The South West London Synagogue, formerly the Wandsworth & Balham Synagogue, once stood on Bolingbroke Grove, close to the edge of Wandsworth Common. It opened in 1915 but closed in 1997 due to dwindling numbers. This post is all about the history of Wandsworth Common’s lost synagogue.
History of the South West London Synagogue
The South West London Synagogue was an Orthodox Ashkenazi synagogue. It was made up of an amalgamation of two other former synagogues:
- Balham and Tooting congregation of 47 Boundaries Road in Balham
- Wandsworth and Battersea congregation of 563 York Road in Wandsworth
The two synagogues merged in 1914 to form the Wandsworth and Balham congregation who first met at 77 Bolingbroke Grove.
In 1915 the congregation moved to 104 Bolingbroke Grove, which was the home of Rev. Isaac Ostroff, the chazan at the synagogue. An extension was built at the rear in 1927, over the garden and a vacant plot of land facing Chivalry Road. This created a small hall which was large enough to hold 800 men and 150 women. The synagogue remained on the site for 82 years until it closed in 1997.
The photograph below shows what the synagogue looked like when it was in use.
You can see from the image below how spacious and beautifully furnished the synagogue was inside. Today the hall that once made up the main area of the synagogue is used by a photography studio.
The Synagogue Today
Today 104 Bollingbroke Grove has been converted into flats, however you can still see signs on the building that it was once a synagogue.
The round window on the front still shows a Star of David, which you can see in the photographs below.
The image below, which was taken from Google maps, shows the location of the former synagogue marked with a red pin. You can see that the hall which once made up the main area of the synagogue is now The Meyer Studios.
Location
If you want to see the former South West London Synagogue, you can find the location at 104 Bolingbroke Grove, London, SW11 1DA. It is a short walk from either Clapham Junction or Wandsworth Common Stations. The exact location is shown on the map below.
Video of Wandsworth’s Lost Synagogue
Chris Van Hayden of Chris Van Hayden Tours made a lovely video about the synagogue which I recommend watching below.
Recommended Reading
If you are interested in finding out more about the lost synagogues of London, I recommend Peter Renton’s book, The Lost Synagogues of London. (Please note that link is an affiliate link, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.)
This Post was About the Former South West London Synagogue
Thank you for checking out my post about the lost synagogue of Wandsworth Common. Although the building has now been converted into flats, remnants of its past still remain visible, reminding passersby that is was once a vibrant centre of Jewish worship.