Buckingham Palace - also Grade I
Photo: AP
130-year-old synagogue gets UK's top landmark grade
Built in 1879 from private donations, the New West End Synagogue has been upgraded to the coveted Grade I historical landmark listing
Britain on Monday declared the 130-year-old New West End Synagogue a historic landmark equal in grading to Buckingham Palace and the Albert Hall.
Designed by Scottish architect George Audsley, the 800-seat synagogue in Bayswater opened its doors in 1879. Overall construction cost almost £25,000; all from private donations. One of the project's primary benefactors was English banker Leopold de Rothschild.
In 1998 it was given a Grade II listing which was upgraded this week by the Department of Culture.
The New West End Synagogue is the second Jewish house of worship to receive a Grade I listing after the 306-year-old Bevis Marks Synagogue in London, the oldest UK synagogue still in use.
