Manchester Jewish Museum

UK Museums: Manchester Jewish Museum, Cheetham Hill, Manchester

Housed in a former Spanish and Portuguese-style synagogue and an adjacent building on Cheetham Hill Road in Manchester, the Manchester Jewish Museum offers a range of exhibitions that highlight various aspects of Jewish history, culture, religion, and daily life.

The exterior of former Spanish and Portuguese-style synagogue, Manchester. — The exterior of the former Spanish and Portuguese-style synagogue part of Manchester Jewish Museum

History

The Grade II listed Moorish Revival synagogue was completed in 1874 and is one of the finest in the country after the larger Princes Road Synagogue in Liverpool. It is listed as a Grade II building of special architectural or historical interest. The architect was Edward Salomons (1828-1906). Based in Manchester, Salomons was of Jewish origin and worked in the Gothic Revival and Italianate style. His other buildings in the city include the Manchester Reform Club (1870-1871).

As the Jewish community began to move out of Cheetham Hill in the 1970s, a Jewish Heritage Committee was formed to preserve the synagogue and the history of the Jewish community in Manchester from the 18th century onwards.

The synagogue first opened as a museum in 1984.

Following a £6 million pound redevelopment the museum reopened in 2021 with the addition of a new extension holding a modern gallery, delicious vegetarian, kosher café, and shop.

The modern extension opened in 2021 and houses the cafe. — The modern extension opened in 2021

Goods From Japan delivered to your home or business. — Goods From Japan delivered to your home or business

Wall panel explaining the history of the Jewish community in Manchester. — Wall panel explaining the history of the Jewish community in Manchester

Exhibits

The museum's collection includes artifacts, photographs, documents, and personal stories that provide insights into the experiences of Manchester's Jewish community - the second largest in the UK after London.

On display are everyday artifacts of daily life and faith as well as examples of antisemitism from parts of the late 19th century British press.

Altogether the museum's collection consists of 31,000 items. These include over 20,000 photographs, over 530 oral history testimonies, and 138 recorded interviews with both Holocaust survivors and refugees.

Highlights of the collection include an English/Hebrew teapot, film footage of fascist Oswald Mosley marching through Manchester, a diary written by Kindertransport refugee girls, a Russian washboard used as a cricket bat, and items produced by Jewish internees on the Isle of Man.

In the addition, the museum hosts various concerts, workshops and performances in both the synagogue and annex.

The memorial window over the Synagogue's Ark. — The memorial window over the Synagogue's Ark

Access - Getting There

190 Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester M8 8LW
Tel: 0161 834 9879
www: manchesterjewishmuseum.com

Hours

Open daily 10 am to 5 pm, with last admission at 4 pm.

Admission: adults £6 with concessions £5 for students, people with disabilities, over 60s, or registered unemployed. Tickets can be booked online or at the welcome desk. Tickets booked online work as an annual pass.

Exhibits on display. — Exhibits on display

Public Transport

The museum is a 15 minute walk from Manchester Victoria. From Manchester Piccadilly walk to Piccadilly Gardens and take a 41 (Sale to Middleton bus) or a 135 bus (which also runs on to Heaton Park to the north). The nearest Metrolink tram stop is also at Manchester Victoria Station.

Other excellent museums, art galleries and libraries in Manchester include the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI), the Portico Library, the Manchester Museum, People's History Museum, the Greater Manchester Police Museum, the Whitworth Art Gallery and also the Transport Museum.