Penylan House dinner invitation, Cardiff City Hall, 8 February 1959

Description

A dinner invitation to celebrate the official opening of the new Home for Aged Jews at Penylan House. The invitation states that the "Honorary Officers and the Board of Management have the pleasure in inviting you to be present at the opening of the New Home in Cardiff at Penylan House". The official opening was to be at 3:30pm and the dinner at the City Hall was to be at 7:30 pm, on Sunday, 8 February 1959. The City Hall was built in 1904 and has been a popular venue for events, exhibitions and conferences due to its grand interior and exterior.

The invitation details that the opening ceremony will be performed by Victor Freed, Esq.

Despite being officially opened in February 1959, the home was running and caring for residents at least as early as December 1958, which is evident from an article in Cajex magazine which details the Chanukah celebrations in the home. The official opening of the home was much anticipated, with Matron, Miss Hilda Bernstein, describing it as being "ultra modern in all its essentials", and that the opening would be a good opportunity for subscribers to see the impact of their.

A later article in Cajex magazine reflected on the official opening dinner, listing those who conducted the Service of Dedication (Dr Myer Lew, Rabbi B. Rogosnitzky, Rev. G. Gray, Rev. A. Snadow and Rev. S. Woolfston) and the Guests of Honour (the Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan, the Lady Mayoress of Cardiff and Dayan Dr M. S. Lew, B.A., Ph.D.). Around three hundred guests attended the event. Mr M. J. Cohen, president of the Home, outlined the history of the South Wales and West of England Home for Aged Jews. Thirteen years prior, Mr Henry Silver and other members of the community had founded a Home for the Aged in Canton, which then moved to Penarth. Despite the beautiful surroundings, the Home in Penarth was quite isolated so the difficult decision was taken to move the Home to Penylan Road in Cardiff, meaning many residents were now closer to their friends and relatives. Residents moved to Penylan House in 1959.

At the dinner, speeches were also made by Dayan Dr Lew, stressing the importance of companionship in old age and Mr Victor Freed and other guests, who praised the Home and all those who donated to support it.

Pencare (formerly known as 'The Trustees of Penylan House') is a charity, which offers care for elderly people of the Jewish faith and is currently based in Cardiff, although the catchment area for the home covers South Wales and the West of England. Pencare has been working with Linc Cymru to redevelop their care home, Penylan House, to ensure high quality care to Cardiff's elderly Jewish community and extending the care to elderly people not of the Jewish faith.

Sources:
https://www.cardiffcityhall.com/history/;
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. IX, No. 1, Ninth Year - March, 1959, p. 39;
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. IX, No. 1, Ninth Year - March, 1959, pp. 60- 65;
http://opencharities.org/charities/243968 http://www.housingcare.org/downloads/facilities/generated-brochures/134508-penylan-house-nursing-home-cardiff-wales.pdf.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.