The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, Shaar Hashamayim, is in Bevis Marks, a street in the City of London. The community had acquired the land in 1699 to replace the older and now too small synagogue in Creechurch Place which had opened in 1657. The new landmark synagogue, still in continuous use, the United Kingdom’s oldest functioning synagogue, was dedicated in 1701.
This is the report of the Bicentenary celebrations in 1901. The description of the organization is followed by details of the celebratory service, and of the Commemorative Dinner, which was held at the Great Assembly Hall in Mile End Road and catered by J. Lyons.
The book includes a list of donors, and also a very interesting list of those who attended the dinner. It is a fascinating document which provides a snapshot of the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi community in London in 1901.
Jewish Miscellanies 