I first tried Greenbank a long time ago - a very long time ago. 2014 I think, potentially. Not long after it first appeared on the scene anyway. Arrived nice and early, parked up, walked down the road towards the gate and just as we have the gate in our line of sight a scaffolding truck pulls up, a worker unlocks the gate and the truck drives in, and they start unloading a load of scaffolding which was already partly over the front entrance. Damn and blast. After that, I historically had such shitty luck in Liverpool that I never actually tried it again the handful of times I braved going back to the city.
This time though I was determined to make it happen, and at long last found myself in a UK exploring classic. It's actually holding up pretty well, it's relatively clean and unspoiled in there still, it definitely helped that a couple of years ago a lot of the rubbish and debris was cleared out, and that weird time when there was someone living on site as 'security' charging people money to go inside for photos. As of now it seems to face an uncertain future, it's apparently up for sale again although there aren't any sale or development opportunity boards to be seen.
The potted history for those who have been hiding under a rock - the synagogue was built in 1937, and was the centre of Liverpool's sizeable Jewish community. In May 1959 a fire was started by a burglar which destroyed the Torah Ark and Scrolls and damaged part of the roof - it was repaired and reconsecrated in 1961. The synagogue played host to Clive Epstein's (brother of the Beatles manager and not to be confused with Jeffrey) wedding in 1963 too. Over the later decades of the 20th Century the Jewish community began to move away, falling from 11,000 at it's peak to around 3,000, and in 2008 Greenbank Synagogue closed for the last time. After closure it was listed at Grade II* to ensure it was saved, it's been described as the most important example of 20th Century synagogue architecture in England, and the finest surviving synagogue from the inter-war period.
As someone who loves the inter-war period of architecture, it's a truly stunning building outside and inside too.
Thanks for looking
This time though I was determined to make it happen, and at long last found myself in a UK exploring classic. It's actually holding up pretty well, it's relatively clean and unspoiled in there still, it definitely helped that a couple of years ago a lot of the rubbish and debris was cleared out, and that weird time when there was someone living on site as 'security' charging people money to go inside for photos. As of now it seems to face an uncertain future, it's apparently up for sale again although there aren't any sale or development opportunity boards to be seen.
The potted history for those who have been hiding under a rock - the synagogue was built in 1937, and was the centre of Liverpool's sizeable Jewish community. In May 1959 a fire was started by a burglar which destroyed the Torah Ark and Scrolls and damaged part of the roof - it was repaired and reconsecrated in 1961. The synagogue played host to Clive Epstein's (brother of the Beatles manager and not to be confused with Jeffrey) wedding in 1963 too. Over the later decades of the 20th Century the Jewish community began to move away, falling from 11,000 at it's peak to around 3,000, and in 2008 Greenbank Synagogue closed for the last time. After closure it was listed at Grade II* to ensure it was saved, it's been described as the most important example of 20th Century synagogue architecture in England, and the finest surviving synagogue from the inter-war period.
As someone who loves the inter-war period of architecture, it's a truly stunning building outside and inside too.
Thanks for looking
