In the south west corner of St James’s Gardens is the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue. The story behind the building is that of Sephardim (from the Hebrew word Sepharad for Spain) who were expelled in 1492 after the Inquisition.
First settling in North Africa and in the Ottoman Empire, when the latter started to crumble, they headed towards Europe.By the beginning of WWI, a community of some 700 families had settled in the Shepherd Bush area. Fired by a vision of holding their religious services in their own Synagogue, the community started saving. After years of regularly collecting sixpences and a few generous donations, building began in 1924 and the Synagogue was finally consecrated in 1928.
For more on the history of the Synagogue click here.
