A Brief Timeline of Our History

•1766 - The first Jewish resident, a silversmith named Israel Samuel, is recorded as living in East Street, Brighton.

•1792 - The first synagogue is opened in a house in the eponymously named Jew Street, Brighton. This street was so named because Jewish tinkers were said to work here.

•1808 - A second synagogue opens in a small lane off West Street, Brighton.

•1824 - Brighton Hebrew Congregation is established.

•1824 - A plot of land at 37 - 39 Devonshire Place, Brighton is leased. Benjamin Bennett designs a synagogue on this site. This replaced the synagogue at Jew Street, Brighton.

•1838 - The plot of land in Devonshire place is purchased. David Mocatta (designer of Brighton Station) redesigns and enlarges the property.

•1875 - Middle Street Synagogue opens. Thanks to the philanthropy of the Sassoon family, the Rothschild family and others, it is lavishly and beautifully decorated. It remains to this day one of the finest examples of High Victorian decoration.

•1918 - The reconstitution of the Congregation leads to the creation of The Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation (BHHC).

•1961 - To satisfy the needs of the growing Jewish population in Hove, BHHC opens the New Church Road Synagogue.

•2004 - MIddle Street Synagogue closes for regular services. It is retained as a place of Jewish worship and is used for weddings, choral events and for educational Open days.

•2015 - Plans for a new synagogue, communal complex and accommodations are developed for the New Church Road site.

•2015 - The 250th anniversary of the first Jewish  presence in Brighton and Hove is marked.

•2020 - In January  the synagogue at New Church closes and redevelopment begins.

•2023 - In March 2023 the new synagogue opened and we returned to our New Church Road site. We celebrate our first Shabbat on 4th March.

•2024 - This year BHHC is 200 years old. The new shul will be dedicated by the Chief Rabbi later this year as part of our program of celebrations.

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