West London Synagogue is a Grade II listed building in the Westminster local planning authority area, England. Synagogue. 2 related planning applications.
West London Synagogue
- WRENN ID
- western-portal-merlin
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Westminster
- Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster MP: Rachel Blake (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Type
- Synagogue
- Address
- West London Synagogue, Upper Berkeley Street, City of Westminster, W1H 5QE
- OS grid reference
- TQ 276 812
- Coordinates
- 51.51557, -0.16209
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The West London Synagogue is a Grade II listed building constructed between 1869 and 1870 by architects Davis and Emanuel. It is designed in a Byzantine/Romanesque style, featuring a brick structure with a Portland stone facade and a slate roof. The three-storey facade is characterized by a prominent pedimented semi-circular arch that is supported by coupled columns with richly-carved capitals. This arch is positioned in front of a recessed entrance bay, which includes graduated semi-circular arched windows above three doorways framed by a semi-circular arched arcade with similar columns. The attic storey features an arcade of eight round-arched windows with foliate capitals on square piers, along with one-light windows in the projecting outer bays. A continuous bracketed cornice runs along the parapet, which is topped with acroteriae.
Inside, the synagogue has a panelled entrance hall with a beamed coffered ceiling and a double-flight staircase adorned with bronze candelabra on the newels. The interior is noted for its fine design, featuring a centralized plan with a central dome supported by semi-circular arches and quatrefoil-section scagliola piers. These piers have foliate Byzantine/Romanesque capitals that enhance the decorative balcony fronts and the upper stage, which is crowned by a cluster of colonettes with similar capitals. The barrel-vaulted aisles are supported by grouped colonettes on corbels. The apsidal 'sanctuary' is separated from the main body of the synagogue by a semi-circular arch over a fine domed ark, flanked by screens enriched with colored marble and mosaic. The 'Moorish' style screens are set within semi-circular arched architraves, with richly-carved Byzantine-Romanesque style capitals on the arcade piers and colonettes that support the dome. The balustraded enclosure and pulpit are designed in a similar style and use similar materials. The synagogue also features fine stained glass in the semi-circular arched windows and square-headed three-light aisle windows with foliate piers.
The West London Synagogue is recognized as the most important Reform synagogue in Victorian London and, alongside Davis and Emanuel's East London Synagogue, is regarded as one of the finest Victorian synagogues in the country.
Local climate
West London Synagogue sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 93% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 94% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 51% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 2 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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