Notice from the City Surveyor's Office, Cardiff approving the conversion of Moira Terrace's Methodist Church into Cardiff New Synagogue, Cardiff, 25 January 1951

Description

A notice from the City Surveyor's Office in Cardiff approving the conversion of Moira Terrace's Methodist Church into Cardiff New (later Reform) Synagogue, written on 25 January 1951.

The Cardiff Reform Synagogue was founded in 1948 as the Cardiff New Synagogue. The following year, it became a constituent member of the Movement for Reform Judaism. Born in reaction against the more restrictive traditions of the Orthodox Judaism of Cardiff Hebrew Congregation, such as the prohibition of driving on the Sabbath and the ban on interfaith marriages, the new Synagogue appealed to the immigrants who had fled the war-torn Europe, where the Reform movement was already well-established. The services were initially held in the Temple of Peace. The congregation now worships in a converted Methodist Chapel on Moira Terrace they acquired in 1952.

Sources:
'The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales' by Cai Parry-Jones (http://e.bangor.ac.uk/4987);
JCR-UK/JewishGen (https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/card1/index.htm).

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.

• https://www.cardiffcityhall.com/ (link opens in new window)