The UK’s “premier Orthodox Ashkenazi burial ground” is progressing in its ambitious renovation project to become a heritage attraction.
Four chief rabbis, film director Michael Winner and scientist Rosalind Franklin are among notable Jewish personalities buried in the United Synagogue’s Willesden Cemetery, which was awarded an initial £321,000 grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund in 2015.
It will submit a follow-up bid by the end of September to take the project total beyond £2 million. But the US will need to raise around £200,000 to unlock the additional funding.
Project development manager Hester Abrams said there will be major enhancements to the existing buildings and better signage at the 144-year-old cemetery, with volunteer-led tours. Other planned features include a dedicated visitor area, exhibition and educational space and a digital archive.
“It is still a working cemetery,” Ms Abrams explained. “But in the next few decades space will run out, so this is vital to the sustainability of the cemetery.
“We want it to be a place where Jewish people from other countries come to visit, as well as opening it up to the local community to teach about how we bury our dead and our bereavement process. It’s a beautiful cemetery with the most incredible biographies.”
In a statement, the United Synagogue announced: “We are looking to create an understanding of our past and its significance for our community and wider society today.
“It is our duty to remember those who went before us and to provide a space to reflect. Willesden Cemetery is a virtual encyclopaedia of the development of our community over 150 years, one we take pride in and which poses questions about our contemporary and future identity.”
