Balance sheet and accounts for the Newport Mon Hebrew Congregation, Newport, 1974

Description

The balance sheet and accounts for the Newport Mon Hebrew Congregation, Newport, dated 31 October 1974. The first page introduces liabilities, with the consecutive headings: external and internal charities, Brynmawr loan account, legacy accounts, cemetery reservations, the building fund appeal, sundry creditors and bank overdraft. The assets feature: land and buildings, the accumulations account, subscriptions due from members, income tax repayment due, payment in advance, bank current account, and Rev Braunold's loan account. The balances of the Board of Deputies, the Board of Guardians, Chevra Kadisha, and the Orphan Aid subsequently follow. The plot reservations section presents cost, amount paid, and the balance of specific individuals. The expenditures for this particular year include: salaries, Hebrew education, subscriptions, charities collected, general expenses - the income derives from members subscriptions, miscellaneous offerings and receipts. The deficiency for the year is also provided. On the final page, the cemetery care account balance can be identified, with a list of repairs additionally calculated.

Newport Monmouthshire Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1859 by orthodox Jews meeting at a temporary synagogue in Llanarth Street. A synagogue at Francis Street was opened in 1869 and consecrated by the Chief Rabbi Dr Herman Adler in 1871. In 1934 the congregation moved to the Nathan Harris Memorial Hall in Queen’s Hill which was converted to a synagogue. In 1997 this synagogue was closed, and the congregation moved to the Prayer House by the Jewish Burial Ground on Risca Road. Within 20 years the congregation had dwindled to a few members able to attend and this too had ceased to hold services.

Sources:
“History of our Shul. The First Hundred Years", published by Newport Congregation in 1959;
Oral history interviews with members of the Newport Mon Hebrew Congregation, recorded in 2018 by JHASW.

Depository: Gwent Archives.