The space where the synagogue was

Astoundingly, it is eight years since the beautiful Clapton Federation Synagogue on Lea Bridge Road was demolished. And what has become of the bare site since? Not a lot. I took this photograph last autumn but, having checked the other morning, can report that it still looks exactly the same. Brown fencing and a gate have been erected at the front but apart from that, nothing visible.

This is a very sad thing. The synagogue had fallen into disuse but it was a truly lovely building, built in an art deco cinema style by Marcus Kenneth Glass. Harold Pinter, Lord Levy and sixties pop star Helen Shapiro all attended it in its time according to Lea Bridge Heritage. I used to like it that you could stand in the middle of the Lea Bridge roundabout and see a mosque, a synaogoge and church all at once - a neat encapsulation of a wide slice of local history. Not only has the building gone but nothing has been constructed in its place. Is this a case of landbanking or is there some more forgiveable explanation?

I wondered if the proposed redevelopment of the hotel at 47 Lea Bridge Road, next door to the ex-synagogue site, might bring it back to life. That was partly because the artist's impression on the flier advertising a recent public consultation event on plans to replace the hotel with 25 new homes could be interpreted as including the synagogue site as adjoining green space. But the consultation organiser - [email protected] - says that is not the case.

An application for the hotel redevelopment is expected to be submitted to the council soon. Any helpful thoughts on that or further information about the spot where the synagogue stood would be gratefully received.        

 

   

Comments

[Robin]

about 10 years ago i dropped in with my wife and we had some snacks with the elderly congregation. it was great. so welcoming.

i understood that the congregation all got a nice reward from the sale of the land.
i use to see it, the mosque and church from my kitchen window.

[Leon]

I was a member of Clapton Synagogue for years as were other members of my family.
I would like to know what reward the congregation is supposed to have recieved on the sale of the land because this information is all new to me.

[Martin Salter]

Looking for any photos, drawings or plans of the interior and exterior of the old Lea Bridge Road synagogue (in addition to the one of the facade)
Martin Salter

[Stuart C. Cohen]

My wife and I were married there on July 3, 1966, just over 50 years ago and it saddens me to see what is left of it. A few of our wedding photos were taken inside the synagogue but they only show small glimpses of what it looked like.
Stuart Cohen