Synagogue

The Synagogue in Plymouth was founded in 1762 and underwent interior remodeling in 1862, with further changes made to the front and rear after 1874. It features stuccoed walls and a dry slate roof with coped gable ends and a stepped acroterion on the front gable. The building has a rectangular aisle-less plan and is a single storey. The front has two windows and an oculus with a star of David above, while each side has three round-arched windows with colored leaded glass. The two-storey entrance end includes four windows set within eared architraves on the first floor, along with three segmental arched doorways topped with continuous cornice consoles.

Inside, the synagogue retains a virtually complete 18th-century interior, featuring a latticed women's gallery supported by thin iron columns, which was extended to the north and south sides in 1862. Flanking an arch filled with a coffered pattern are two fluted Corinthian columns, with large urns on the entablature. The Bimah is centrally located and surrounded by an 18th-century turned balustrade topped with eight original brass candlesticks. Other original features include pine benches, a lavishly decorated and gilded carved wooden ark, and a set of silver bells. This synagogue is recognized as the oldest English Ashkenazi synagogue and is notable nationally for being both older and more complete than any other synagogues.