Newspaper clipping about the closure of the Llanelli Synagogue, 14 August 1992

Description

This undated newspaper clipping reports the official closure of the Llanelli Synagogue. The proceedings of the sale of the building were donated to the Penylan House Jewish retirement and nursing home in Cardiff.

The synagogue on Queen Victoria Road was consecrated in 1909 by the then Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Dr Hermann Adler. Well-known past members of the community include the politician Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne and Isaac Cohen, the one-time Chief Rabbi of Ireland.

According to the JCR-UK website, the article was published in the 14 August 1992 edition of The Jewish Chronicle.

Members of the Llanelli Hebrew Congregation initially held services for the High Holy Days in the early 1900s at private residences. A purpose-built synagogue was established in 1909 on Queen Victoria Street. Through the 1920s, the community had around 300 members, but the number fell rapidly in the 1930s and never recovered. When the congregation merged with Swansea Hebrew Congregation in the 1980s, membership was down to 20.

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/llanelli/index.htm & https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/community/llanelli/press_reports_llanelli_4.htm).

Depository: Carmarthenshire Archives.

• http://www.thejc.com (link opens in new window)