The Shul, Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation Synagogue

The Shul, Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, is a synagogue built between 1910 and 1911, designed by Lawson and Reynolds in Moorish-Revival style. It was altered and extended between 1957 and 1962 by architects AE Green and MG Cross.

The building is constructed of red brick with ashlar dressings, beneath a pitched slate roof and domed lead roof.

The synagogue is planned as an eight-bay long Shul, orientated roughly south-west to north-east, with the Ark positioned at the southern end and a tower to the north. The main east elevation displays a decorative eight-bay frontage with a wavy roofline. Seven of the eight bays contain windows: four of these are original 1911 windows, while three on the left were added in 1962 with matching design. Each bay features a three-light stone-mullion window with a distinctive horseshoe-shaped leaded window containing glazing bars formed in the shape of the Star of David above it. The bays are divided by square columns topped with projecting-brick detailing and ashlar capitals. At the north end stands a square tower crowned by a lead dome, with square columns at each corner. The former main entrance at ground-floor level has been replaced by a plain horizontally-placed window; beneath it are four reset foundation stones dated 1911 and 1961, one placed by Chief Rabbi Israel Brodie. At first-floor level is a four-light transom and mullion window with decorative mosaic added in 1962, above which sits an openwork screen of yellow stone at parapet level, cut in a distinctive fishbone pattern. The Gertrude Preston Hall is attached to the north end. The west elevation sits behind the 1970s Muscat Centre and contains windows of the same design as those on the east elevation, with a single window at the southern end. The remainder of the west elevation projects forward with canted sides and a slanted roof rising to a parapet, containing five windows. The south elevation is topped by a gabled end with a transom window and includes a flat-roofed, single-storey addition incorporating a side entrance. The main building has a pitched roof with a small leaded lantern near the centre of the ridge.

Internally, the Shul is accessed at ground and first-floor levels via glazed-timber doors in the vestibule within Gertrude Preston Hall. The interior was originally laid out in 1910-1911 and was re-ordered and extended in 1962. The space features a ribbed barrel-vaulted ceiling with large decorative curved brackets supporting the gallery. The marble Ark, created in 1962 by Florentine craftsmen with mosaic surround, is matched by the Bimah, also of 1962, which is adorned with four early-20th-century tall candelabra that formerly stood at the corners of the Edwardian Bimah. The ground-floor seating area was extended in 1962 to the south and west through the new extensions, with the ladies-seating area accommodated within the former entrance lobby. The gallery was adapted and extended in 1962 and features decorative railings with a gilded circular motif. The gallery railings were formerly topped by two decorative rows of a circular pattern, but following extension works, one of these rows was extended for new gallery sections to maintain continuity of design. All mahogany pews in the 1962 extensions match those in the 1911 sections. It has been suggested that all pews were replaced in the 1960s, though the original pews may have been retained and reconfigured.

The synagogue contains stained glass including an early-20th-century window that was originally set above the Ark and has been reset above the new Ark. The horseshoe-shaped windows with the Star of David on the west elevation also survive. The windows feature pastel-coloured leaded glass in some instances and floral motifs in others. Windows replaced from the 1920s onwards on both east and west elevations display distinctive designs in vibrant colours, depicting scenes from the Torah and abstract designs, and are dedicated to former members of the congregation.