David Hillman was the single most prominent stained glass window designer of UK synagogues of the twentieth century. Over 200 of his windows adorn synagogues throughout London, including Egerton Road, Hampstead Garden Suburb, St John’s Wood, Marble Arch, the Central Synagogue, to name but some. Hillman himself was a descendant of a long line of Lithuanian Rabbis, the son of Dayan Shmuel Hillman, head of the London Beth Din in the early part of the twentieth century, and brother in law to Chief Rabbi Herzog of Dublin and Israel. But much to his father’s consternation, he decided to focus on a career in Art. His windows have a very recognizable style, and are adorned with Jewish imagery and lots of texts from the Bible and other Jewish religious sources. The largest single collection of his windows are to be found in St John’s Wood synagogue (over 100 windows), created in two distinct periods of time. They include some surprising and even humorous imagery over and beyond the classical topics. Our presentation will discuss briefly his life and family, and will then focus on selected images, also allowing the audience to visit the windows in what is one of British Jewry's most significant architectural secrets and hidden resources.

The presentations will be made by Dayan Ivan Binstock, Rabbi of St John's Wood synagogue, and Professor David Newman, of Ben-Gurion University in Israel and also a great nephew of the artist, who has researched the windows and their history in recent years.

This free visit is open to registered participants of the BIAJS Conference 2022. Please complete registration (registration link) before signing up for the event.

Meeting point: tbc.

Visit to the David Hillman Stained Glass Windows, St John’s Wood Synagogue