East Cliff Lodge (East Cliffe Lodge)

Built / Designed For: Benjamin Bond Hopkins
Garden & Outbuildings: The former park of East Cliff Lodge is today the King George VI Memorial Park, a public park owned and operated by Thanet District Council. The old East Cliff Lodge greenhouse and gatehouse are extant and part of the public park.

Chapel & Church: Between 1831 and 1833 Sir Moses Montefiore erected the first purpose-built synagogue in Britain designed by a Jewish architect (his cousin, David Mocatta) on the East Cliff Lodge Estate. Because there is no longer a substantial Sephardic Jewish community in this part of Kent, the Grade II*-listed Montefiore Synagogue is no longer active, though it continues to be maintained by the Montefiore Endowment. Adjacent to the synagogue is a square mausoleum with a domed roof that was built to replicate Rachel’s Tomb on the road to Bethlehem. The interior of the mausoleum, which contains the remains of Sir Moses and Lady Judith Montefiore, is plain, save for a Minton tile floor and a stained glass skylight. The Montefiore Endowment also cares for the mausoleum, as well as the nearby Ramsgate Jewish Cemetery.
Architect: David Alfred Mocatta

Date of Birth: 1806
Date of Death: 1882
Nationality: British
Notes: Mocatta was born in London to a prominent Sephardic Jewish family. Between 1821 and 1827 he studied under Sir John Soane, whose museum he was a trustee of in later life. He was appointed architect of the London and Brighton Railway in 1839 and designed the company's headquarters in Brighton. Mocatta is probably most remembered today as the creator of the first synagogue in Britain designed by a Jewish architect: the 1833 Montefiore Synagogue, built for Moses Montefiore's East Cliff Lodge Estate in Kent.

Date: 1831-33
Designed: Synagogue for his cousin, Sir Moses Montefiore.

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Architect: Decimus Burton

Date of Birth: 1800
Date of Death: 1881
Nationality: British
Notes: Designed Athenaeum Club, Constitution Arch, and the screen at the entrance of Hyde Park, all in London.

Date: 19th century
Designed: Additions

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Architect: Charles Boncy

Date of Birth: ?
Date of Death: ?
Nationality: British
Notes: Boncy was a Kentish 18th century builder and surveyor.

Date: Late 18th century
Designed: Gothick style villa for Benjamin Bond Hopkins

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Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - HARDBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 2008
Reference: pg. 135
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125085
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Demolished

Park Listed: Not Listed
Past Seat / Home of: Benjamin Bond Hopkins, until 1794. Admiral of the Red George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith, early 19th century. Sir Moses Montefiore, 1831-85.

Current Ownership Type: Demolished

Primary Current Ownership Use: Demolished

Ownership Details: The estate's former park is today a public park operated by the local district council.
House Open to Public: Grounds Only
Phone: 01843-577-000

Historic Houses Member: No

East Cliff Lodge (East Cliffe Lodge)

House, Family & Collections History

Gardens, Outbuildings, Chapel & Church History

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