Synagogue And Adjacent Outbuilding

Synagogue and adjacent Outbuilding, Honeysuckle Road, Ramsgate

Synagogue built 1831–3 by David Mocatta for Sir Moses Montefiore, with internal alterations of around 1912 and the 1930s. The building is stuccoed with a rectangular plan and canted corners, leading to an apse containing the Ark of the Covenant to the east and a full-height porch to the west. The elevation is two storeys with a plinth and giant pilasters supporting a pulvinated frieze and cornice to the parapet. The main block has no windows as it is top-lit. The porch's west side features one glazing bar sash window to each floor, with the top surmounted by a pediment with acroteria. The porch itself has a plinth, pilaster strips, a moulded plat band, and a pierced fretwork balustrade. A clock face displays the motto: Time flies. Virtue alone remains.

The entrance is on the left side, with a large panelled door approached by a flight of semi-circular steps in a pilaster in antis surround, with a scrolled lamp bracket and handrail. Semi-circular headed windows light the canted corners of the main block; the left window bears a worn stone relief of the Coat of Arms of Sir Moses Montefiore, originally on the adjacent College of around 1869 (also erected by Sir Moses Montefiore in memory of his wife Judith) and relocated when that building was demolished.

A small stuccoed outhouse stands to the south, matching the synagogue's style with plinth, pilasters, cornice and parapet. Its north elevation has a blocked door and window. The rear wall rises directly from a retaining wall of flint and stock brick that extends along the whole side.

Interior

The vestibule contains a marble niche with shell, pilasters and a fountain base for ritual washing. Above is a brass memorial tablet to Captain Robert Sebag Montefiore, who died at Gallipoli. A stone half-winder staircase ascends to the ladies' gallery and vestry. The vestry retains several original doors and provides access for clock maintenance.

The synagogue retains its original panelled ceiling with an octagonal stained glass rooflight. An original stained glass window depicting the Ten Commandments is positioned above the Ark (Ehul), and the mahogany tapering Ark doors are original. The circular windows to the east are an early 20th-century alteration, as are the semi-circular windows. The chandeliers and candelabra are original. The cast iron screen to the ladies' gallery is original, though the wood has been replaced (originally pine). Only one side of Lady Judith Montefiore's seat survives. The Reading Desk (Tebah) and benches have been replaced. The woodwork to the sides has been replaced but incorporates the original metalwork. The walls were encased in white marble with pink marble pilasters in the early 20th century.

Historical Context

Sir Moses Montefiore, the great Jewish philanthropist, founded and financed the synagogue in 1900. He is buried in an adjacent mausoleum. The architect, David Mocatta—a pupil of Sir John Soane and cousin of Montefiore's wife—was the first Jewish architect to design a synagogue in the country. This is the only known example in the country of a synagogue built on a private estate. The main house, East Court, no longer stands. The synagogue is only the second in the country to be built for Sephardic Jews, following Bevis Marks in the City; Sephardic Jews were less numerous than the Ashkenazi.