The Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery, usually known as Willesden Jewish Cemetery, is a

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...

at Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, in the

London Borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent () is a London boroughs, London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of London Borough of Harrow, Harrow to the north-west, London Borough of Barnet, Barnet to the north-east, London Borough of Camden ...

, England. It opened in 1873 on a site. It has been described as the " Rolls-Royce" of London's Jewish cemeteries and is designated Grade II on Historic England's

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

. The cemetery, which has 29,800 graves,23 members of the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...

are buried in the cemetery.
has many significant memorials and monuments. Four of them are listed at Grade II. They include the tomb of

Rosalind Franklin Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 192016 April 1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, co ...

, who was a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. In 2015, the United Synagogue, which owns and manages the cemetery, was awarded a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore some key features of the cemetery and to create a visitor centre, a permanent exhibition and a web-based education project. The cemetery's heritage project, House of Life, officially opened up the cemetery to visitors on 7 September 2020: it has a programme of

public outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

events that have included walking tours, an online literary festival ("Life Lines") and an exhibition at Willesden Library.

History and heritage listing

The cemetery, developed on ground purchased from

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, was opened in 1873, three years after the United Synagogue was established by Act of Parliament. It was expanded in 1890, in 1906 and between 1925 and 1926. The cemetery and its funerary buildings, in English Gothic style, were designed by the architect

Nathan Solomon Joseph Nathan Solomon Joseph (London, 17 December 1834–1909) was an English philanthropist, social reformer, architect, and Jewish communal leader. Joseph collaborated on the design of a number of important synagogues, including the Garnethill Synagog ...

(1834–1909). In 2017 Historic England listed the cemetery at Grade II on the grounds of: its being the first venture of the United Synagogue; its having associations with many influential families and individuals who are buried there; its overall design by a prominent Jewish architect; "the quality, opulence and variety displayed by the monuments as a group, reflecting both Jewish traditions and English influences"; and its survival – "the Old Cemetery remains intact, whilst the subsequent evolution of the cemetery is well-documented and legible".

War graves and listed war memorial

The cemetery has 33 Commonwealth service war graves from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

,Eight of the Commonwealth service war graves from World War I are soldiers who were from, or had a connection to, Australia.
six of which form a small group by the Assembly Hall, and 77 from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 22 of them grouped in a war graves plot. These include the grave of

Dudley Joel Dudley Jack Barnato Joel (26 April 1904 – 28 May 1941) was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. Part of the wealthy and prominent Joel family, he was the son of businessman Solomon Barnato Joel and his wife Ellen (Nellie) ...

(1904–1941), businessman and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician, who died in World War II. In place of a

Cross of Sacrifice The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or ...

, a memorial designed by

Ralph Hobday Ralph Hobday OBE (September 1899 – October 1975) was a British architect who worked for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Career Hobday joined the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 1944, became Senior Architect in 1956, and retir ...

in the form of an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

was placed in 1961 by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

opposite the World War II war graves plot. It commemorates both world wars.

Israel Brodie Sir Israel Brodie (10 May 1895 – 13 February 1979) was the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth 1948–1965. Biography He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He served as a Rabbi of Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Australi ...

, the Chief Rabbi, consecrated the memorial, which was unveiled by Field Marshal

Sir Gerald Templer Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part in the crushing of the Arab Revolt in Palestine. As Chief of the Imperial ...

. The first national Jewish war memorial in the UK, it is Grade II listed.

Other listed monuments

There are three other Grade II listed monuments at the cemetery: * The tomb of Maximilian (Max) Eberstadt (1844–1891), who was secretary to the British merchant banker Ernest Cassel. His tomb was designed by Edward Burne-Jones *The tomb of

(1920–1958), a chemist and

X-ray crystallographer X-ray crystallography is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angles ...

, who was a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA *The tombs and burial enclosures of Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1818–1874), a businessman and Liberal Party MP, his wife Juliana (1818–1874) and their daughter Hannah Primrose (1851–1890), who became Countess of Rosebery and a political hostess and philanthropist. Their tombs were housed in a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

constructed in the 1890s, but this was destroyed by a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

bomb in 1941. File:MdeR.gif, Cartoon of Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild File:HdeR.png, Hannah, Countess of Rosebery, painted by

Frederic, Lord Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subjec ...

File:Hannahroseberygrave.jpg, Grave of Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery

Notes

References

External links

Official websiteWillesden Jewish Cemetery: "Life Lines"United Synagogue: Our Cemeteries Jewish Museum London"> Jewish Museum London
video about the cemetery">Jewish Museum London">Jewish Museum London
video about the cemetery {{United Synagogue Jewish Cemetery, Willesden Jewish Cemetery, Willesden Cemeteries in London">Jewish Cemetery, Willesden Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England">Jewish Cemetery, Willesden Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials Franklin family (Anglo-Jewish) Gothic Revival architecture in London Grade II listed monuments and memorials Grade II listed parks and gardens in London Grade II listed religious buildings and structures Willesden Nathan Solomon Joseph buildings Orthodox Judaism in London Jewish Cemetery, Willesden Jewish Cemetery, Willesden Rothschild family

Jewish Cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...