IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Peel Lane, MANCHESTER, M8 8RJ

Small industrial units on North Street.

The St Thomas's Day and Sunday Schools building on the corner of Stanley Street and Derby Street.

The St Thomas's Day and Sunday Schools building on the corner of Stanley Street and Derby Street. See also Image

Just off Cheetham Hill Road, probably the last remaining example of the livery of the Empress Brewery

Buildings on Knowsley Street.

The large circular window above the Ark was replaced in 1913. This new design was dedicated to the memory of Mrs Ezra Altaras. The main feature of the window is the Menorah. This represents the seven-branched candlestick which stood in the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and represents the seven days of creation.

The Ark is the most important part of the synagogue because it contains the Torah Scrolls. The original Ark was a gold box which held the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God. Jewish communities remember the original Ark with a replica in each of their synagogues. Instead of the Ten Commandments, a copy of the Torah is placed in the Ark and is covered with a parochet (a curtain) like the original. The Ark is always placed on the eastern wall of the synagogue because Jews face Jerusalem when they pray.

Although the synagogue is now used as a museum, the interior has been kept much as it was when it was closed in 1981 apart from the removal of seats in the ladies' gallery upstairs. This gallery now houses the museum’s permanent exhibits about the history of Manchester’s Jewish community. The pink and green colour scheme, with gilding, is a reconstruction of what was found beneath 20th century overpainting. At the eastern end is a recess framed by a Moorish arch with a classical ARK, where the Torah scrolls are kept. The columns have gilded capitals and pink marble shafts. The east window with its splendid menorah dates from 1913. On the ground floor, the heavy bench seating with armrests is original.