# The Wimbledon Synagogue

The Wimbledon Synagogue, formally the Wimbledon and District Synagogue, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 1 Queensmere Road, Wimbledon Park, in the Borough of Wandsworth, London, England, in the United Kingdom.
The congregation was established in 1949 and was based at Worple Road, Wimbledon from 1952 to 1997. In 1997 it moved to its present premises, adapting a 1953 university college building which previously belonged to Southlands College, now part of the University of Roehampton. The building also houses a nursery school, a branch of Keren's Nursery. The congregation is a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism and is led by rabbi Adrian Schell. In 2017, the congregation was described in The Jewish Chronicle as particularly welcoming.

## History

The synagogue came into being at a meeting of the local Jewish community at the Wimbledon Hill Hotel in February 1949. In its first year the membership, of 60 families, was little more than one-tenth of what it is now. Services were held in temporary accommodation. The community decided to build a new synagogue on a site at 44 Worple Road in Wimbledon. The foundation stone was laid on 8 April 1951 by Ernest Abelson and Leonard Montefiore (of the West London Synagogue) and the synagogue was formally opened and dedicated on 25 May 1952 by Rabbi Dr Leo Baeck. In September 1997 the synagogue moved to its present site, adapting the former Athlone Hall (dating from 1953).

## Clergy

The following individuals have served as rabbi of the congregation:
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Dates in office | Notes and references |
| 1 | Charles Berg | 1953–1974 | |
| 2 | Hillel Avidan | 1974–1980 | |
| 3 | Daniel Smith | 1982–1993 | |
| 4 | Robert Shafritz | 1993–1996 | Died suddenly in office |
| 5 | William Woolf | 1997–2002 | |
| 6 | Sylvia Rothschild | 2003–2014 | Job shared |
| 6 | Sybil Sheridan | 2003–2014 |
| 8 | Jason Rosner | 2015–2016 | |
| 9 | Adrian Schell | 2020–present | |
Rabbi Tony Hammond is the Rabbi Emeritus, having previously been the synagogue's interim part-time Rabbi.

## Facilities and activities

As of 2021 the synagogue had 850 members. Services are held every Shabbat on Friday evening and Saturday morning as well as for all Jewish festivals. Services are egalitarian; men and women sit together and take an equal role in the religious life of the community. As well as a cheder and an educational programme for children for young people, the synagogue runs a programme of arts and cultural activities, workshops and talks.
The synagogue houses three book collections. The David Nathan Library has nearly 2000 books covering Judaism, Israel, history, biography, fiction etc. The Harry Urban Holocaust Library concentrates on the personal stories of survivors of the Shoah. There is also a children's book collection. The collections are catalogued using the Classification System for Libraries of Judaica employed by Leo Baeck College.
The community has a monthly membership newsletter, Kehillah.
The synagogue has three sets of stained glass windows. Their abstract designs were made by Graham Jones with Peters Glass Studio in Germany. The acacia wood ark doors, which were part of the 2016 refurbishment, were designed with architect Allan Schwarz, who runs the Mezimbite Forest Center in Mozambique.

## Social action

Wimbledon Synagogue is a Fairtrade synagogue and has been involved for many years with the Faith in Action Merton Homeless Project, a charity which works with a range of agencies to support homeless, precariously housed and other marginalised people within the London Borough of Merton. It has also accommodated local homeless people overnight as part of the Merton Night Shelter initiative.

## In the media

In 2010 Wimbledon Synagogue hosted the first ever broadcast of BBC Radio 4's Any Questions? from a synagogue. The programme's broadcast coincided with the 200th anniversary of the first Reform Judaism service.

## Notable members

* Brett Goldstein, actor, had his barmitzvah at the synagogue
* Thelma Ruby, actress
* Stuart Urban, film and television director