The old synagogue in Princelet St is one of Spitalfields’ most atmospheric and mysterious spaces, so I was thrilled when Architectural Photographer Morley Von Sternberg agreed to take these pictures for Spitalfields Life. The project was a natural one for Morley who was born in Whitechapel, and whose great-grandfather arrived from Minsk in 1878 and ran greengrocer’s shop on Brick Lane just around the corner from the synagogue.
Built by Samuel Worrall in 1719, 19 Princelet St was at first the home of the Ogier family, Huguenot refugees from France who established themselves as silk weavers in Spitalfields. Subsequently, the house became home to Irish and Polish immigrants before a synagogue was built in the garden in 1869.
David Rodinsky, caretaker of the synagogue, lived in a single room on the upper floor which he left in 1969 never to return, and Rachel Lichtenstein & Iain Sinclair’s Rodinsky’s Room explores the enigma of his disappearance.
You can visit 19 Princelet St on June 7th, 11th, 14th, 18th, 21st & 25th as part of A SPITALFIELDS JOURNEY, comprising a joint ticket for Dennis Severs House and the Museum of Immigration. Click here for tickets
Photographs copyright © Morley Von Sternberg
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