Booklet containing the centenary celebrations and the order of thanksgiving service of the Newport Mon Hebrew Congregation, 9 April 1959

Description

This 1959 booklet contains messages venerating the centenary of the Newport Mon Hebrew Congregation; a history recounting the first hundred years of the congregation; and the order of service. Also included are lists of all the past presidents of the congregation as well as of the current members of the Newport Jewish Ladies' Benevolent Society and Guild, and the members of all the groups belonging to the congregation.

The history provides a detailed account of the congregation from its founding in 1859, highlighting important events and people, such as the erection of the first permanent synagogue at Francis Street in 1869; the founding of the Jewish cemetery in 1871 on a land gifted by Lord Tredegar (other sources give 1861 as the date of the first burial and the conveyance is dated 1860); appointment of Mr Alexander Hyams as Headmaster of the Hebrew School and Preacher in 1905; the arrival of Rev. Abraham Snadow from Abertillery in 1910; the consecration of the Nathan Harris Memorial Hall in 1922; and the sale of the Francis Street synagogue in the early 1930s.

According to the history, the community was perhaps at its liveliest during and immediately after the First World War when the number of congregants and of pupils in the Hebrew School surged from 34 in 1905 to 100 in around 1920. However, the post-war depression drove people away from Newport and the membership dwindled. As the anonymous author notes, the community never fully recovered from this.

Another notable text included in the handout is the brief history of the Newport Jewish Ladies' Guild that was founded in the beginning of the 1900s as the Newport Jewish Ladies' Benevolent Society. The main functions of the Guild are helping families in need and assisting with ceremonial and social functions.

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 their 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 their 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.