The East London Central Synagogue is an Ashkenazi purpose-built synagogue (shul) on Nelson Street in London's East End, the area immediately to the east of the City of London. When founded in 1923, its name was the Nelson Street Sfardish Synagogue. It has "an unassuming exterior and a stunningly beautiful interior". History In the early twentieth century, the East End was a new centre of Jewish life in England: in the compact area there was a population of around 250,000 Jews. Mostly they were Yiddish-speaking first-generation immigrants from Eastern Europe, unlike the established Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities in Britain, which in the main had come from the Low Countries. Serving this community were about 150 synagogues. As a consequence of the Second World War, which saw the East End heavily bombed, this population moved on to new Jewish centres in North and Northwest London such as those in Stamford Hill, Golders Green and Hendon, and the congregations of the East End synagogues consolidated. Just three synagogues now remain in the area, the Nelson Street Synagogue the only one purpose-built. About twenty neighbouring synagogues were amalgamated with it over the years, including: Belz, Berditchever, Buross Street, Cannon Street Road, Chevra Shas, Commercial Road Great, Grove Street, Jubilee Street, Mile End, New Road, Philpot Street Great, Philpot Street Sphardish, Rumanian Sidney Street, and Sons of Britchan (B'nai Brichtan). As a consequence of these amalgamations the shul has a large collection of Torah scrolls, some dating back to the 18th century, many of now unknown origin. Architecture In his second volume on London, published in 1951, the architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner recorded that the synagogue was built by Lewis Solomon and Son, and described it thus: "Discreet brick exterior with two tiers of windows beneath round-headed arches with stone keystones. Fine classical interior. Galleries with iron railings between Ionic columns; coved steps, framed by a Venetian arch on Doric columns. Above the Ark, scrolled pediment with tablets of the law and Lions of Judah. Panelled pews and Bimah". Lewis Solomon (1848–1928) had built several synagogues, and served as both the Federation of Synagogues' Honorary Architect and also the United Synagogue's Architect and Surveyor. By 1923 his practice was being run by his son Digby Lewis Solomon (1884–1962). Lewis Solomon and Son had, two years earlier, redesigned the premises occupied by the neighbouring Congregation of Jacob synagogue on Commercial Road, which also still