Holocaust memorial synagogue granted listed status

An East Sussex synagogue which also stands as a Holocaust memorial has been granted Grade II listed status.

Brighton and Hove Reform Synagogue was granted the status in recognition of its unique stained glass windows.

It follows a campaign by The Twentieth Century Society to protect the building in Palmeira Avenue, Hove.

Catherine Croft, director of the society, said the synagogue had "outstanding cultural significance" and "major communal value as a Holocaust memorial and as a social and spiritual centre".

Built in 1966 and 1967, the synagogue's 40ft (12.2m) stained glass windows were designed by John Petts, and described by art historian Dr Alison Smith as "one of the great religious artworks of the 20th Century".

A spokesperson for the society said the windows features an "iconographic programme expressing the historic persecution of jews" and is made up of 1,800 pieces of coloured glass.

A foundation stone in the foyer of the building is dedicated to victims of the Holocaust "in honour of the dead, as a warning to the living".

Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: "This is far more than a building; it's a place of memory, of community and of profound emotional significance.

"In protecting this space, we're also safeguarding the stories, the lives and the lessons it holds.

"We hope it will inspire further protection of places that bear witness to Jewish heritage, resilience, and remembrance."

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