| Summary : Synagogue built 1885-8, with a later 19th century entrance arch adjoining to the right; ark extension to east end of 1934-5, and secondary synagogue and schoolroom addition to the rear (now meeting hall) of 1933. The building is of red brick construction with stone details and a Welsh slate roof. It is rectangular on plan, with its entrance in the right return. The Sir Moses Montefiore Synagogue is the only Victorian synagogue in Lincolnshire and South Humberside, and one of few of this period in the country to survive so intact. Together with its accompanying bath-house this synagogue reflects the former significance of Grimsby's Jewish community and the town's prominence in the movement of Jews from Eastern Europe to Britain and America. In the late 19th century Grimsby was the third largest centre (after London and Hull) for Jewish immigration, with over 100,000 landing here in the peak years between 1881 and 1914. It forms part of a notable group of Victorian and Edwardian educational and religious buildings built on land provided by the Heneage Estate; others surviving here include St Mary's Roman Catholic church, the Holme Hill School Education Centre, the Art College and the Education Office in Eleanor Street. Anglican and Primitive Methodist churches also once stood nearby. |