The North London Synagogue on Lofting Road in the Borough of Islington, London, UK.

London Neighborhood to Mark Site of Historic Shul

Thanks to an online voting contest open to the general public, and the efforts of a local Chabad rabbi, the site of the historic North London Synagogue, which was built in 1868 and demolished in 1958, will now have a plaque marking its site.

The Borough of Islington, a mainly residential district of Greater London, UK, announced that the synagogue won the second of three spots in a heated race for the coveted “Islington People’s Plaque.”

The synagogue served for decades as a religious and cultural center after it started attracting newly prosperous Jews who were moving up from the poverty-stricken East End in the mid-19th century. The community flourished and went on to commission the richly appointed synagogue with marble; plaster molded into the shape of plants; coffered ceilings; and stained-glass windows.

As the decades passed, the Jewish community eventually dwindled. Following World War II, the synagogue, which had sustained significant damage from German bombings, ceased to function, with its former members having moved farther west to new suburbs such as Hampstead and Golders Green.

The first-place winner of the contest was the site of the stables that once housed the historic “Home for Lost and Starving Dogs” founded by Mary Tealby (1801-65), which garnered 2,415 votes. The North London Synagogue came in second with 835 votes and was closely followed by the home of Nina Bawden (1925-2012), author and railway safety advocate, which mustered 817 votes.

Each of the three sites—selected from a short list of 10 sites—will be awarded a plaque describing its significance and the contributions of its erstwhile inhabitants.

“The Jewish community was the first significant migrant group to live in Islington,” says Rabbi Mendy Korer, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Islington, who spearheaded the campaign to have the spot marked. “It’s very meaningful to our community that there be an official recognition of the Jewish contributions, both past and present.”