WebMaster
M.A.Wiseman
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Wembley Synagogue

Serving the community for over 79 years

Wembley United Synagogue

... An Architectural Wonder

A conducted tour by David Games and published in the Wembley Synagogue News

Pesach 1998 – April 1998 / Nissan 5758 No. 81

Let me start the tour by pointing out that the site of the present synagogue had exceptional qualities even before the present building was erected. The frontage to Forty Avenue is 150’ and is a wide display as it is at an angle to right across the sight line of approaching traffic. This very visible location has very valuable qualities; from the security consideration it acts as a deterrent for possible attacks by vandals or terrorists. Furthermore the size of the site and particularly the frontage marks this out as a highly prized piece of real estate.

A single story building was first erected by a member of the community, Mr Rolnick who was a builder. It was of a temporary nature although it was to remain for over 20 years. But there were some huts that were brought in to extend the facilities. These were used as classroom’s and offices. These were donated without charge by a well-wisher, Eric Nunn, a builders merchant who lived in Park Drive. He was a non-Jew and a friend of our first minister Rabbi Berman. Eric used to take great delight in recounting the origins of those sheds. It appears that they had originated from Lundy Island where they had been used by a closed order of monks. Eric was an occasional visitor there whenever he felt the need for quiet and reflection in isolation. He revelled in the fact that he was the only Nunn allowed into the community of monks.

The present building eventually replaced the first one in a grand ceremony in 1958. The construction is unusual. Two massive beams support the main structure. They run East-West and are clearly visible from within. They start at the Ark and extend right through and across the hall. They support a building that is free of constructional roof detail so that the eye can travel without distraction across the lofty hights and return quickly to the book and the service.

The Ladies’ gallery is of a cantilevered construction without the need for supporting posts which in other building cause irritating obstructions for the men on the ground floor. So far the construction has been successful in keeping the women in their ordained place.

Size is everything

Allow your eye to turn for a short while to the Ladies’ galleys. You will observe a thin brown line which starts about 12” below the top of the gallery wall on which metal safety rail sits. this extends around the three sides of the balcony wall. It was originally the top of the balcony wall. In the first few months of use of the synagogue Rabbi Berman was impressed by the avid upward gazing of the men which he took to be a sign of a new devotion. Further investigation however showed that the height of the wall allowed the men a distracting view of the knees of the Lady worshipers. The extra 12” was hastily added.

Coming now to the exterior of the building you will note the well tended garden. This was nor always so. For many years it was a very barren playground until the Games family planted shrubs and a specimen tree to mark the barmitzvah of one of their sons. The tree is one of the Canadian maples, Liquidamber, and its leaves are a remarkable Autumn feature. At about this time the frontage was exposed without any enclosure. This fact had always bothered one of our members, Mr Arnold Freedman, and it was his wish to construct a suitable screen to ensure the security of the building. Sadly he died before he was able to achieve his aim but his wife Minnie (now sadly deceased) and his son David who were metal fabricators supplied and fitted the railings and gates.

Obscurely placed on the outside of the Western wall by the corner with the front (North) wall you will see, just above ground level, incised into the brickwork, a line with an arrow of the type seen on Her Majesty’s possessions. This feature is known as a “Bench Mark”. It is not, as you might have thought, a mark of excellence recognised by the Government for excellence of the Kosher Meals which are occasionally provided at synagogue. it is in fact an official mark struck by officers of Her Majesty’s Ordanance Survey service and indicated that at that point a reading of the height above Sea Level was taken and it appears on all large scale Ordnance Survey maps.

The shul’s Bench Mark - a symbol of quality?

The strange thing is that this Bench Mark is taken at a fairly arbitrary spot and is not necessarily a high point. It is often found on some prominent building of permanence but also frequently at Public houses where perhaps the tired but thirsty officers had stopped for sustenance. They would have taken a reading and left their mark on some suitable wall of the Pub before moving on. Perhaps in this case Jewish officers, one of whom having Yahrzeit, had dropped into the early morning minyan and on leaving had decide to cut their official mark.

The building as a whole is remarkable and full of interest and as you have seen, full of architectural merit. The interior of the synagogue itself has a simple dignified presence without being starkly modern and bleak which can often happen in post-war construction.

A centre for communal gatherings and prayer

It is unmistakably a synagogue. It makes a clear statement viewed from within or without. It makes an immediate impression on visitors. The Biet HaMidrash newly refurbished in memory of Sam and Honor Stamler is a gem of design and discretion. The whole synagogue complex is now of historic importance, it is at the same time a living museum and a very much used centre for communal gatherings and prayer. The stained glass windows area feature on their own and form a separate monograph.

It is a valuable addition to the street scene and deservedly has earned a place on the Borough’s listing of “Buildings of Special Interest” so that it will remain conserved against change, alteration and deterioration. It is unfortunate that the Order cannot be extended to cover Synagogue members and membership.