Willesden Jewish Cemetery

For the Liberal Jewish Cemetery, see Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden. For a list of burials, see List of people buried at Willesden Jewish Cemetery.

Willesden Jewish Cemetery
The cemetery's prayer hall, designed by Nathan Solomon Joseph
Map
Details
Established1873
Location
Beaconsfield Road, Willesden (London Borough of Brent), London NW10 2JE
CountryEngland, United Kingdom
TypeOrthodox Jewish
StyleVictorian; English Gothic
Owned byUnited Synagogue Burial Society
Sizeabout 8.5 hectares[1]
No. of graves29,800[2]
WebsiteOfficial website
Find a GraveWillesden Jewish Cemetery
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameWillesden Jewish Cemetery (United Synagogue Cemetery)
Designated4 September 2017
Reference no.1449184
House of Life project, Willesden Cemetery
Formation2015
Legal statusRegistered charity
PurposeTo preserve the heritage of, increase accessibility to and increase biodiversity at Willesden Jewish Cemetery.
HeadquartersWillesden Jewish Cemetery
Head of Heritage
Miriam Marson
Parent organization
United Synagogue
Websitewww.willesdenjewishcemetery.org.uk

The Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery, usually known as Willesden Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery at Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent, England. It opened in 1873 on a 20-acre (0.08 km2) site.[3] It has been described as the "Rolls-Royce" of London's Jewish cemeteries[4] and is designated Grade II on Historic England's Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[5] The cemetery, which has 29,800 graves,[2][nb 1] has many significant memorials and monuments. Four of them are listed at Grade II.[6][7][8][9] They include the tomb of Rosalind Franklin, who was a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA.[8]

In 2015, the United Synagogue, which owns and manages the cemetery, was awarded a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund[10] to restore some key features of the cemetery and to create a visitor centre, a permanent exhibition and a web-based education project.[11][12] The cemetery's heritage project, House of Life,[13] officially opened up the cemetery to visitors on 7 September 2020:[14] it has a programme of public outreach events that have included walking tours,[15] an online literary festival ("Life Lines")[16] and an exhibition at Willesden Library.[17]

  1. ^ "United Synagogue Willesden Cemetery". London Gardens Trust. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Willesden Cemetery "House of Life"". United Synagogue. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Willesden Cemetery". United Synagogue. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  4. ^ "New Listings Announced to Celebrate 70 Years of Protecting England's Historic Buildings". Historic England. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  5. ^ Historic England (4 September 2017). "Willesden Jewish Cemetery (United Synagogue Cemetery) (1449184)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference NHLEWarmemorial was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference NHLEEberstadt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NHLEFRanklin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference NHLEERothschildtombs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Willesden Jewish Cemetery 'House of Life'". National Lottery Heritage Fund. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Historic cemetery to get £2m heritage facelift". The Jewish Chronicle. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  12. ^ Abrams, Hester (July 2017). "Project breathes life into Willesden cemetery" (PDF). Jewish Renaissance. p. 10. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  13. ^ "House of Life". Willesden Jewish Cemetery. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  14. ^ Oryszczuk, Stephen (7 September 2020). "Willesden Cemetery opens to day-visitors after Lottery-backed conservation". Jewish News. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  15. ^ Keith, Lauren (3 November 2020). "This historic cemetery in London is now open to tours". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  16. ^ Johnson, Alex (2 September 2020). "London Cemetery to Host 'Life Lines' Virtual Literary Gathering". Fine Books and Collections. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  17. ^ Raffray, Nathalie (9 October 2019). "Exhibition to reveal secrets of the 'Rolls-Royce of Jewish Cemeteries' in Willesden". Brent & Kilburn Times. Retrieved 7 September 2020.


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