Shoreditch & Brick Lane: The Overwritten Street · 3
One building, four names
Ep. 3 · Three hundred years at 59 Brick Lane
FitTrip Editor · 2026.07.16
The building at 59 Brick Lane rose in 1743 as the Huguenot chapel La Neuve Eglise, passed through a missionary chapel and a Methodist chapel in the early 1800s, became the Machzike Hadath Great Synagogue in the 1890s, and since 1976 has served as Brick Lane Jamme Masjid. The Latin on its sundial — Umbra Sumus, “we are shadows” — sums up the three centuries.
Stand before the brick building at 59 Brick Lane, on the corner of Fournier Street, and you can read this whole series in one place: four religious communities worshipped in turn within the same walls.
An overwritten building
It was built in 1743 as the Huguenot chapel La Neuve Eglise Fact. In 1809 it became the chapel of a mission to the Jews, and from 1819 a Methodist chapel Fact. In the 1890s it became the Machzike Hadath Great Synagogue of an Eastern European Orthodox community Fact, and in 1976 the Bangladeshi community bought and reopened it as Brick Lane Jamme Masjid Fact. A Huguenot chapel becoming a synagogue becoming a mosque — the layers of migration held in a single set of bricks.
We are shadows
High on the outer wall, a sundial carries the year 1743 and the Latin “Umbra Sumus” Fact. We are shadows. No community stayed on this street forever — the building says it itself.
FAQ
- What is the building’s timeline?
- 1743 Huguenot chapel (La Neuve Eglise) → 1809 chapel of a mission to the Jews → 1819 Methodist chapel → 1890s Machzike Hadath Great Synagogue → from 1976, Brick Lane Jamme Masjid.
- Can I visit inside?
- It is a working mosque, not a visitor attraction. See the exterior and the sundial outside prayer times, and check whether community events or tours are running.
- What does the sundial say?
- The Latin phrase “Umbra Sumus” — “we are shadows”. Carved with the year 1743, it is often read against the histories of the communities that passed through.
Checklist
- View the exterior from the Fournier Street corner
- Find the sundial and “Umbra Sumus”
- Respect prayer times and etiquette
- Continue from Ep. 2’s Huguenot layer on foot
See the full course on FitTrip →