History

 

Though it would not be surprising to discover that there were Jews living in Verulamium, the Roman town which pre-dated the present city of St Albans, the first known recorded instance of Jewish families living here is in the early 1900’s; they, like so many other early communities, got together in private homes for services on Shabbat and Yomtov.

But it was in 1933 that the first formal St Albans Jewish community was established, though its members continued to meet in private houses. The community was swelled during World War II by those who fled from London to escape the bombing; many of them opened businesses in the city and stayed on after the war.

The community became affiliated to the United Synagogue in 1948, and it was after this that the congregation decided to erect a synagogue. The present building in Oswald Road was opened in March, 1951. The synagogue was fortunate enough to acquire a set of handsome stained glass windows; two of them are rarities by the renowned artist and Hebrew scholar, David Hillman, and count among the shul’s most cherished ornaments.

The Hillman stained glass window at St Albans Synagogue

Although the community at first felt solid enough to employ a spiritual leader – many who later became ministers of larger and more influential communities started their careers here – numbers began to dwindle in the sixties and seventies, as older members passed away or moved back to London to be closer to children and grandchildren. When the last minister departed for Stanmore some time around 1960, he was not replaced, and the community began to organise its services on a do-it-yourself basis with occasional ‘professional’ assistance for the High Holydays.

By the eighties, the tide was beginning to turn again, as younger families began the move into Hertfordshire, some of them choosing St Albans in preference to the larger communities.

Even so, until a couple of decades ago, many Jews were still wary of venturing out beyond the established outposts of Borehamwood and Bushey. Then came the Radlett explosion, when a third or more of all the homes changing hands in the village were said to be taken over by Jewish families. The resulting ripples have spread rapidly northwards – to the many new developments or big old houses, according to your pocket – of Shenley, Bricket Wood, Park Street, and ultimately St Albans, so that the community is once again on the ascendant, with a fresh influx of young families, bring new vigour and vitality and a steadily growing membership to what was once an aging and almost moribund community.

In 1993, the Chief Rabbi, then Dr Jonathan Sacks, made his first visit to St Albans when he came to help celebrate the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Jewish community in the city. In 2001, he came again, this time to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the synagogue, and to inaugurate the community’s Biblical Garden.