Community
Why historic seaside shul building is enjoying a revival
Brighton's Grade II*-listed Middle Street Synagogue is being transformed into a cultural venue
December 9, 2019 10:59
By, Yael Breuer BRIGHTON
2 min read
Brighton's Grade II*-listed Middle Street Synagogue is being transformed into a cultural venue
December 9, 2019 10:59ByYael Breuer, Yael Breuer BRIGHTON
Some 15 years after it stopped operating as a synagogue, the beautiful Grade II*-listed Middle Street shul building in central Brighton is undergoing a cultural revival.
It hosts open days, tours, school groups, art exhibitions, film nights and displays about Jewish heritage and culture for the Jewish and wider community.
In recent months, the shul has attracted capacity crowds for events including “A Taste of the High Holy-Days” and an evening focusing on the Jews from Arab Lands with Lyn Julius as the keynote speaker.
This explosion of activity is down to the enthusiasm and hard work of local resident Vicky Bhogal, whose passion for the building is contagious.
Ms Bhogal, Middle Street’s voluntary acting manager and curator, first became involved after hearing that the synagogue could be put up for sale for a change of use.
“I felt a strong calling to stop this from happening. It’s such a beautiful and very sacred building and a really important part of our British and global Jewish heritage,” she says.
“The most pressing issue was for the shul to be able to generate enough money to cover the basic running costs, which would remove the need to sell it. We have achieved this first step.
“I worked closely with the Middle Street director Tony Rose and Rabbi Hershel Rader of Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation [which owns the building] to put together a programme of events to raise awareness and funds for the running costs and necessary restoration.”
A recently launched Go Fund Me campaign has a £100,000 target.
The landlord of a residential property portfolio, she has put aside her sideline business organising Jewish heritage tours to focus on Middle Street.
Ms Bhogal’s efforts have helped to attract some 4,000 visitors over the past few months and annual running costs have been covered by donations and event entrance fees.
The restoration is geared towards evolving the building into a Jewish heritage centre for Brighton.
“We have had a huge amount of love and support for the shul and have put it back on the map,” she says. “It is ideally located for visitors in the centre of the city, next to the sea and close to the Royal Pavilion and museums.
“My vision is for it to be an inspiring educational visitor centre and meeting place for the celebration of the whole of Jewish life and our rich heritage.
“With the current growth of antisemitism, especially in Brighton, it’s very important to have an exquisite shul here which stands testament to the achievements of the local Jewish community, which contributed so much to the construction and life of the city.”
Her plans tally with the ideas of Richard Teverson, a visiting scholar from Yale, who in 2015 spent three months writing a report on securing the future of the building.
Brighton Jews are delighted by the Middle Street revival. “Many people tell me their stories relating to the shul and are very emotional about it,” Ms Bhogal reports.
“It is a shul with huge sentimental meaning and history for the local Jewish community. The wider community love visiting and coming to our events. They are amazed by how beautiful and uplifting the shul is.
“Around 80 per cent of our visitors are not Jewish and they welcome the opportunity to see the building and learn a little bit about what it means to be Jewish and about our customs and history.”
Ms Bhogal feels “very blessed to come from a strong family who all took a stand against antisemitism.
“My maternal grandfather and his four brothers were defenders of the Jews in London’s East End during the 1920s and my father was a member of the 43 Group and then joined the elite Palmach regiment of the Israeli Army in 1948, fighting in the key battle to hold Mount Carmel.”
Her Middle Street involvement has led her to becoming more active in wider Jewish Brighton life, “including learning Ivrit and going to Israeli dancing classes. “I’m a member of the Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation and Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue. I also regularly attend services at Hove Hebrew Congregation and Chabad House. I have made some wonderful friends.”
www.gofundme.com/f/restore-exquisite-middle-street-synagogue-brighton
