Shah Jahan Mosque

The Shah Jahan Mosque, constructed between 1888 and 1889, is a building designed in the Mughal style by William Isaac Chambers and commissioned by Dr Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner. Its group value lies in its importance as an early and significant example of Mughal-inspired architecture in Britain.

The mosque is primarily built from dressed Bathgate stone, with randomly coursed ashlar quoins on the east, west, and south elevations. The principal, north-facing elevation is rendered with stucco. The building is square in plan, divided into three bays on each side, with a wider front range accommodating a wu’du (wash room) to the east and a storage room to the west.

The north elevation (façade) is distinguished by four panelled piers topped by open turrets. Each turret has moulded pillars and cornices supporting sphere finials held in floral sockets. The turrets are connected by triangular, crow-stepped battlements. A full-height ogee arch, decorated with decorative bands and metal arabesque work with blue inlay in the spandrels, dominates the centre of the façade. Steps lead up to a recessed porch beneath this arch. A door on the left leads to the wu’du, which has been refurbished internally, and a door on the right leads to the storage room. The central main door into the prayer hall features four decorative panels above a trefoil head, with a metal panel bearing circular motifs. Flanking the porch are ogee arches with panel doors leading to side rooms, each with pairs of decorative roundels above. The prayer hall is capped by a large onion dome with a band of stars around its middle and petal decoration leading up to a crescent finial.

The wu’du and storage room have segmental forms and are lit by three leaded-light windows in ogee-arched openings. A flat-roofed extension to the wu’du was added in 1964. The east and west elevations are punctuated by three lancet windows, each with ogee-arched heads and ashlar dressings; the windows feature star and hexagon glazing tracery. The rear wall has a central curved projection topped by a half-dome, corresponding to the Mihrab (niche) inside.

Inside, the Qibla (prayer wall) faces the entrance and features a central Mihrab with decorative panels. Panelled recesses with ogee-arched heads are on either side of the Mihrab, each with three windows set in ogee-arched recesses. Roundels painted with the names of God and the Prophet Muhammad are above the Mihrab and the windows. The dome’s ceiling is pierced with five stars. The Verse of the Throne is inscribed at the base of the dome, and 76 names of God are written on the squinches. The Fatiha (opening verses of the Quran) and the Declaration of Faith are also written on the walls. The Minbar (pulpit) is believed to have been sold to a German museum by Leitner’s son.