Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/46/030

Address :
The Synagogue Somerton Road Belfast County Antrim

Townland:
Skegoneill

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
21/08/2015 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Church

Former Use
Church

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130-5

IG Ref:
J3347 7747

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Owner Category

Church

Exterior Description And Setting

Single-storey minimalist Modern Style concrete brick synagogue (the only one of its kind in Northern Ireland) of 1964 by Yorke Rosenberg Mardall, consisting of a double-height 27m diameter ‘drum’ with an innovative hidden hexagonal folded roof in the form of the Star of David, and a lower - contrastingly rectilinear - flat-roofed section, large parts of which (including an entrance porch) are later additions. In its original form the structure was made up of the drum and a smaller T-plan section to the east, with the main entrance to the south side of the latter close to the intersection with the drum. At some point (possibly the mid to later 1970s) a large extension was added to this side and the entrance moved to its present northern location, with the result that this whole section is now roughly U-shaped in plan. The building is accessed by a short flight of tiled steps with tubular handrails which rise to a tiled platform with disabled access ramp to the western side. This leads to a relatively large utilitarian flat-roofed porch projection, whose most noteworthy feature is a panel, with raised Hebrew characters, on the fascia directly over the (north-facing) doorway; this panel was taken from the original entrance. To the immediate left (east) of this is the main circular ‘drum’. Like the rest of the building this has a uniform concrete brick facade, which rises unbroken into a parapet that obscures the roof. At regular distances (corresponding to the points of the star on the roof) the facade is interspersed with recessed full-height double-light strip windows, each with aluminium frames and a projecting concrete ‘mullion’ which is actually a structural member. Three of these windows also act as secondary doorways / fire escapes, each with short flights of steps. On the western side of the drum above the intersection of the lower portion of the building, there is a large window high-level with canted ends, whilst set at a high ground floor level to the north-west and south-west there are small rectangular windows (both later insertions); to the south, there us a small projecting boiler house which also seems to be later. The novel roof (which can only be observed from above) has a folded structure which cleverly forms the ‘Magen David’ (Star of David) and also incorporates a clerestory. The covering on the roof could not be discerned. To the right (west) of the porch on the lower section there is a large recessed window with the facade projection to the right again. The western face of this section is blank, whilst to the south face there are two relatively large windows with a doorway to the left. In its original form (prior to the addition of the extension) much of this section was glazed, giving the interior a greter degree of airiness than it has at present. The roof of this section is flat and has 13 roof lights / vents of various sizes to the west end. Setting The building is located within a relatively small plot in a leafy suburban
setting at the junction of Somerton Road and Fortwilliam Park. To the north, east and west the site is bounded by trees, with a fence marking the southern boundary. There are two vehicle gateways (with plain metal gates) to the western side, opening off Somerton Road; the southern gate – which was the original main access – is no longer in use. To the immediate north of the synagogue itself there is a small car park, whilst to the immediate south there is a paved area. Originally the grounds were considerably larger but roughly half of the plot was sold off c.1970s and a care home now occupies much of this space.

Architects

Historical Information

This synagogue completed in 1964 to designs by Eugene Rosenberg of Yorke Rosenberg Mardell [YRM]. The third of its kind to be constructed in Belfast, it replaced a building in Annesley Street [HB26.43.025], which in turn had superseded the city’s original synagogue of 1871 in Great Victoria Street. It stands within what were previously the grounds of a suburban villa named ‘Northleigh’, built in 1887-88 by linen merchant Alexander Matier. The architect, Eugene Rosenberg (1907-92), was one of the leading exponents of Modernism in post-war Britain. A Czech by birth, he worked with Le Corbusier from 1929 before establishing his own practice in 1934. Settling in Britain in 1939 he formed the firm of YRM with F.R.S. Yorke and Cyril S. Mardall, who after the war were responsible for a succession of the most innovative architectural projects including Gatwick Airport, the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, the Manchester Magistrates Court and in 1957, Altnagelvin Hospital. YRM were commissioned to work on the ‘Belfast Synagogue’ sometime before March 1961. Possibly taking inspiration from several such buildings in the US, including Lois Kahn’s (unexecuted) plans for Adath Jeshurun in Philadelphia (1954) and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Beth Sholom in the same city (1954-57), Rosenberg produced an innovative scheme with the centrepiece of a circular prayer hall capped by a folded roof in the form of the ‘Magen David’ – Star of David, a groundbreaking design which went on to influence Synagogue design throughout the UK. The final drawings appear to have been complete by May 1962, and the building was consecrated on 25 October 1964 by Chief Rabbi Dr Israel Brodie, in the presence of Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Terence O’Neill. YRM’s broader plan for the site entailed the retention of Northleigh (located to the south of the synagogue), which was adapted for use as Hebrew school, with a car park created to the immediate west-facing front of the old building. OS map evidence indicates that this structure was demolished at some point before 1983 and a new larger one built in its stead. The site appears to have remained as such until some time after 1987, when presumably due the pressures of the cost of the upkeep of both buildings on a dwindling congregation, the southern half of the plot - including the school building - was sold off and subsequently redeveloped. Undoubtedly it was as a result of this that the synagogue itself underwent alteration, with the addition of the extension to the south side, the moving of the entrance to the north, and the re-ordering of the internal layout to accommodate to accommodate the large function and meeting rooms, whilst within the much reduced grounds, a new car park was laid out and a new gateway opened to the north of the building. References – Primary sources 1 PRONI VAL12B/B/5/8D (1887-93) 2 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’, 1887 – (Henderson & Co., 1887 - ) 3 PRONI OS6/1/60/3 (1901) 4 'Belfast Telegraph', 26 October 1964 Secondary sources 1 Roth, Cecil, "Belfast" ‘Encyclopaedia Judaica’ Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007) 2 Kadish, Sharman, ‘The synagogues of Britain and Ireland: An architectural and social history’, (Yale, 2011), pp.141-43 Websites 1 ribapix.com [accessed Oct. 2014] 2 encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-RosenbergEugene.html [accessed Oct. 2014] 3 centremapslive.co.uk [accessed Feb. 2015]

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form E. Spatial Organisation F. Structural System G. Innovatory Qualities H-. Alterations detracting from building

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance V. Authorship W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance Z. Rarity

Evaluation

With its minimal Modernist appearance, innovative plan, folded ‘Star of David’ roof and use of natural light, this building is regarded by Sharman Kadish, leading expert, as the most influential post-war synagogue in these islands. The work of Eugene Rosenberg, an acclaimed exponent of post-war Modernism, it is also important in the international context, being an extremely rare example of the circular form in synagogue design. In terms of social history, it is but one of just two surviving places of worship built by Northern Ireland’s Jewish community, and the only one still fulfilling its original purpose.

General Comments

Date of Survey

21 October 2014