Photograph of the Penylan Synagogue, Cardiff

Description

This laminated A4 photograph, possibly an inkjet printed photograph on paper, of the front of the Cardiff United Synagogue in Penylan. The foreground of the image shows a large area of grass while there are small trees in the midground and a large red brick building in the background. Above the entrance of the synagogue is a large white plaque displaying two stars of David. In between them is a Menorah, a Hebrew candle stand with six branches.

The date of the image is unknown. The type of printing suggests post-1990s; however, the image could have been taken at an earlier time and later digitised and printed with an inkjet printer.

The Cardiff United Synagogue was established in 1942 when the Cardiff Hebrew Congregation and the Cardiff New Hebrew Congregation were united into a single organisation. The early years of the Cardiff congregation remain shrouded in mystery, but it is known that a Jewish cemetery was founded in 1841 and a purpose-built synagogue was built for the Cardiff Hebrew Congregation in 1858 in East Terrace. As the congregation outgrew the premises, a new synagogue was opened on Cathedral Road in 1897. In 1889, a group of recent immigrants left the “Englisher shul” to form the “foreigners’ shul”, formally known as the Cardiff New Hebrew Congregation. Having initially worshipped at Edward Place and Clare Road, the New Congregation moved to purpose-built premises on Windsor Place in 1918. After the 1942 reunification, the Cardiff United Synagogue continued to use both the Windsor Place and the Cathedral Road synagogues until 1955 when the former was sold and a new synagogue was built on Ty-Gwyn Road in Penylan. The Cathedral Road synagogue was eventually sold in 1988 and the Ty-Gwyn Road synagogue in 2003 with the congregation moving to its current premises in Cyncoed Gardens.

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/card/index.htm);

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.