This house of worship in Sandy's Row, Bishopsgate, in the East End of London, was remodelled for the local Jewish community by the well-known synagogue architect, Nathan Solomon Joseph, in the late 1860s. The history of the building itself, which stands on the old artillery practice grounds of the East End of London, goes back to the eighteenth century. In a spot where there is once thought to have been been a wooden chapel, the French Huguenots of the area had purchased land for a brick chapel, built in 1766 (Tames 101). It had later been used by other Christian groups, until in the mid-Victorian period the now Grade II listed building was rented or leased by the local community of Dutch Jews.
At this time there were many immigrant Jews from Holland in the locality, toiling in the small workshops that produced cigars and a variety of clothing items like slippers, boots, shirts and caps. Some of the workers were also diamond-cutters. As a class, they appear to have been looked down upon, and to have remained separate from others of their faith, including the Ashkenazi Jews. The date on the fanlight, shown above, refers to the point in history when this close-knit group founded their own congregation for worship and formed what we might call a "friendly society," through which they could raise funds for funerals and for those in special need. By 1861, according to Jerry White, there were 2,300 "Hollanders" in the general area, an adjective that White uses in a Jewish context (154), suggesting that many of them were Jews. By 1867 they were looking to renew the lease on the chapel for the following twenty-one years (Snyder 134). As a condition of this, they were expected to refurbish it, and began to raise money for the project. Naturally, they now wanted to fit it out for their own purposes.
The costly task was contentious: why were not these Dutch Jews supporting the larger synagogues already available to them? Joseph's championing of the plan, and of smaller synagogues in general, shows his humanity, as well as the nature of his faith:
Joseph stated that the members of Sandy's Row would be unable to afford seats in City synagogues even at reduced prices and would be left in the cold without support. These synagogues were “hotbeds of Judaism,” exclaimed the architect, meaning this in a positive way; “Perhaps they are noisy, but the noise is prayer. Perhaps the preacher’s language is not perfect, but the matter is good, and his people understand him. Perhaps the chazan sings a few false notes, and that does not matter, for the angels are not so critical." To Joseph, the strong religious commitment of hevra members was “worth more than all the so-called decorum of more ostentatious houses of prayer.” [Snyder 135]
The recessed Torah Ark with its neo-classical columns makes a powerful focal point here.
Joseph's work did not (indeed could not involve a complete rebuild. The basic Georgian structure had to remain. Moreover, certain features of this existing structure could easily be adapted for Jewish observances. For example, the balcony of the old chapel was still useful as the women's section. Nevertheless, there were some radical changes. Most immediately noticeable was the transfer of the entrance from an alley at the back (Parliament Court, between the narrow alleyway of Artillery Lane and Artillery Passage) to a new entrance on Sandy's Row itself. This allowed the congregation to face the southeast when praying — the right direction for Jerusalem. The old entrance was then filled in, allowing the Torah Ark to be sited at the south east. Joseph also extended the building to include a vestry, and to house both the rabbi and a caretaker. The interior too was given a considerable face-lift: "The design of the interior of Sandy's Row was based on The Great Synagogue in Dukes Place (since demolished) with a coved ceiling, cornice, clerestory windows and a Neo-classical mahogany Torah Ark set into an apse" ("History"). The general impression, as seen above, is very elegant. The main changes since then — the mid-twentieth-century installation of pine pews, and the wood pine panelling on the walls — have been quite superficial, but have done much to enhance the interior, contributing to the warm and welcoming ambience.
The synagogue was dedicated in 1870 by the head rabbi of the London’s Spanish & Portuguese Jews Congregation. Saskia Snyder explains that the Chief Rabbi of London, Nathan Marcus Adler, declined to officiate since he had been against the project (136). The dedication was performed instead by the Rev. Dr. Artom, Chief Rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation. This was really no surprise: a "Lover of Fairness" wrote to the Jewish Chronicle of 11 November 1870 expressing gratitude for the support of the clergy of the Sephardim Congregation, while obviously still feeling offended by the opposition faced by the Dutch Jews in other quarters (3). The Chronicle itself was clearly behind the project, and covered the dedication ceremonies at great length. The architect was present, and was duly thanked by a spokesperson for the congregation, who observed that Joseph had "not acted towards the members merely in a professional capacity," but "had been their friend, their adviser, their best aid." Joseph, in return, was warmly appreciative of their gratitude, saying that he had taken "particular satisfaction" in the work, and wished "prosperity to the undertaking" (7). It is heartwarming to see an architect taking such a close personal interest in a building, and being recognised for his kind support as well as his skills.
In November 1887, Sandy's Row Synagogue, which had a capacity for 500, was "the largest of the East End congregations that founded the Federation of Synagogues" ("History"). In 1904, statistics still showed a very respectable attendance of just over 470 men, woman and children (Mudie-Smith 265), which would have filled the synagogue almost to capacity. Indeed, after surviving a period of dwindling attendance and even the threat of closure as the original community dispersed, it is still in use today, and Joseph would surely have been gratified by the current proposal to open it to a larger public as a Jewish East End Heritage Centre.
Link to Related Material
Top photograph by Maggie Jones, kindly placed in the public domain via Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24329363@N00/4652815139/). Interior photograph reproduced by kind permission of the Heritage Network.
Bibliography
"The Gentle Author." "At Sandy's Road Synagogue." Spitalfields Life. Web. 31 October 2025. NB. This has a series of excellent photographs of the interior. https://spitalfieldslife.com/2022/03/22/at-Sandy's-row-synagogue-o/
"History." Sandy's Row Synagogue. Web. 31 October 2025. https://sandysrowsynagogue.org/history/
The Jewish Chronicle 11 November 1870. (see pp. 1, 3 and 5-7). Internet Archive. Web. 31 October 2025.
Mudie-Smith, Richard, ed. The Religious Life of London. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1904. Internet Archive. Web. 31 October 2025.
Sandy's Row Synagogue. British Listed Buildings. Web. 31 October 2025.
"Sandy's Row Synagogue as a Jewish East End Heritage Centre." Heritage Network. Web. 31 October 2025. https://heritagetrustnetwork.org.uk/Sandy's-row-synagogue-as-a-jewish-east-end-heritage-centre/
Snyder, Saskia Coenen. Building a Public Judaism: Synagogues and Jewish Identity in Nineteenth-Century Europe. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2013.
Tames, Richard. East End Past. London: Historical Publications, 2004.
White, Jerry. London in the Nineteenth Century: "A Human Awful Wonder of God." London: Cape, 2007.
Created 31 October 2025