Merthyr: Jewish Heritage Centre plans a step closer

The Victorian synagogue is described as architecturally "unusual"

Plans to turn a former Victorian synagogue into a Jewish Heritage Centre have moved a step closer.

The building on Bryntirion Road in Merthyr Tydfil was bought by the Foundation for Jewish Heritage in 2019.

Urgent repairs, partly paid for by the heritage body Cadw, were carried out to stabilise the building last year and the foundation will apply for money from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to bring it back in to use.

The aim is to open the centre by 2025.

Some of the features of the building include colourful stained glass windows

The neo-gothic building, which is listed, is described as architecturally unusual and was influenced by other buildings of the period, such as Castell Coch at Tongwynlais, on the outskirts of Cardiff, and Merthyr's Cyfarthfa Castle.

In 1978, the building was listed as Grade II*, but due to a dwindling congregation it closed in 1983, and was downgraded to Grade II.

The building has since been used as a Christian centre and as a gym, but closed its doors for good in 2004.

Planning permission was granted for it to be converted to flats, but the foundation wants it to become Wales' national centre for Jewish history.

Michael Mail, chief executive of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage, said the building was quite exceptional.

"Physically and historically, it's very important because it's the oldest purpose-built Jewish building surviving in Wales and it served a community up until 1983.

The building closed in 2004

"It has been empty since 2004, so it's deteriorating, there's a hole in the roof, so it's physically vulnerable - if we leave it any longer, in a few years' time somebody might break in, there'll be a fire, and it will be done, so if we don't find a solution for this building, it may not be there for too much longer," he said.

The building was scanned using 3-D technology as part of the preparations to stabilise its structure

The costs involved in designing and converting the building, and its first three years of operations, are estimated to be in the region of £4m.

Mr Mail said he recognised it was a significant amount of money and the foundation hopes to apply to the Heritage Lottery Fund for about 75% of the amount needed. But it is also approaching other trusts, foundations and individual philanthropists.

The inside has fallen into disrepair

It would not be the first time a former place of worship in Merthyr Tydfil had been brought back into use.

Canolfan Soar is a community facility at the Grade II-listed 19th century Zoar Chapel and is home to Menter Iaith Merthyr, the Welsh-language enterprise, and includes a theatre and cafe.

Canolfan Soar's chief executive Lis McLean called the synagogue a fantastic building.

"It looks terrible at the moment, but the actual building has got some really interesting architectural things about it that are unique.

"It's a real treasure and it would be a travesty to lose this building, so I'm really inspired by the fact that this project is going to happen in Merthyr - it's fantastic," she said.

Jewish people made a significant contribution to cultural, commercial, civic and political life in Wales, Prof Nathan Abrams says

In 1919, the Merthyr community numbered 400 Jews. The latest official statistics from the ONS suggest that in 2011 there were only four Jews in the borough.

The severe downturn in the industrial economy, and subsequent rise in unemployment and general emigration, led to many Jewish people moving away to other towns and cities offering better prospects than Merthyr.

Prof Nathan Abrams, from Bangor, has written about the representation of Jews in films, and said Jewish people made a significant contribution to cultural, commercial, civic and political life in Wales.

"I think this is a really important first step in preserving, capturing and then showcasing Jewish history in all of Wales.

"This isn't just about Merthyr, nor it is just about south Wales, but it's about the Jews in all of Wales."

The synagogue was built in the 18th Century

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