Our building

BHPS was founded in 1935 and moved to 6 Lansdowne Road in 1937.

Our beautiful, remodelled space is fully wheelchair accessible and won a Sussex Heritage Trust design award when it was unveiled in 2015.

When you walk through the main doors into our sanctuary, you will notice directly ahead of you the aron ha-kodesh, the holy ark that adorns the rear southern wall. An array of vertical wooden panels stained in a palette of colours, the ark makes a bold statement in its rainbow hues about inclusion and diversity.

Our ark houses our four Torah scrolls, including a Czech scroll rescued by the Memorial Scrolls Trust after the Sho’ah (Holocaust). This was once the property of the Jewish community of Frýdek-Místek, a community exterminated by the Nazis. Every year we hold a memorial service to remember them.

You will also you notice the absence of a bimah, a raised platform, traditionally at least three steps high. In the interests of complete physical and psychological accessibility, the synagogue Council decided not to include a Bimah in the redeveloped synagogue.

In our foyer is a Tree of Life, memorialising members and relatives of members who are no longer with us. You can read more about this – and how you can add to it – here.