Newspaper article on the decision to sell Queen's Hill Crescent Synagogue, Newport, 25 November 1994

Description

Newspaper article from The South Wales Argus, on the decision to sell Queen's Hill Crescent Synagogue, Newport, 25 November 1994. The article includes a quote from Israel Rocker, trustee of the synagogue, explaining that the building is being sold for "practical reasons" as the congregation no longer needs a synagogue seating 250 people, given the decline in the community through "death and dispersal". The article reports that the synagogue management committee are therefore looking for a smaller building with cheaper running costs. The article also includes comments from Nina Nathan, widow of the former President of the Synagogue, Ezekiel Nathan. In particular, Mrs Nathan notes that "ninety per cent of those brought up by synagogue members have kept their faith, so the tradition has remained strong". The article includes a number of photographs of the exterior of the Queen's Hill Crescent synagogue, as well as a picture of the Reverend Abraham Snadow, who served the Newport congregation for 50 years. Finally, the article includes a brief overview of the history of the Newport Monmouthshire Hebrew Congregation, as well as a short separate article on the Tredegar Riots.

Newport Monmouthshire Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1859 by orthodox Jews meeting at a temporary synagogue in Llanarth Street. A synagogue at Francis Street was opened in 1869 and consecrated by the Chief Rabbi Dr Herman Adler in 1871. In 1934 the congregation moved to the Nathan Harris Memorial Hall in Queen's Hill which was converted to a synagogue. In 1997 this synagogue was closed, and the congregation moved to the Prayer House by the Jewish Burial Ground on Risca Road. Within 20 years the congregation had dwindled to a few members able to attend and this too had ceased to hold services.

Sources:
"History of our Shul. The First Hundred Years", published by Newport Congregation in 1959;
Oral history interviews with members of the Newport Mon Hebrew Congregation, recorded in 2018 by JHASW.

Depository: Gwent Archives.