Foundation Presents at Heritage Network Conference

The Foundation for Jewish Heritage is a long standing member of the Heritage Network. The

Network is the leading organisation for professionals and activists across the UK working on heritage preservation sites, and includes a number of leading funding bodies as members and sponsors such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Architectural Heritage Fund and the Pilgrim Trust.

This year’s annual conference took place in Bradford which is the 2025 UK City of Culture. Over 270 participants were offered a range of activities including heritage site visits, plenary and breakout sessions, along with opportunities for socialising and informal networking.

The Foundation’s Chief Executive Michael Mail was invited to take part in a panel discussion on

Places of Worship joining Amanda Feather, Head of Built Heritage and Regeneration Policy National Lottery Heritage Fund, Greg Pickup, Chief Executive of the Churches Conservation Trust, and Gordon Barr, Development Manager for Scotland, Architectural Heritage Fund.  

In his presentation, Michael spoke about the role of heritage in promoting cross-cultural

understanding and social cohesion, an issue whose importance was tragically highlighted by the Manchester synagogue attack that occurred just days later on Yom Kippur.

The conference site visits included the beautiful Grade II* Bradford Reform Synagogue built in 1881 introduced by expert local guide Nigel Grizzard. Coincidentally, the Foundation had been contacted by Bradford Synagogue a few weeks earlier and will be meeting with synagogue leaders shortly.

Another site with strong Jewish connections was the historic Little Germany district founded mainly by German Jewish merchants who settled in the city in the 19th century when Bradford was a world centre of the textile industry.