Chatham Memorial Synagogue

Welcome to the web site of the Chatham Memorial Synagogue. Built in 1861 by Simon Magnus, in memory of his son Lazarus, on the site of an even older Synagogue, it is  the home of  the Jewish community in mid and north Kent.

Chatham Memorial Synagogue is actually located in the historic city of Rochester on the River Medway in the county of Kent, about 35 miles South-east of London and only 45 minutes by train.

Rochester, the home of the author Charles Dickens, is a popular tourist destination. For further information about Rochester, please visit our Historic Rochester page.

Location map

Please click here for a map showing the location of the synagogue.

News - October 2008

Children’s group - Atid

We would like to thank Karen Connolly who has run our children’s group Atid for the last 4 years. Atid has operated in the Centenary Hall during our Shabbat and Yom Tov services. We are looking for a volunteer to look after the children and keep them occupied during the services. Please email jon@chathamshul.org.uk if you are able to help. We regret that Atid will not be able to operate until we find a successor to Karen.

News - September 2008

Happy New Year

Wishing all our members, friends and anyone who browses this web site a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year and well over the fast. Our Rosh Hashanah newsletter is now available to download from our Newsletters page.

Synagogue Open Days

Chatham Memorial Synagogue was open to the public on the European Day of Jewish Culture on Sunday 7 September and the English Heritage Open day on Sunday 14 September 2008.

News - August 2008

The Magic of Chatham Synagogue

On Sunday 31 August 2008, at the annual garden party, the members of Chatham Memorial Synagogue and their families and guests were treated to a magic show from Ari Phillips, a synagogue member who is a professional magician and children’s entertainer.

Ari’s wife Ismini entertained everyone to two beautiful arias from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and two Israeli folk songs.

The Commmunity

Although we are a small provincial community with limited financial resources, we hold regular services for Shabbat and festivals as well as social and cultural events.

Over the past couple of years, we have been undergoing a  programme of repair and renovation to the Synagogue which has been the subject of a major appeal and fundraising is an ongoing process.

The beautiful stained glass window which you see below and which was largely funded by Medway Council was unveiled by the Mayor of Medway on 26 January 2003 at a service for Holocaust Memorial Day. Click here for further details.

As a community we are concious of our responsiblities in the field of education both within the Jewish Community and the wider community. We regularly host visits by groups of local school children as well as assisting religious education students at local universities and colleges of education.

We have recently been looking at how we can secure the future of our community and so continue to practice our religion in this beautiful Synagogue. This process is called “The Way Forward” and details appear on a separate page. We are always pleased to welcome visitors to the area and their families as well as new and prospective members.

We held a Service of Remembrance and Renewal on in 2002 to remember the Holocaust victims and to celebrate the restoration of our beautiful building, while looking to the future of the community.

Please visit our Services and Events pages for up to date information on what is happening at the synagogue.

Please navigate around the site using the menu on the left hand side of the screen.

We receive a lot of enquiries from people about their ancestors who lived in the area. For all such enquiries please contact Irina Shub, one of our members who is an Local Studies Librarian at the Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre. Her email address is irina.shub@medway.gov.uk You may also like to visit their website: http://cityark.medway.gov.uk

For further information about the synagogue or the community please contact Jon Weiner at jon@chathamshul.org.uk
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Chatham Memorial Synagogue - Website last updated 05 October 2008