The former synagogue in Merthyr Tydfil is set to be transformed into a Welsh Jewish heritage centre. The impressive building was established in 1848 before it ceased as a place of worship in 1983.
From then the former synagogue took on variety of uses including a gym, until it closed for good in 2004 and fell into disrepair. Now, in July 2022, the Foundation for Jewish Heritage has successfully secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns programme to bring the important grade II listed building back to life.
In 2018, the foundation conducted a feasibility study funded by the Muriel and Gershon Coren Charitable Trust exploring the viability of a Heritage Centre at the grade II listed building that was deemed as being at risk. The Foundation went on to purchase the site in 2019 and carried out urgent repairs in 2020 with financial support from private trusts, individual donors and Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service.
Read more: 'I inherited an 800-year-old Welsh castle and this is what I'm doing with it'
The planned heritage centre will present the more than 250-year history, traditions and culture of the Welsh Jewish community while also addressing contemporary issues around religious and ethnic diversity, promoting inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue while combating ignorance and prejudice.
It is a major moment for the project with the concept of creating a Welsh Jewish heritage centre within the synagogue receiving the formal backing of the leading heritage funding body in the UK. The National Lottery Heritage Fund grant will cover development phase funding of just under £400,000 which will enable the foundation to progress the detailed planning of the project working with its various institutional partners.
Assuming the development phase is successful, the foundation will then make a second round submission to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for delivery phase funding. The Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns Programme is providing £107,800 of support to the project, which forms part the proposals within the placemaking plan for the town centre, with an additional £25,000 of funding for the development phase being provided by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, which is a leading advisor to the project.
The project has a dedicated website which indicates the 47 Advisors and 16 Partner Agencies. Gerald Jones MP and Dawn Bowden MS are the project’s Special Ambassadors, and Huw Edwards recently joined as a Patron alongside David Baddiel and Sir Michael Moritz. To keep up to date with the latest news from across Merthyr Tydfil subscribe to our newsletters here.
Michael Mail, Chief Executive of the foundation, stated: “Merthyr Tydfil synagogue represents shared heritage – it is a special Jewish story and a special Welsh story. Through this crucial financial support, we hope to be able to save a listed building at risk, the most important Jewish heritage site in Wales, and provide a solution that will secure its future and make an important contribution to Merthyr and Wales as a whole.”
Cllr Geraint Thomas, leader of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and cabinet member for housing and regeneration, said: “The Council is thrilled to hear this excellent news about the Lottery Heritage grant and Welsh Government funding.
“The synagogue has been a landmark town centre building for more than two centuries, and it’s so important that its unique historical architecture is preserved and restored. We’re also delighted that Merthyr Tydfil will be home to the Welsh Jewish Heritage Centre and further enhance our ever-growing tourism offer.”
READ NEXT:
