St John’s Wood occupies a special place in British and Jewish life. Within a one-mile radius you can find the famous Abbey Road Studios and Lord’s cricket ground — and also four significant shuls.
The area falls almost entirely in Westminster borough, at the point where the city meets the suburbs. In parts it has the feel of a village, albeit with town centre traffic levels.
It is not the most overtly-Jewish area, although if you look closely, you can spot mezuzot on the doorways of some rather elegant properties.
In close proximity to the tube station stands the premises of St John’s Wood Synagogue, established in 1876 as the first new community under United Synagogue aegis.
It has been in its current home in Grove End Road since 1962 and although smaller in membership (1,500) than a clutch of US shuls to the north, it is considered one of the movement’s flagship congregations.
SJWS is a regular venue for major communal events and hosted the installation ceremonies of the last three Chief Rabbis.
It is in the process of merging with the independent 420 member Saatchi shul, which has relocated from Maida Vale to the SJWS site.
Ten minutes walk away — and opposite the cricket ground — is the Liberal Jewish Synagogue. Founded in 1911, it is the oldest congregation within Liberal Judaism, and with 2,000 members, is also its largest.
In November 1940, during the Blitz of London, a bomb tore a hole through the back of the building. The way the community rebuilt itself during the bleakest period in modern British history is a source of pride for its long-time members.
“The back of the sanctuary was destroyed and so services could not be held there [for some time],” says Jenny Nathan, 75, guiding the JC through LJS history.
“There was always a very good relationship with Lord’s and Sir Pelham Warner, the chairman of Marylebone Cricket Club [MCC], came to see the rabbis to offer accommodation. My husband Michael remembers going to Seder services held in the Lord’s Tavern.
“In 1947, a special service was held in the damaged sanctuary before it was closed for repair. All I remember [she was four at the time] was watching the pigeons flying in and out of the space left by the damage.”
Although restored and reopened in 1951, structural damage caused by the bombing was discovered in the mid-1980s. The sanctuary had to be torn down and rebuilt, the work being completed in 1991.
Its minister, Rabbi Alexandra Wright, says LJS is considered “the home of Liberal Judaism”.
The fourth shul, New London, is in the same road as the recording studios — and the zebra crossing where countless tourists attempt to recreate the iconic image from the cover of the Beatles’ Abbey Road LP. Founded by Rabbi Louis Jacobs after a theological schism with Orthodox Judaism in 1964, it was the first congregation of what became the Masorti movement.
Despite the short distance between the shuls, spiritual leaders say they co-exist happily.
“There are four of us here, all within a very, very small space,” notes New London’s Rabbi Jeremy Gordon.
“And in the ten years I’ve been here, I can’t recall more than four people who have moved from mine to another — or from another to mine.
“We’re just not competing for the same people. I’m not exactly sure why that is but I think that’s kind of interesting.”
The answer may have something to do with the location of members.
Saatchi and LJS draw congregants from a wide area, Mrs Nathan attributing the “far-flung” appeal of the congregation to “family connections going back to the beginning of the shul. Families move away but they like to keep that link.”
Property site Zoopla ranks St John’s Wood as the capital’s 11th most expensive neighbourhood, with the average home selling for almost £1.5 million. High house prices mean that some young people from St John’s Wood families will opt to buy their first home in Kilburn, Belsize Park or Willesden.
But the notion St John’s Wood is only for the wealthy is one the rabbonim are keen to discredit.
“There are people who are affluent here, definitely,” says the United congregation’s Dayan Ivan Binstock.
“But there are also people of limited means. We want to be inclusive. We will never set our tariffs so people don’t feel like they can participate.”
Rabbi Yoni Golker, the United shul’s associate minister, adds that “not a single person has ever been turned away because they can’t afford it”.
Rabbi Wright suggests the perception of St John’s Wood as exclusively affluent reflects the fact that most visitors “never venture as far down as the Lisson Green Estate.
“It’s a slice of London. We have members from all walks of life, as I’m sure the other synagogues do.”
Jewish children in the area attend a “broad range” of schools, Rabbi Golker reports.
He says JFS and Immanuel College are the most popular choices among SJWS members, 75 per cent of whom live close to the shul. Secular independent schools such as UCS, Highgate, City of London and Haberdashers’ Aske’s are also favoured.
“You jump on the tube and Kingsbury is 20 minutes away [for JFS]. I teach at JFS three times a week and I drive there in 35 minutes.”
Kosher provisions are available from local deli Panzer’s and major supermarkets in the area.
Another demographic feature about St John’s Wood is its international population. All the major shuls count members from upwards of ten countries.
Dayan Binstock, who joined his congregation in 1995, began noticing an overseas influx to the area “about 15 years ago”.
This has, for the most part, been fuelled by London’s business-friendly reputation, and its status as Europe’s financial capital.
Mathilde Herz, 20, moved to the area with her family some three years ago from the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine after her father decided to start a business in London.
The costume design student, now living in Belsize Park, says the global nature of the community helped them to settle.
She also cites the “inclusive, welcoming” ethos of her shul, LJS.
French Jews who have moved to the locality talk of growing antisemitism as a factor in their decision to leave Paris.
Catherine (who asks that her surname not be used) says she and husband Thierry, both 45, relocated six years ago.
A combination of professional opportunities and “the chance of an international education” for their children were among the reasons behind their decision.
But they also felt it would be “best for them to be raised in another country because we couldn’t really see them staying in France for Jewish reasons.
“It was about antisemitism — even though that’s not the main reason we moved.”
The impact of Brexit may alter the complexion of the area in coming years, Dayan Binstock says.
But for Catherine, rising antisemitism on the British left is as big a concern.
“We are very involved in Jewish life here and in the synagogue [SJWS]and we try to be as integrated in British society as we can. We read the press and watch the news and, of course, this is worrying.
“For now we’re happy here, the kids are happy. We are allowed to stay here and Jewish life is well preserved. I feel very safe in London.
“As Jews we have to be vigilant and be aware of what could happen. But I don’t have any special plans. And I’m just waiting, I guess as most Jews here probably are.”
All the main shuls have French congregants and LJS has hosted multi-lingual services.
There is also the small and predominantly French Anshei Shalom congregation, led by Rabbi Mordechai Fhima.
