The congregation was formed in 1991 as the result of a merger between the Western and the Marble Arch Synagogues, with the former congregation dating from 1761. It is a leading Modern Orthodox congregation and offers religious and social activities to its members and the wider community.[3][4] The congregation worships in the Ashkenazirite.
History
The Western Synagogue was founded in 1761 in Great Pulteney Street, Westminster. The congregation, formally named the Ḥevra Kadisha shel Gemilluth Ḥasadim (Hebrew: חברה קדישא של גמילות חסדים, lit. 'Holy Congregation of Acts of Charity') first met in the home of Wolf Liepman, a prosperous immigrant merchant from St. Petersburg.[1] A series of leased spaces followed until 1826 when the congregation built an elaborate synagogue in St. Alban's Place, Haymarket and renamed itself The Western Synagogue.[5]
The Western Synagogue and Marble Arch Synagogue, the latter founded in 1957, merged in 1991.[4]
^ ab"The Western Synagogue". Jewish Communities and Records – UK. JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2023.