THE SYNAGOGUES

Copyright © 1999 by David H. Fox.  All Rights Reserved

While best known for their work in Christian churches, the Audsleys produced two Jewish houses of worship, one of which, was their only major British project substantially outside of the Liverpool area.  These two structures illustrate the adaptability of the Audsleys to differing traditions and design requirements.

The design of the synagogue has always been complicated by the fact that there are two distinct objects of prominence as opposed to the Christian church which tends to be either altar or pulpit centered.  The first is the ark [from the Latin, arca, chest], a cabinet containing the Torah scrolls, hand-written with the Biblical five books of Moses.  From the time of the Renaissance, the ark was often treated as a built-in object surrounded by elaborate architectural decoration.  The second major feature of the traditional synagogue was the bimah, a balastraded dais with a reading desk for the open scrolls and accommodation for the several persons leading the service.

Traditionally, prayers were offered while facing Jerusalem, which Europeans considered to be in the east.  The ark was accordingly placed on the eastern wall, the place of honor in the synagogue.  Being much larger than the Christian pulpit, the traditional bimah could not be located immediately in front of the ark as it would be an obstruction and cause persons leading the prayers to do so with their backs to the congregation.  The bimah was, therefore, often located in the very center of the synagogue.  It is thought that Italian congregations began the practice of placing the bimah against the western wall, opposite the ark.  This resulted in a seating arrangement in two sections which faced each other across the broad aisle connecting the ark and bimah.

With some exceptions, 19th century synagogue architecture was of a rather low general standard.  The Jews in Western Europe and the United States gained emancipation and rose to prominence during this period, and erected large and ambitious buildings....Since the 19th century lacked any single coherent architectural style of its own, the result could often be stylistic uncertainty, overloaded with ornament unrelated to structure, and synagogues in the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Moorish, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque admixture, or other styles, or sometimes an unconvincing mixture of several of these.  All this, however, was only apparent in the second half of the century.  During the first half, synagogues generally possessed an appearance of dignity and restraint, and continued to be built in the classical tradition, but with a new emphasis on an archaeologically accurate revival of Greek and Roman architectural detail. .        Encylopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1971) 15:620.

Notable in the design of many nineteenth century synagogues was the revival of Islamic architecture which was variously denominated as "Moorish," "Spanish Moresque," or "Sarcenic."  Its use drew a historical connection with the Sephardic Jewish communities which arose in Spain following the Moslem conquests.  Living in an area of relative tolerance, the community enjoyed a cultural flowering which subsequent generations regarded as a "Golden Age."  All this was to come crashing down in 1492 when the Moslem forces were driven from Spain and all non-Christians required to convert or face exile.  Many Sephardic Jews sought asylum in the Netherlands where their culture would eventually blend with that of the Ashkenazim or Jews of the Central European tradition.

Emanating from Germany, the Islamic style was well established in synagogue architecture by the 1870s.  Citing one example, the descriptive King's Handbook of New York City reported, "Like all the finer Jewish synagogues of the city, it is Moorish in design and decoration." .        Moses King, King's Handbook of New York City (Boston: Moses King, 1893), 402.  One also finds examples of this style in secular architecture and domestic decoration of the period.

The earliest of the two Audsley synagogues was Liverpool's  Old Hebrew Synagogue erected on the south side of Prince's Road between Hampton and Stanhope streets in an area graced by several Audsley structures.  The selection of W. & G. Audsley was on the basis of a design competition. .        H. B. Newman, G. A. Audsley: Biography and Bibliography (1993), 23.  In one account, six firms were invited to participate, but two declined.  The 13 January 1872 issue of The Architect described the winning entry:  

The West front is in five graduated divisions separated by octagonal and square turrets, terminating in domed canopies.  A large doorway in the center division, gives admission to a commodious vestibule, extending the whole width of the building, and flanked with the staircases to the Ladies' gallery.  The interior is spacious and lofty, and is divided into nave and aisles by columns and arches.  The nave is covered with a vaulted ceiling and the aisles by sloping panelled ceilings.  The interior will be amply lighted by two orders of windows in the side walls and a clerestory over the arches of the nave.  At the  east end of the building is placed the Ark, and behind it is the Choristers' Gallery. .        The Architect (13 Jan. 1872):29.  

A cornerstone ceremony was held on 27 December 1872 and duly reported in The Building News:

On the 27th ult., the foundation-stone of the new Jewish Synagogue was laid in Liverpool.  The designs have been furnished by Messrs. Audsley, architects, and the building is intended to accommodate about 840 persons, and will cost about £10,000.  The builders are Messrs. Jones Brothers, of Liverpool.  The style adopted is Saracenic, very freely treated, and with the introduction of both Classic and Gothic forms. the synagogue is to be divided into a nave, and lateral aisles six bays in length.  On the ground floor the seats are to arranged to face north and south leaving a center space unoccupied by sittings throughout the whole length of the interior.  At the eastern end of the nave, and under a lofty cusped arch, supported upon groups of red and green marble columns, is to be placed the ark, constructed of various materials, and richly decorated.  A flight of marble steps will lead up to the marble floor, upon which the ark is to be placed.  Behind the ark will be erected a lofty screen, and over it is to be the chorister's gallery.  The columns of the nave are to be 23 feet high, and are to be surmounted by lofty pointed arches carrying a clerestory of 36 arched windows.  The ceiling is to be semi-circular, richly moulded and panelled, and ultimately decorated in gold and colours.  The internal dimensions of the building are to be 120 feet long by 60 feet wide, and it is to be seated for about 700 persons.  The height of the interior is to be about 50 feet. .        The Building News (3 Jan. 1873): 27.

Seventeen months later, the building was ready for use:

The new Old Hebrew Synagogue in Prince's-road, Liverpool, was opened on Thursday week [3 September 1874].  The Style is described as a "happy union of Gothic and Classic, with Eastern features introduced."  The interior plan of the building is a parallelogram [rectangle], divided into a nave and side aisles.  The seats will accommodate 800 persons.  At the east end of the nave is placed the sacarium, divided from the nave by an elaborately-ornamented horse-shoe arch.  Under this arch stands the magnificent ark, a structure of polished marble, alabaster, and Caen stone, rising from a marble platform to the height of about 25 ft.  The lower portion up to the main cornice is entirely of variegated marble and veined alabaster, and the cornice and five domes that finish the structure are of carved Caen stone, which will ultimately be gilded and painted.  The materials employed are grey and red brick, with lavish use of stonework throughout the western portion.  The architects for the whole work are Messrs. W. and G. Audsley, Liverpool, and the builders are Messrs. Jones and Sons, Pleasant-street.  The cost of the building, exclusive of the interior decoration, which is yet to be done, is £13,000.

.        The Building News (11 Sep. 1874): 327.

The completion of the interior decoration required an additional twelve months and was again reported in The Building News:

The Old Hebrew Synagogue, Prince's-road, Liverpool, was reopened on Sunday [26 September 1875], after repair and redecoration.  The work has been carried out by Mr. J. Wannopp, under the direction of Messrs. W. and G. Audsley.  The ornamentation consists of in the introduction of gold and colour in elaborate design upon the ceiling, the pillars by which it is supported, and the other portions of the interior, the whole design being in harmony with the architecture of the synagogue, which is Byzantine.  A new reading-desk in marble has been erected by Messrs. A. Norbury and Co., at a cost of £750.  The architects have presented the reading-desk chairs, which have been made by Messrs. Urquhart and Adamson.  The vestibule has been decorated in the Egyptian style.  The cost of the decoration is about £2,000, and the entire cost of the building was about £15,000. .        The Building News (1 Oct. 1875): 379.

Despite the removal of the deteriorated turrets in 1957, the Old Hebrew Synagogue has retained much of its esteem in the Jewish press: .        H. B. Newman, G. A. Audsley: Biography and Bibliography (1993), plate 2 caption.

The Art is Byzantine, the arches are Moorish, the paintwork has something of the gaudy grandeur of the tomb of Tutankhamen, yet somehow, they all blend and Prince's Road is the most striking Synagogue in the British Isles and, with the exception of the Great Synagogue in Florence, probably the most striking in Europe. .        C. Bermant, "The Last Bastion of Tolerant Orthodoxy," The Jewish Chronicle, (27 Nov. 1981).

The second Audsley synagogue project was the West End Synagogue located on Saint Petersburg Place in the Bayswater district of greater London.  N. S. Joseph, who designed the 1873 Willesden synagogue in Gothic style, collaborated in this project. .        "Building Intelligence," The Building News (17 Oct. 1873):438.  The construction was noted in the 13 July 1877 issue of The Building News:

We give herewith an elevation of the west front of this building, which is now in course of erection, the foundation stone being laid a week or two since.  The synagogue will have a frontage of about 71 ft. to Petersburg-place, and a depth of about 100 ft., and it will be well lighted on all four sides.  The main entrance will be buy a recessed porch, in the centre of the west frontage, flanked by two turrets which terminate with minarets.  There will be in addition tow subsidiary entrances at the north-east and south-east corners.  There will be four staircases leasing to the galleries.  The dimensions of the building on the ground floor will be 65 ft. by 61 ft., and on the gallery level 83 ft. by 61 ft.; and it is calculated that the entire building will accommodate about 900 worshippers, although seating for a much smaller number will be provided in the first instance.  The style is Graeco-Byzantine.  The internal arrangements will differ somewhat from those which usually obtain in the orthodox London synagogues, the Ark being intended to be in the nature of a shrine placed in an apse, or vaulted recess, as in the Berkeley-street Synagogue.  The choristers will be in a gallery at the rear of the Ark, and nearly level with the ladies' galleries.  In this position they will be well heard, without being seen by the worshippers.  The Ark and Almemmar [reading desk] will be of marble.  The exterior of the building will be of red brick, with dressings of red Mansfield stone.  Mr. N. S. Joseph, of Coleman-street, and Messrs. Audsley, of Liverpool, are the joint architects.  The works of the substructure have been carried out by Messrs. Adamson, of Hammersmith.  The tenders for the superstructure have not yet been delivered. .        "New Synagogue, Petersburg-place, Bayswater," The Building News (13 Jul. 1877):28.

The completed building was further described in the 14 March 1879 issue of The Building News:

The new synagogue has a wide frontage to Petersburg-place, and is about 100 ft. in length.  The principal front--a view of which we gave--is of red brick with Mansfield stone dressings, and the architects--Messrs. Audsley and Joseph--have selected a style between Saracenic and Byzantine, if we are to judge by the details; the authors call it Graeco-Byzantine.  The main features of the front are--a richly-recessed arched doorway, subdivided by a shaft into two, in the arch of which is a sexfoil panel with the Decalogue [Ten Commandments] inscribed; a large and elaborate traceried wheel-window, deeply recessed under a cusped arch, and a low gable with pierced parapet, flanked by turrets of minaret proportions, having cupolas of pointed shape.  On each side is a low wing forming the ends of vestibules and the staircases.  The vestibule is adorned by clusters of stone pillars, and have staircases at each end leading to the galleries.  Passing the inner doors the interior presents a church-like appearance, having a nave and two aisles with galleries.  The former has a clerestory of circular windows, and is covered with a plaster vault, ribbed and pointed.  At the east end is an apse-like recess filled with a costly shrine of alabaster and marble, richly overlaid with gold, standing upon a raised marble platform of several steps.  It is intended as the ark (aron hakkodesh), above which is the choristers' gallery, hidden behind the gilt cupolas which crown the ark.  The platform or reading-desk at the west end of nave is also of variegated marbles, profusely gilded in the caps, &c.  Over the choristers' gallery in the apse is a large wheel-window, corresponding with that at the west end, filled with stained glass.  The side galleries are supported on massive octagonal pillars of iron, which above the gallery fronts have very deep capitals cast in plaster and intended for decoration.  Above these spring moulded and enriched arches, of pointed horseshoe form carrying the clerestory walls.  The fronts of the galleries are divided by small square black marble shafts with caps into narrow panels of very rich grained pitch pine polished, the effect of which resembles a fine yellow-toned marble.  The seats, doors, and fittings are of the same material, simply varnished.  As customary in the Jewish synagogues, the women are separated from the men, the galleries being set apart for the former.  Throughout the workmanship is of excellent quality, and the walls are finished, of a cream colour.  We noticed some chastely-designed brass pendant gas burners, suspended from brackets in the spandrels of the arches, and the whole of the fittings display considerable taste.  The passages are laid with mosaic.  The synagogue will hold 900 worshippers.  Mr. Adamson, of Hammersmith, is the contractor. .        The Building News (14 Mar. 1879):271.