only about thirty families, and in 1878 there were fewer than ten. For much of the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, the Synagogue was located near the entrance to overcrowded slum dwellings one of the poorest areas of central Exeter. Regular services were abandoned in 1889.

Six years later the synagogue was revived by Charles Samuels, who was the community's leader until his death in 1944. The synagogue was damaged in the Baedecker Blitz during the Second World War. Although small in numbers, the community today is spread widely over Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset and holds regular services using a variety of traditions. Exeter Hebrew Congregation still owns and maintains the Bull Meadow Jewish cemetery.

In July 2018, extreme right-wing anti-semite Tristan Morgan set fire to the synagogue in an attempt to burn it down. Morgan was found guilty of terrorism charges and sentenced to an indeterminate hospital order before his potential release can be considered by court.

Architecture

Exeter Synagogue, like most eighteenth-century synagogues, is tucked away from the main thoroughfares of the old city and is windowless, presumably as a security feature during its time of construction. The synagogue was constructed in a traditional Orthodox style, with a women's balcony, and was heavily restored throughout the 1980s. The building also currently contains room for a small cheder. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of Exeter Synagogue (in which it resembles the synagogue in Plymouth) is its Aron Kodesh (Torah ark), a wooden structure carved to resemble marble. The ark contains a quotation from Psalms 5:8, "I will worship towards thy holy temple in fear of thee", and is believed to have been made by north German craftsmen. A building next to the synagogue which originally contained the cheder and minister's residences was demolished during the 1960s.

Major refurbishments made in 1830 uncovered vivid colours and decorations on the columns and ark of the synagogue, and in the 1980s window lighting was added in the ceiling. The wealth of colourful design in the synagogue is due to the fact that the exterior of the synagogue was subject to regulations at the time of construction, so that the most noticeable architectural features are to be found within. Replacements of wall panelling, seating, the upper galleries, and central heating all took place in 1997.

List of rabbis

Exeter's Jewish community did not maintain a full complement of religious staff for the majority of its history and after 1867 with the departure of Rabbi Myer Mendlessohn for Bristol it was served by Rabbis with very short terms, and to this day Exeter's community has no rabbi (in part due to its being affiliated with neither the Movement for Reform Judaism nor the United Synagogue), with services being led by members of the congregation and visiting rabbis. The previous rabbis were:

• 1795–1839: Rabbi Moses Horowitz Levy
• 1839–1840: Rabbi Michael Levy Green
• 1841–1852: Rabbi Samuel Hoffnung
• 1852–1853: Rabbi Berthold Aldu
• 1854–1867: Rabbi Myer Mendlessohn

See also

• History of the Jews in England
• List of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom
• List of synagogues in the United Kingdom
• Oldest synagogues in the United Kingdom

References

1. ^ Gent, Frank J.; Shulman, David (2 April 2024). "Exeter Hebrew Congregation". Jewish Communities and Records – UK. JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
2. ^ Historic England (29 January 1953). "Synagogue, Mary Arches Street (Grade II*) (1273591)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
3. Sugarman, Daniel (24 July 2018). "Exeter man charged with arson after attack on Britain's third oldest synagogue". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
4. ^ Susser, Bernard (1993). The Jews of South-West England. Exeter: University of Exeter Press.
5. ^ Fry, Helen (2000). "Synagogues and Cemeteries in the South-West". The Jews of Devon and Cornwall. Bristol: The Hidden Legacy Foundation. pp. 12–25.
6. "Moment firebomber is blasted by flames during arson attack on Exeter Synagogue". 5 July 2019.
7. "Devon man sentenced after setting fire to synagogue - and himself". 5 July 2019.
8. "Tristan Morgan: far right antisemitic terrorist – Blog". cst.org.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
9. Gent, Frank (2000). "The Rabbis and Ministers". The Jews of Devon and Cornwall. Bristol: The Hidden Legacy Foundation. pp. 26–31.

Further reading

• Kadish, Sharman, Building Jerusalem: Jewish Architecture in Britain, 1995

External links

• Official website
• "Exeter Synagogue Archive". Jewish Communities and Records – UK. JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. 26 November 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
• "The Susser Archive: Jewry of Devon and Cornwall". Jewish Communities and Records – UK. JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
• Susser, Bernard (22 November 2016). "The Jews of South-West England". Jewish Communities and Records – UK. JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. Retrieved 11 May 2024.

v t e   Synagogues in the United Kingdom
England   London Barnet Belsize Square Bevis Marks Bromley Reform Central (East London) Central (Great Portland Street Edgware & Hendon Reform Finchley Progressive Reform United Golders Green Beth Hamedrash Golders Green United Hampstead Kol Chai Hatch End Kol Nefesh Masorti Lauderdale Road Liberal Jewish Machzike Hadath Mill Hill United Mosaic Reform New London New Stoke Newington New West End North Western Reform Ohel David Eastern Richmond Saatchi Sandys Row Sha'arei Tsedek North London Reform South London Liberal Oaks Lane Reform Stanmore and Canons Park Sternberg Centre Sukkat Shalom Reform Wembley United West London Western Marble Arch Westminster Wimbledon Former: Bayswater Dalston Dollis Hill Fieldgate Street Great Great Museum of Immigration and Diversity Shir Hayim West Central Liberal Wlodawa Elsewhere in England Berkshire Birmingham Central Blackpool Reform Bournemouth Hebrew Bournemouth Reform Bradford Brighton and Hove Progressive Brighton and Hove Reform Bury Cambridge Cheltenham Coventry Darlington Exeter Guildford Heaton Park Hull Isle of Wight Kehillat Kernow Lincoln Liverpool Reform Maidenhead Manchester Reform Menorah Milton Keynes Middle Street Montefiore Newcastle Reform North West Surrey Plymouth Portsmouth and Southsea Princes Road Radlett Reform Seven Hills Sha'arei Shalom (Manchester) Sinai (Leeds) Singers Hill Southend Southport & District Reform South Hampshire Reform South Manchester Thanet & District Reform Tikvah Chadasha Former: Blackpool United Brighton Regency Brunswick Terrace Old Canterbury Falmouth Greenbank Drive Jesmond Leazes Park Lincoln (Jews' Court) The New, Leeds Manchester Sephardi Northampton Medieval (remnants) Nottingham Severn Street Sunderland Wilson Road
Northern Ireland   Belfast
Scotland   Aberdeen Edinburgh Garnethill Giffnock Glasgow Reform Former: Dundee Langside South Portland Street
Wales   Cardiff Reform Cardiff United Former: Merthyr
History Category Former list

• 1720s establishments in England
• 18th-century synagogues in the United Kingdom
• Ashkenazi Jewish culture in England
• Ashkenazi synagogues
• Buildings and structures in Exeter
• Dutch-Jewish culture in the United Kingdom
• Jewish organizations established in the 1720s
• Orthodox synagogues in England
• Sephardi Jewish culture in the United Kingdom
• Synagogues completed in 1763
• Synagogues in Devon