[6] Sir Moses Montefiore first came to Ramsgate in 1812 on his honeymoon with his wife Judith Cohen, sister-in-law to Nathan Rothschild.

Sir Moses Montefiore had the synagogue built immediately upon purchasing East Cliff Lodge in 1831.

The site of the college is now owned by Ramsgate Town Council and maintained by volunteers as a dedicated woodland.

[11]: 59 [12] The stucco-covered masonry building is rectangular with canted corners and a semicircular apse to accommodate the Torah Ark.

[11]: 58–61 The typically Regency interior features an octagonal dome with a lantern to admit daylight, and a window over the Torah Ark.

The pink, grey and cream marble and granite walls and much of the furniture were added by Montefiore's heirs in 1912.

[11]: 58–61 In the lobby there is a memorial to a member of the family, Captain Robert Sebag-Montefiore who was killed in Gallipoli during World War I.

Next to the synagogue is the tomb which is the final resting place of Sir Moses and Judith, Lady Montefiore.

Built as a replica of Rachel's Tomb on the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the Montefiore mausoleum is cube surmounted by a dome.

It is taken from the last verse of the Hebrew hymn Adon Olam: "Within Thy hand I lay my soul / Both when I sleep and when I wake.

The pillar was a gift from Mehmet Ali (1768-1849), khedive of Egypt, with whom Montefiore established friendly relations.

Montefiore was granted permission by the Ottoman Empire to restore Rachel's Tomb during an 1841 visit to the Levant.