The constitution and rules of the Cardiff United Synagogue, Cardiff, 17 May 1942

Description

The constitution and rules of the Cardiff United Synagogue, 17 May 1942. The document includes the rules of the congregation. It also outlines the roles and responsibilities of different committees including the Finance Committee, Education Committee, Board of Shechita, and Burial Board. It outlines the duties of different roles including the president, the secretary, the wardens, the ministers, the mohelim, the chazanim, the shochetim, the beadles and the election of salaried officials. It also outlines procedures in place for motions for alteration of the constitution and rules and when the rules come into force.

The first page has been hand-annotated to read 'As originally published'.

The Cardiff United Synagogue was established in 1942 when the Cardiff Hebrew Congregation and the Cardiff New Hebrew Congregation were united into a single organisation. The community dates back to the arrival of Levi Marks and his family in the 1810s.

After meeting in various places, the Cardiff Hebrew Congregation built a synagogue in East Terrace in 1858. The congregation outgrew these premises, and a new synagogue was opened on Cathedral Road in 1897. In the late 1890s, a group of recent immigrants left the "Englisher shul" to form the "foreigners' shul", formally known as the Cardiff New Hebrew Congregation. They worshipped at Edward Place, then moved to Windsor Place in 1918.

After the 1942 reunification, the Cardiff United Synagogue continued to use both the Windsor Place and the Cathedral Road synagogues until 1955 when the lease on the former expired, and a new synagogue was built on Ty-Gwyn Road in Penylan. The Cathedral Road synagogue was in use until 1988. The Penylan synagogue was replaced in 2003 by the current premises in Cyncoed Gardens.

Sources:

JCR-UK: Jewish Communities & Records, Cardiff United Synagogue, Cardiff, Wales (2020) https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/card/index.htm [accessed 1 August 2023]

Parry-Jones, Cai, The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales (doctoral thesis, Bangor University, 2014)
https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/files/20579001/null [12 August 2023]

Depository: Glamorgan Archives: D765/17.

• https://cardiffshul.org/ (link opens in new window)